Wallace Park Neighborhood Historic District - Kentucky: Heritage ...

United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012)
Wallace Park Neighborhood Historic District McCracken County, Kentucky
Name of Property County and State
The park offered attractions such as, a nine-hole golf course, large lake, dance hall pavilion, zoo and baseball
diamonds. 2 The use of the park began to decline in the early 1920s. The city of Paducah had offered the site for
a new western state teacher’s college, but lost the bid to Murray, KY. 3 By June of 1923, J.C. Utterback, W.F.
Bradshaw and J.S. Brinkley had formed the Paducah Realty Company and purchased the Wallace Park property
for residential development. 4
Early Development of Wallace Park Neighborhood
The earliest residential development in the area began along the edge of the original park at what is now
the 3200 and 3300 blocks of Buckner Lane (Figure 4). These homes date from 1922 to 1925 and were
constructed in the popular Tudor Revival and Craftsman Bungalow designs (Photos 3 and 4). These homes
became a part of the Afton Heights neighborhood in 1927 (see plat on continuation sheet). The majority of the
remaining lots on Buckner Lane were developed between 1927 and 1932, at which point construction slowed to
a halt for a few years due to the Depression. Three additional homes were constructed in the neighborhood
during the early development period, in the 3500 Block of Forest Circle and one at 221 Sycamore. These
homes were designed in the Tudor Revival style (Photo #5) and the Craftsman Bungalow style (Photo #6).
Residential areas just to the south of developing neighborhood were laid out in a grid pattern design with evenly
sized blocks and lots (Figure 5). The Wallace Park neighborhood was attractive to newcomers due to the
rolling hills and trees that created an organized maze, but also gave a sense of seclusion to the neighborhood
(Photos 7,8,9, 10, and 11). In 1926, Paducah expanded its corporate limits to include an additional nine square
miles west of the city; that expansion enveloped the area of Wallace Park neighborhood.
The Depression and Post- Flood Period
During the most devastating years of the Great Depression 1933 to 1935, only six homes were built in
the Wallace Park Neighborhood. One of these, the home located at 108 Sycamore (Resource #35) is among the
most prominent homes in the neighborhood. Designed by locally reknowned architect, Tandy Smith, it is one of
the most impressive examples of the Colonial Revival style in Wallace Park, with its native stone exterior
(Photo 12). All of the homes during this period were constructed in the traditional two-story Colonial Revival
design.
Between 1937 and 1939, a significant increase in the development of the Wallace Park neighborhood
was evident. Seventy-one homes were constructed along the streets of Forest Circle, Cedar Lane, Sycamore and
Wallace. The popular national styles of Minimal Traditional, Cape Cod, Tudor Revival (Photo #13), and
Colonial Revival (Photos #14, 15, and 16) are scattered diversely among the streetscapes
Pre-War and Post-War Development
By 1940, construction had reached its peak in Wallace Park. During the years of 1940 to 1942, only
seven houses were constructed, and none were constructed during the peak years of World War II, 1943-1945.
Two of the homes that were constructed, in the 3600 block of Forest Circle, were built of native stone in the
2
Sue Dana Green, History of Paducah Parks, Playgrounds, and Recreation, pp. 3-4
3
Barron White, I Remember Paducah When…. pp. 132-133
4
Camille Wells, A History of Paducah and McCracken County, p. 182.
4