Source: Sentinel News
By Monica Newton Tate/Sentinel-News Staff Writer
Camera-shy Gil Haydon seemingly has little in common with Backstreet Boy
keyboard player Kevin Richardson.
But on Thursday, a crowd learned, the international superstar and
Shelbyville builder, share a common bond. Both won an Ida Lee Willis
Award, the state's most prestigious recognition for preservation of
historic structures.
Richardson sent his family to accept the award for his restoration of
Lexington's Lemon Hill Mansion. Haydon was surrounded by a large
Shelbyville contingency, including his wife, brother, members of the
Historic District Commission and Mayor Tom Hardesty, many of whom
applauded and whooped like school girls when Haydon's name was announced.
Suddenly, the builder was right in the middle of the spotlight, behind
flashing bulbs and in front of a microphone at the Governor's Mansion in
Frankfort.
He accepted the award from Stephen Collins, chairman of the Ida Lee
Memorial Foundation. Collins is also a Shelbyville resident.
Collins said Haydon provided a cornerstone project for revitalizing
Shelbyville's East End.
Last year, Haydon bought the two worn, nearly fallen-down, vine-choked
houses at the corner of Third and Washington streets that had been for
sale for a long time despite a $20,000 grant to lure a buyer.
Most people saw the houses as only a backdrop for a bulldozer, said Gail
Reed, historic district commission director, who had the idea of
nominating Haydon. He was nominated by the Historic District Commission.
Already, the first of those houses -- the early 20th Century bungalow --
has been transformed to a showpiece -- literally. It was recently part of
a tour of renovated structures for the Shelbyville Development
Corporation Foundation.
Also, on that tour was the Shelbyville police station, which Haydon also
helped to turn from a peeling blue paint blight to the home of a busy
police force.
"He has hosted open houses, organized workshops and willingly shared the
process of these projects with the citizens of Shelbyville," Collins told
a packed crowd Thursday. "He continues to show how rehabilitation
projects can both comply with local design review guidelines and meet
user needs."
When Haydon accepted the award, he told the preservationists that
Shelbyville government stood behind historic preservation -- as could be
seen by the locals attending.
That came as music to the ears of the group, who had earlier empathized
with fifth grader Cameron Barton. Barton wrote an essay that she hoped
would save the old Edmonton (Ky.) High School. She said Edmonton's City
Council was not interested in the project.
Preservationists also wondered if Gov. Ernie Fletcher supports their
efforts. Neither he nor his wife attended the ceremony, as is customary,
and his proposed budget does not contain Renaissance funding for
preservation.
When Haydon accepted the award, he said, "very few people really
appreciate what you do and this is an honor because people really do
appreciate preservation."
In his efforts to maintain the clean, vital Shelbyville of his youth,
Haydon also restored the Victorian house at 1015 Main Street, which was
used by the Shelbyville Merchants Association of Retail Trade, or SMART,
for its first designer showcase last year.
Collins noted that that house was featured in the Courier-Journal and
enjoyed its own supplement in The Sentinel-News.
Haydon's next project is the four-square house next to the bungalow on
Third Street.