In the early 1900s, the buildings on the corner of Bardstown Road and Rosewood Avenue were The Highlands Police Station and BellSouth Switching Station, respectively. Fast forward to the 2020s, when husband-and-wife teams Ben Botkins and Sarah Mattingly and Sean and Annie O’Leary decided to take over the historic structures, breathing new life into the buildings and neighborhood. The team combined the two buildings to create The Bellwether, a one-of-a-kind boutique hotel that boasts modern amenities alongside 1920s art-deco design.
“We wanted to bring a vibrancy to this area,” Ben says, explaining that he and Sarah live just a few blocks away and are passionate about the Highlands neighborhood. They were looking to save historic buildings — and when it came to the former police and switching stations, they felt that the best use for those spaces would be the creation of The Bellwether, which opened in October 2021.
“The most ‘good’ that we could do for the buildings and neighborhood was [opening] the hotel,” Ben says, “because we could bring 55 people a night here to [patronize] the small businesses who, [because of the] pandemic, were coming out of a hard stretch. And we love showing people Louisville.”
But The Bellwether is more than just a place to stay while visiting Derby City. The hotel itself is full of Louisville history, and its owners made sure to honor that history while restoring the property and creating the hotel.
There are 18 rooms, which include studios, one-bedroom units, and a four-bedroom suite. Each has its own name, with the individual monikers paying homage to the area. “Aside from Golden Hour and our Olmstead Suite — which we named for Frederick Olmstead, who designed Central Park, Cherokee Park, and Highland Park — all of the suites are named [after] streets in the neighborhood,” Sarah explains.
The furniture and decor throughout — most of which Sarah selected herself — are all new but have a look that harkens back to days past. “The overall inspiration was the roaring 20s, art-deco [look],” Sarah says. “[The two buildings] were built in 1917 and 1907, so I think … when they were most lively was in the 1920s and 1930s.”
She adds that they tried to keep certain historical features intact as much as possible. In one room, for example, they left the natural patina on the walls that had developed over the decades. When it came to design, Sarah leaned into those hues, incorporating the space’s natural colors into the pieces she picked for the room. And in the four-bedroom suite, two large, original paintings remain.
“Both of them have been on the walls since 1951,” Sarah says, adding that both pieces were well preserved and solidly affixed in their places. “The man that painted [them] was a police officer stationed in this building during that time … We had a local artist come in and clean them.”
There are also historical photos of the two buildings throughout the hotel, giving guests a glimpse of what the space was like so many years ago. Though the interior has undergone significant changes, Ben points out that it’s difficult to find differences in exterior photos. “You can look at a picture of the building 110 years ago and a picture of it now, and it looks identical from the outside,” he says. “We had a company pull the windows out and restore them off-site, [then] put them back exactly how they were.”
The building is currently on track to be added to the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of historic spots worthy of preservation. While Ben and Sarah work to uphold some of the Highland’s history by getting onto that list, they also remember to support the current community by giving local businesses a presence in The Bellwether.
“Every room has a kitchenette,” Sarah says. “We provide coffee from Heine Brothers, and everybody gets two Kizito Cookies. [We incorporate] as many local touches as we can.” She adds that most of the furniture was also sourced locally.
“This project kind of kickstarted an idea that Ben had,” Sarah adds, “which was to form a nonprofit to really make Bardstown Road more pedestrian- [and] biker-friendly.”
The nonprofit, Friends of Bardstown Road, is a program Ben founded in 2021. A collaboration of businesses and residents, the program aims to help Bardstown Road reach its full potential as a vibrant place to live, work, and visit.
“I’m excited about creating anchors that help bring people to the neighborhood in a bigger way,” Ben says. “The whole reason we’re doing [any] of this is because we care about the neighborhood and these buildings. Everything was predicated on honoring the history of these buildings. There was nothing rushed — no corners cut making sure everything stayed preserved.”
Sarah adds, “[This] was built by the neighborhood, for the neighborhood.”
The Bellwether is located at 1300 Bardstown Rd., Louisville, KY 40204. To learn more, visit thebellwetherhotel.com or call (502) 544-4214.
All photography courses of The Bellwether.
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