The Commonwealth Building was a 21-story, building in

Downtown Louisville Downtown Louisville is the largest central business district in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the urban hub of the Louisville, Kentucky Metropolitan Area. Its boundaries are the Ohio River to the north, Hancock Street to the east, York and Jaco ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

located on the northwestern corner of Fourth Street and Broadway. The Commonwealth Building was built by

James Graham Brown James Graham Brown (August 18, 1881 — March 20, 1969) was an American businessman and real estate developer best known as the builder of the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky and for his philanthropy. Early life Born in Madison, I ...

across Fourth Street from the Brown Hotel in 1928 and originally named after his late brother, Martin Brown. In 1955, a 17-story vertical addition was constructed which took the title of Louisville's tallest building away from the

Heyburn Building The Heyburn Building is a 17-floor, 250-foot (76-m) building in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, United States. In the early 20th century, it was an integral part of the "magic corner" of Fourth Street and Broadway, which rivaled Main Street as Louis ...

, diagonally across Fourth and Broadway. The building featured a light beacon on its roof for a short time until being turned off due to complaints by residents in Floyds Knobs, Indiana. The owner of the building,

Commonwealth Life Insurance Company A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...

, created Capital Holding Corporation in 1969 ''The Encyclopedia of Louisville'' (John E. Kleber) page 7 and, as the company grew, decided to build a new headquarters building on the southwest corner of Fourth and Market named Capital Holding Center to reflect the company's business interests outside of life insurance. Once

and Capital Holding relocated to their new headquarters, the Commonwealth Building was imploded on January 16, 1994. A low rise office building and open space now occupy the building's former site.

External links

Building page on Emporis

References

1928 establishments in Kentucky Demolished buildings and structures in Louisville, Kentucky Former skyscrapers Office buildings completed in 1928 Office buildings completed in 1955 Insurance company headquarters in the United States Buildings and structures demolished in 1994 1994 disestablishments in Kentucky Skyscraper office buildings in Louisville, Kentucky Buildings and structures demolished by controlled implosion {{Louisville-struct-stub