The Courthouse building was built as a potential statehouse building during a period when Kentucky was considering a new city for its capitol. Instead it went to Frankfort. You can see in the photo that it could be expanded to the east and west and have a dome added.

At the southwest corner of the property now stands a statue of the cities namesake, King Louis XVI. The worst king ever.

Today this building seems much more human-scaled than its towering, monotonous and featureless neighbors; context is everything.

How old was the building when this picture was taken? It seems to be in less than "mint condition" - the window awnings are all tattered and torn, and many of the windows have has their glass replaced by smaller panes butted together.

[Construction began in 1837. - tterrace]

On the left of the photo, a few blocks back. Set up by insurance companies in the 19th century, these were private fire fighting companies used to protect the insurers interests. When city fire departments became more reliable, the salvage corps turned to clean up and recovery operations after fires.