History of The Pope Villa

In 1810-11, architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe designed for Senator John and Eliza Pope an exceptional suburban villa at Lexington, Kentucky.

Three sheets of drawings by Latrobe for the house survive in the Library of Congress. The first sheet depicts alternative two and three story elevations for the house and a partial plan and section of the service stair to the attic and roof. The second sheet depicts the first and second floor plans. The first story contained Pope’s office, Eliza Pope’s parlor and the service spaces. The second floor contained the major public rooms and bedchambers. The third set of drawings depicts a full section, a partial section, and a combined attic plan/roof framing plan for the Pope Villa.

Later owners of the Pope Villa altered it throughout the 19th Century; 20th Century owners portioned it into apartments. Fire damaged the building in 1987. In that year, The Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation acquired the Pope Villa and began its careful restoration.