It’s Tea Time Again!

We officially kicked off the 2022 tea room season with a private party this afternoon! It’s always nice to start the season with a celebration and this lovely group of ladies came over this afternoon to celebrate the even lovelier bride to be! 💍 Congratulations on your upcoming wedding and thank you friends & family for celebrating at The Old Capitol Tea Room today!

Make sure you are subscribed to our website for upcoming events schedule & private party information!

👉🏻www.ourtechnicolorlife.com

📺Upcoming Events:

https://www.ourtechnicolorlife.com/upcoming-events

I’ve even created a handy dandy private party form if you are interested in booking your own private party! Must have a minimum of 10 guests to book a private party. We are currently booking into June and do not have any availability now through May.

📺Private Party Info:

https://www.ourtechnicolorlife.com/private-parties-2

Step Right Up, Get Your Tickets

Step right up ladies and gentlemen! Get your tickets for the greatest show on earth! The circus came to town and I could not resist making it part of our Sunday Funday!

Well it didn’t start out as a funday…we were on our way down the driveway when we hit a patch of ice that slid us into the stone wall at the bottom of the drive. Not fun! It sounded a lot worse than the damage to the car when we got out to examine, but we were stuck! If it weren’t for our incredibly wonderful neighbors we would’ve been in a total jam. They heard the crunch and came to the rescue by giving us a pull away from the wall and safely back out on the road. Thank you neighbors!!! ❤️❤️❤️

Once back on the road and thanks to the very kind staff at Morning Fork, we were only a little late for our brunch reservations. Needless to say, we started with mimosas! Morning Fork on Frankfort Avenue was hopping they have a delicious brunch menu. I tried the short rib Benedict and Jeff had the delectable bowl of biscuits & gravy.

Then it was off to the circus! Now I love a good circus and had never been to the Kosair Shrine Circus. The Kosair Shrine Circus is performed by George Carden Circus International. George is the fifth generation in show business and has been in the circus business all of his life. The circus travels over 40,000 miles each year in the United States and Canada. The season lasts 42 weeks, and the Kosair has been hosting since 1925. Both of his sons work elephants in the circus. They present a beautiful three-ring production which is fascinating to children of all ages - and especially to this kid at heart.

It had it all: Acrobats, tight-rope walkers, clowns, camels, horses, death-defying cage motorcycles, elephants and a guy that they shot out of a cannon. 😳😁

(I was also awarded “Best Dressed” in attendance. Well, it wasn’t official, but a sheriff’s deputy pronounced it as we were leaving, so that’s pretty good.) 😂

This is one of my favorite dresses/cape combo! It was custom designed by Jeff and made by heartmycloset on Etsy! She has all kinds of styles, color options, and pattern combos! Add a popcorn handbag and I’m ready for a day at the circus!

Brunch: Morning Fork - 1722 Frankfort Ave.

https://www.morningforklouisville.com

Outfit: heartmycloset on Etsy

https://heartmycloset.me

Circus: https://www.kosaircircus.com

Crescent Hill Reservoir

Several people have asked about the beautiful water company reservoir in Louisville (Crescent Hill Reservoir & Gatehouse), where several of our photos in our Sunday post were taken.

For those ever thinking of visiting the Louisville area, and you want some ideas on where and when to visit, let us know! We’re not quite experts, but we can sure give you some great pointers. There are so many great things to see and do in the Louisville and southern Indiana area that you can make an entire week-long visit here and only scratch the surface!

I thought I would give you a little more info on the reservoir. It’s truly fascinating and beautiful to visit in any season, as highlighted by our photos. We try to visit at least of couple of times each year. It is a great place for a beautiful walk and some pretty amazing photos.

Now, more about the reservoir and the beautiful historic gatehouse.

The fully restored historic Crescent Hill Gatehouse reopened to the public on May 13, 2015. This was the first large-scale restoration of the gatehouse, which was designated a Kentucky Historic Site in 2010.

In 1860 the first 512 customers, mostly businesses, who received running water got straight river water, minus only the mud that had settled out. The original Reservoir was where the Louisville Veteran's Medical Center is today. Old annual reports say when you got a cup of water from Louisville Water in 1860, it sometimes had some leftover mud in it! We’ve improved a lot since then. As demand increased, the company needed a new reservoir. At that time Crescent Hill was farms and large private estates. There was lots of open land available and the new site would be 33-feet higher than the old one. More importantly, the new reservoir would a have 110-million gallon capacity, which was ten times the capacity of the first.

Water had to travel from the Ohio River to the new reservoir. Workers cut through the rock and dug a deep ditch for a large, 30-inch diameter main. When a road was eventually added, it was called “Pipe Line Lane.” That road is now Zorn Avenue after Sebastain Zorn, who served as president of Louisville Water Company.

Chief Engineer Charles Hermany designed the Reservoir. He built the facility with functionality and design in mind. Surveys were taken for the Reservoir in 1874. Work began on the site in 1877 and when it opened in 1879, the Reservoir, 110-million-gallons in both sides, held at least a two-week supply of water. Today, it holds not quite enough for one day. The Gatehouse contained valves that controlled the rush of water in and out of the Reservoir

Upon its completion, the Crescent Hill Reservoir became an instant tourist attraction. Within the first few years of operation, amenities were built to handle the many visitors who came by train, horse and buggy, and walked to visit the grounds. The company employed “gate keepers” to open gates at now Brownsboro Road and Frankfort Avenue and planted trees, built a lake and even installed hitching posts. Some visitors came by train to visit the grounds. There were even rules for how guests should conduct themselves. The men who helped oversee the grounds and the company operations most likely lived on-site in small houses the water company built. The water company also built a Visitor’s Shelter to accommodate guests -- it’s the “L-shaped” building that sits across from the Mary T. Meagher Natatorium today. Complete in 1885, the building included water closets and bathrooms and a common area. Today, the building is nearly identical to what it looked like in 1885. The roof suffered significant damage in the 1974 tornado.

Today, the reservoir is still part of Louisville Water’s Crescent Hill operations although the valves in the gatehouse are not used. Employees control the flow of water in and out of the reservoir at the treatment plant.