Ashland, Kentucky: The Camayo Arcade

seicer · January 2nd, 2012, 10:26 PM

The Camayo Arcade is located in downtown Ashland, Kentucky, and was completed in 1926.

Construction began on September 22 of the prior year on the site of the former Josselson Brothers Furniture Store, which at that point was owned by the C.H. Parsons Company. The location of the arcade was ideal, given its central location in downtown along the 1500 block of Winchester Avenue.

Electrical fixtures were installed by June 1926, designed by local architect A.F. Klein and manufactured by Beardalee Chandeller of Chicago via the Williams Electric Company of Ashland. The storefronts were then fitted with rosetta marble, and each interior measured 17.5 feet deep with widths of 15, 30 or 45 feet with provisions for partitions and balconies. Consulting fixture designers were made available without charge.

A soft opening of the bowling alley was held on October 9. The Bowling Department of the Camayo Arcade Recreation Center featured state-of-the-art bowling equipment that cost $15,000 to install by the Brunswick-Balke Collender Company. Another $15,000 was spent on furnishings and numerous billiard tables.

The Arcade today is far less busy than its heydays of the 1920s through the early 1980s. The longest serving tenant in the Arcade today is Homer Wilburn’s Barber Shop, which has been in the Arcade since 1964 – and with other owners prior to that until the Arcade opened. Another tenant, Richie’s Locksmith & Key Shop, was started by Leon Thayre Richie who sold guns and keys when it opened in 1947. Other stores included Eagle’s Dimestore, Pollock Jewelers, Cameo and Dollar General Stores. Below is a photograph from a promotional magazine about Ashland, with the Camayo Arcade visible to the left. Across the street was Nobl’s Shoes and G.C. Murphy’s.

Further Reading
a. Camayo Arcade (blog): http://urbanup.net/2012/01/02/develo...camayo-arcade/
b. Camayo Arcade (article), which includes a full scan of the Camayo Arcade booklet that was printed in 1926: http://urbanup.net/cities/kentucky/a...camayo-arcade/

***desertpunk*** · January 4th, 2012, 03:54 AM

Nice thread! Ashland really had many special qualities for a town its size!

Eagle Empire · January 6th, 2012, 05:41 PM

Anything else besides the bowling alley there?

seicer · January 9th, 2012, 03:03 AM

Just a few stores. The bowling alley became a Dollar General and some other stuff, but it's been closed off for quite a while.

January 2nd, 2012, 10:26 PM	#1
seicer Historian, photographer Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 2,243 Likes (Received): 18	Ashland, Kentucky: The Camayo Arcade The Camayo Arcade is located in downtown Ashland, Kentucky, and was completed in 1926. Construction began on September 22 of the prior year on the site of the former Josselson Brothers Furniture Store, which at that point was owned by the C.H. Parsons Company. The location of the arcade was ideal, given its central location in downtown along the 1500 block of Winchester Avenue. Electrical fixtures were installed by June 1926, designed by local architect A.F. Klein and manufactured by Beardalee Chandeller of Chicago via the Williams Electric Company of Ashland. The storefronts were then fitted with rosetta marble, and each interior measured 17.5 feet deep with widths of 15, 30 or 45 feet with provisions for partitions and balconies. Consulting fixture designers were made available without charge. A soft opening of the bowling alley was held on October 9. The Bowling Department of the Camayo Arcade Recreation Center featured state-of-the-art bowling equipment that cost $15,000 to install by the Brunswick-Balke Collender Company. Another $15,000 was spent on furnishings and numerous billiard tables. The Arcade today is far less busy than its heydays of the 1920s through the early 1980s. The longest serving tenant in the Arcade today is Homer Wilburn’s Barber Shop, which has been in the Arcade since 1964 – and with other owners prior to that until the Arcade opened. Another tenant, Richie’s Locksmith & Key Shop, was started by Leon Thayre Richie who sold guns and keys when it opened in 1947. Other stores included Eagle’s Dimestore, Pollock Jewelers, Cameo and Dollar General Stores. Below is a photograph from a promotional magazine about Ashland, with the Camayo Arcade visible to the left. Across the street was Nobl’s Shoes and G.C. Murphy’s. Further Reading a. Camayo Arcade (blog): http://urbanup.net/2012/01/02/develo...camayo-arcade/ b. Camayo Arcade (article), which includes a full scan of the Camayo Arcade booklet that was printed in 1926: http://urbanup.net/cities/kentucky/a...camayo-arcade/ __________________ Abandoned American Byways \| Bridges & Tunnels \| UrbanUp \| Sherman Cahal Photography

January 4th, 2012, 03:54 AM	#2
*desertpunk* Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: ELP ~ ABQ Posts: 30,152 Likes (Received): 1843	Nice thread! Ashland really had many special qualities for a town its size! __________________ We are floating in space...

January 6th, 2012, 05:41 PM	#3
Eagle Empire % Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: West Grove, PA Posts: 252 Likes (Received): 1	Anything else besides the bowling alley there? __________________ Legalize crime

January 9th, 2012, 03:03 AM	#4
seicer Historian, photographer Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 2,243 Likes (Received): 18	Just a few stores. The bowling alley became a Dollar General and some other stuff, but it's been closed off for quite a while. __________________ Abandoned American Byways \| Bridges & Tunnels \| UrbanUp \| Sherman Cahal Photography

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