Westside

Covington's Westside neighborhood grew up around the Western Baptist Theological Seminary and the nearby Linden Grove Cemetery in the 1830s and 1840s. Subdivisions initially laid out by the Western Baptist Education Society were annexed by the city as it spread south to 15th Street by 1843. Today, the Westside stretches from Pike Street on the north, Interstate 75 to the west, 15th Street on the south, and Madison Avenue to the east.

The makeup of the neighborhood's first residents tracked the growth of commerce and industry in the city, with tradespeople and artisans settling here and building Victorian-styled Northern Kentucky townhomes typical of 19th century Covington architecture. Now one of Covington's older neighborhoods, the Westside features a rich architectural heritage spanning a century, housing stock that long-term residents and recent arrivals alike are renovating and restoring with the guidance and support of Covington's Board of Architectural Review and Development and the Center for Great Neighborhoods. Following development of the 12th Street / Martin Luther King Jr. traffic corridor, the city codified the 12th Street historical overlay to encourage preservation of the architectural integrity of a substantial section of the Westside. This sector features one of the more imposing structures built in 19th century Covington -- the Bavarian Brewery complex, once the largest employer in Covington and the largest brewer in the Commonwealth, now housing the Kenton County Clerk's office and a small museum dedicated to Covington's brewing history.

And the Westside has cultivated its history beyond residential streets. Six generations of Covingtonians -- starting with its founder -- are interred in the Linden Grove Cemetery and Arboretum, a place where history, community, and nature converge. The neighborhood has honored its creative past with a pocket park that honors local artist Henry Farny. And in the restored and repurposed Hellman Lumber building, which once produced the frames on which our houses are built, the Westside has an anchor in a multipurpose community center and artists' space created and managed by the Center for Great Neighborhoods. The Westside has pioneered creative place-making, too, from the Riddle-Yates Community garden -- with 40 years of CGN-supported gardening one of the oldest of its kind in the Commonwealth -- to a pop-up urban farm and chicken coop project that made use of temporarily vacant city lots in Orchard Park. Homage to the community chickens of Orchard Park is represented on the colorful community banners in the neighborhood. With a 22-acre cemetery-arboretum, a handful of city parks, a community garden, and more to come along with continuing development, Westside residents enjoy a balance of urban amenities and green space.

Today, the Westside is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the tristate, with descendants of its original residents living side-by-side with younger professionals. Ethnic diversity of the area is showcased by popular local establishments like Olla or Wunderbar. The Westside of Covington is one of the most vibrant areas in Kentucky. Together we're a community that's preservation-minded, diverse, engaged, and that in decades of continuous change has welcomed every new wave of residents

Association:

Residents of Westside

Contact:
Reyna VanGilder

RoWcovky@gmail.com

Meeting Time & Place:
4th Tuesday at 6:30pm
Hellman Creative Center
321 MLK Blvd / 12th Street