Liminal Louisville

Liminal Louisville Drawing lost spaces from Louisville, KY

This row of movie posters outside to the right of the entrance at Baxter was normally the first thing you’d look at befo...
03/16/2026

This row of movie posters outside to the right of the entrance at Baxter was normally the first thing you’d look at before walking in. Though these poster cases had shown countless posters over the decades, for this illustration I pulled a selection of cult classics from their Midnights at Baxter late night film series🌙

They’re a little tough to read since they’re so small in the drawing, but see if you can pick out each movie! The song on this post is a hint to one of them.

Baxter Avenue TheatersSeptember 20th, 1996 - December 31st, 2025
03/11/2026

Baxter Avenue Theaters
September 20th, 1996 - December 31st, 2025

In a city with as much historic preservation as Louisville, it’s easy to miss the details. This street lamp is from St. ...
02/28/2026

In a city with as much historic preservation as Louisville, it’s easy to miss the details. This street lamp is from St. James Ct., which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The lights along St. James Ct. are among the few, if not the only gas street lamps left in the city. But they were actually purchased and installed in the 1950s and 60s by the St. James Ct. Neighborhood Association in an effort to recreate the atmosphere and pay homage to pre-electricity Old Louisville. Imagine if more of our historic districts adopted gas lighting.

When cheap beer, a simple stage, and a space to be loud was all anyone needed, Tewligan’s thrived. It was a cornerstone ...
12/12/2025

When cheap beer, a simple stage, and a space to be loud was all anyone needed, Tewligan’s thrived. It was a cornerstone of Louisville’s punk and rock scenes, hosting big names like R.E.M., The Smashing Pumpkins, Fugazi, Pearl Jam, and of course a great deal of local legends including Bush League, Crain, Kinghorse, Evergreen, and a ton more. Any day of the week, you could walk down that strip of Bardstown Road and see upcoming show flyers stapled out front. Originally it was a biker bar named The Funktion Junktion, until Doyle and Mary Guhy bought it and renamed it to Tewligan’s. Later it was briefly renamed to Snagilwet (Tewligan’s backwards). Regardless of the name, the space was one of the birth-places of our city’s underground music identity.

In 1996, Tewligan’s locked its doors for the final time. With the neighborhood changing, the overwhelming financial strains of owning a venue adding up, and just the pure exhaustion after running the place for 15 years, Tewligan’s shut down. The building was sold and converted into another venue called The Cherokee, where the shows continued until the early 2000s. In 2006, Cahoots took over the building, operating as a venue and bar until a series of incidents caused them to lose their liquor license in 2014. A few years later, Club Nirvana moved in, aiming to reset the vibe and continue the space’s tradition of live music until closing in 2020. A couple years later, Foreshots took their turn in the space for a little while. Though the building at 1047 Bardstown Road has lived a number of lives, many locals still remember it as Tewligan’s.

This was by far my most requested lost place so far. If you have any memories or stories from Tewligan’s feel free to share them in the comments!

And as always, if there’s a building or lost business you want to learn more about and have me illustrate, just shoot me a message and I’ll add it to the list 🖤

Who remembers the old silos alongside I-65? I finally got around to throwing some color on my illustration of them this ...
12/01/2025

Who remembers the old silos alongside I-65? I finally got around to throwing some color on my illustration of them this weekend. 🏭

This Thanksgiving, I’m extremely grateful for the support I’ve received over the past couple years with Liminal Louisvil...
11/27/2025

This Thanksgiving, I’m extremely grateful for the support I’ve received over the past couple years with Liminal Louisville. It started as a way to pay homage to the Hogan’s Fountain “Witch’s Hat” gazebo at Cherokee Park soon after it was demolished. About a year later and a handful of drawings later, I made this page and titled the series Liminal Louisville, with an aim to document the history of each location and their impact on surrounding communities.

Two years and 24 lost place illustrations in, I can’t think of another project I’d rather spend my time working on. Thank you all for helping keep the memories alive 🖤

💌Finally got postcards made for my Uncle Pleasant’s and Mr. Lee’s drawings! Postcards and line art prints available on t...
11/26/2025

💌Finally got postcards made for my Uncle Pleasant’s and Mr. Lee’s drawings! Postcards and line art prints available on the Liminal Louisville website (link in bio)

🥃From 2016-2019, there was a dimly lit cocktail lounge on Goss Avenue with no signage other than a plaque next to their ...
11/11/2025

🥃From 2016-2019, there was a dimly lit cocktail lounge on Goss Avenue with no signage other than a plaque next to their door, blacked out windows, and a single light over the small round porthole on the front door. Behind that heavy door was Mr. Lee’s, an homage to a different era of Louisville, when alcohol was outlawed and nightlife was forced to exist on an “if you know” basis. This modern take on a speakeasy tapped into the history of prohibition in Louisville, paying homage to some of the original speakeasies like the Rathskeller at the Seelbach, and the Wolf Creek Tavern’s basement speakeasy.

Prior to Mr. Lee’s, the building sitting at 935 Goss Avenue was occupied by the local watering hole, Groucho’s, operating from the 2000s to the mid 2010s. This stretch of Goss hosted several small groceries, taverns, and other locally owned businesses for most of the 20th century. While the days of Mr. Lee’s are left to photos and stories, it opened the door for North of Bourbon, a speakeasy inspired upscale Southern restaurant and bourbon bar.

Opened in 1974 on 18th street and later moving to 1812 West Muhammad Ali Blvd., Jay’s Cafeteria established itself as a ...
10/09/2025

Opened in 1974 on 18th street and later moving to 1812 West Muhammad Ali Blvd., Jay’s Cafeteria established itself as a citywide favorite for soul food and family dining. It was first opened in 1974 by Frank and Barbara Jean Foster on 18th street, later moving to its second and final location at 1812 West Muhammad Ali Blvd. On any given Sunday afternoon, you’d see lines stretching out the door and get whiffs of stewed ribs, fried chicken, cornbread, and its many other warm offerings. Jay’s was a place you could count on for generous portions, warm service, shared amongst friends and family.

After being auctioned off in 2005 and closing soon after, the building of Jay’s sat unused. Its sign still hung proud until the property was purchased and converted into Chef Space, a restaurant accelerator and training space. While the days of Jay’s Cafeteria’s are over, its legacy lives on with the building’s new life.

As always, if you have any happy memories from Jay’s, feel free to leave them in the comments!

Prints and postcards available at LiminalLouisville.com - link in bio

Around 40 years ago, a modest rock venue by the name of Uncle Pleasant’s opened up on Preston Street, right after the bu...
09/23/2025

Around 40 years ago, a modest rock venue by the name of Uncle Pleasant’s opened up on Preston Street, right after the building that’s now home to Sunergos Coffee. It quickly became a hub for nationally touring punk and metal acts, hosting names like The White Stripes, High on Fire, and Iron and Wine. More commonly though, the stage was reserved for Louisville’s own: local legends like Bush League, Rodan, Kinghorse, Slint, and too many others to list. In the early 2000s, Uncle Pleasant’s briefly shut down, then reopened as The Crunch Zone, a short-lived rebrand that kept the music going for a couple more years. The venue operated for close to another 10 years as Uncle Pleasant’s before closing again, making way for a new chapter under the name of The New Vintage.

With cleaner bathrooms, less smoke, and a bright red paint-job out front, The New Vintage cracked open this shell of a historic local dive. It hosted countless local and touring bands, multiple festivals, and album release parties, keeping the spirit of Uncle Pleasant’s alive and loud. After selling out shows for 5 years, The New Vintage closed its doors in January 2017. Since its closing, the space has remained mostly vacant, except for a dance bar that popped up for a little while in 2018. Today if you walk past 2126 Preston Street, you’ll see faded paint, crumbling front steps, and plenty of rotting wood siding; but if you look up above the awning, you’ll see that old sun-faded black and yellow Uncle Pleasant’s sign, reminding us of the crowds, noise, and musicians that turned this old space into a hub and home for growing local musicians.

As always, prints and postcards are available on the Liminal Louisville website! (link in bio)

Located in the heart of Bardstown Road, nestled alongside a mix of businesses in a thriving cultural corridor, there onc...
08/22/2025

Located in the heart of Bardstown Road, nestled alongside a mix of businesses in a thriving cultural corridor, there once laid a cultural hub called Twice Told Coffee House. Opening in the early 1990s, it was one of the first, if not the very first artisan coffee shop in the city, starting a local boom of coffee and espresso with shops like Days, Heine Brothers, and Safai opening later throughout the 90s. Twice Told carved out a niche in the Highlands by blending a laid-back, smoky coffeehouse vibe with live music and a community-minded atmosphere, creating the perfect blend of caffeine and creativity. It was well known for open mic nights and indie performances, where My Morning Jacket reportedly played their first shows in 1999.

In 2002, as property and rent prices rose in the area, the business was forced to close their Highlands location and relocate to La Grange, where it continued operating in a new setting. Since Twice Told left, its shell at 1604 Bardstown Road lived many other lives, with restaurants like La Bodega, Stout, and currently Daisuki Sushi filling the space. Now in 2025, Twice Told’s spirit remains as a fond memory to the many locals who frequented it during its heyday in the 90s and early 2000s.

As always, if you have any memories or stories you’d like to share, feel free to leave them in the comments!

Don’t have to tell me twice ☕️
08/18/2025

Don’t have to tell me twice ☕️

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