Bonnycastle

In the late-1880s this neighborhood was mostly forest and farmland with scattered estates along Bardstown Rd. A 158-acre farm, purchased here in 1848, later lent its name to the neighborhood.

One of those mansions, named Walnut Grove, also known as the Everett/Bonnycastle mansion and built by slaves in the 1860s is still standing today, located on a bell-shaped parcel land bounded by Cowling, Spring Dr. and Speed Ave. at the end of Maryland Ave. (photo below)

In 1906, the mansion was sold to a private school, along with the last of the remaining estate property to complete the neighborhood subdividing that had begun in 1872, and was greatly expanded in the 1890s when Cherokee Park opened and the trolley was completed to the turnaround at Bonnycastle Ave., the steetcar route was extended to Douglass Loop in 1912, and later on out to Taylorsville Rd.

A synagogue purchased the Everett/Bonnycastle mansion and estate property in 1948, they greatly altered its look, removing the mansion’s porches and building a synagogue where the driveway had been. Today, the back of that building comes within a few feet of the front of the mansion.

In the 1920s, several large apartment buildings were built in the neighborhood. The largest, the 11-story Commodore, built in 1929, is on Bonnycastle at Cowling Aves.

The mansions of Spring Dr., developed in the late-1940s and early-1950s, recognizable by their 200-foot front yards, are perched atop large hills. Louisville’s most famous Derby party, the Barnstable-Brown Party, is held at one of the homes.

Strict deed restrictions along Cherokee Pkwy., Casselberry and Sulgrave Roads, encouraged larger houses. The Bonnycastle neighborhood also has a carless pedestrian court, Edgewood Place.

This traditional neighborhood displays a rich and eclectic mix of Victorian and historical revival styles, as well as Craftsman bungalows.

The Everett/Bonnycastle estate originally covered much of what is now the Bonnycastle neighborhood, bounded by Eastern Pkwy., Bardstown Rd., Speed Ave. and Cherokee Park.

Cornerstone 2020 Bonnycastle Neighborhood Plan