The Kaden Tower has been said to be by Frank Lloyd Wright, but it is fact designed by William Wesley Peters and Taliesin Architects. It was somewhat based on a speculative 1940's Wright design for a hotel for India. Lincoln Income Life Insurance company chose this design in 1965.
Louisville area web pages have reported of this building being dubbed "The Pink Monstrosity", "The Doily Building", "The Concrete Kleenex Box", "The Uglist Building in Louisville" and worse, unprintable names.
The building's current name comes from combining parts of the last names of the Blieden family and Jim Karp, who purchased the building in 1986.
According to Blieden, the original Wright design was supposed to have a Japanese influence, with the tower resembling a Japanese lantern, especially at night when the inside lights illuminate the exterior grille-work from behind. There was also supposed to have been a Japanese-style garden with the design.
The approach to the structure of the tower is an example of Frank Lloyd Wright's "sylvan" (tree-like) approach to skyscraper design: it consists of a central core, with cantilevered steel beams land across the core, and the floors suspended from the beams (See Price Tower for another example of Wright's approach to the skyscraper).
The building was renovated in 1986-1987 for a cost of $2 million. Local objections were raised over plans to change the color to what Wright had intended (brownish tan) from the pink that had caused the derision over the years, and the building remains pink.
The tower is located at 6100 Dutchmans Lane, Louisville, Kentucky. Click here to see a map of the location of the building.
Images:
(You can click on each thumbnail image to a see a larger version)
This page is not affiliated with the Kaden Company or any of the businesses associated with this tower.
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