Frank Duveneck’s childhood home in Covington is being saved by the city
The childhood home of Frank Duveneck, an American figure and portrait painter known as one of the most celebrated American artists of the late 19th and early 20th century, is being saved from collapse by the city of Covington. The 1861 home on Greenup Street was damaged in 2018 by a next-door demolition.
In September 2024, Kenton County Circuit Judge Kate Molloy gave the city of Covington temporary conservatorship over the property, which is owned by The Frank Duveneck Arts and Cultural Center Incorporated. The city filed a petition for conservatorship in January 2024 following a Kentucky law passed in 2022, the Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act, that allows the city to enter the property and do necessary repairs.
“We have all the power, duties and rights of an owner to possess, control, rehabilitate and maintain the property, but we’re not the owner,” said City Solicitor, Frank Schultz, in a statement.
Charles Alexander, president of the Duveneck Arts and Cultural Center, shared that some of the damage was caused by the demolition of a building next door in 2018. The group had been raising funds for restoration but was brought to a halt when the city of Covington filed for conservatorship.
The Arts and Cultural Center and the city of Covington have struggled over the property for years, but the city says the group hasn’t been responsive to holding up its responsibilities of keeping the house safe and up to code.
Now, the city of Covington plans to lead the restoration of the home.
In October 2024, the city announced in a press release that the stabilization of the home will be handled by SSRG Midwest Operations, a company that has worked on everything from Cincinnati’s Music Hall to the foundation of Hotel Covington to a fire-damaged Jim Beam rickhouse.
Walt Mace, assistant director of Covington’s Neighborhood Services Department, said that while the building is not going to look much different from the outside, “it will be stabilized and weatherized.”
After the building is stabilized, what happens next hasn’t been determined, the press release said.
“Our sole focus is to save the building and its history before it’s lost forever,” said Brandon Holmes, Covington’s Neighborhood Services Director, in a September 19 press release from the city. “Hopefully we have enough time to accomplish that.”
