Landmark ruling: Downtown Louisville's Odd Fellows Building avoids demolition again

Downtown Louisville's Odd Fellows Building isn't going anywhere soon, following a judge's recent ruling.

The more than 120-year-old structure in the shadow of the Omni Louisville Hotel has been reestablished as a "local landmark" after Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Audra J. Eckerle ruled in favor of the Louisville Historical League's appeal of a Metro Council vote last year that had stripped it of that status, which would have cleared the way for plans to demolish it to move forward.

Metro Council members voted in March 2021 to take away the historic status of the building, 211 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd., as some argued it did not fit the criteria to be considered a landmark and said the aging building, also known as Liberty Hall, had been damaged beyond repair. But the historical league appealed the decision a month later and a ruling in their favor came down Thursday.

In the new decision, Eckerle said Metro Council's decision to strip the building of the status was "tainted by blatant favoritism," a reference to a 2014 written agreement between the Omni Louisville Hotel (which owns the land) and Metro Council that removed restrictions on destroying the building, which the judge said influenced some council members when voting about whether the structure should be considered a local landmark.

"(H)aving a written agreement with a particular party regarding the outcome of a hearing is a clear example of blatant favoritism," the ruling said. "The written promise to remove any impediments to the demolition of Liberty Hall leaves no question as to how the hearing on removing the landmark status would be decided."

Related:Odd but not forgotten: Group wants Omni to save this landmark Louisville building

Metro Council's 2021 decision was immediately reversed by Eckerle's ruling, but is subject to appeal.

Representatives for the Omni Louisville Hotel could not be immediately reached when called Saturday.

Steve Wiser, the president of the Louisville Historical League, told The Courier Journal members of the group are "pleased with the decision" although he had not read the ruling. He said Liberty Hall is "historic" and has "a lot of potential."

The review of the building's historical status came in 2019, years after Omni bought the land in 2014 and the agreement between the hotel company and Metro Council was signed. That council vote ended 20-5 in favor of removing the landmark status but had divided some members.

Council member Jecorey Arthur, for instance, opposed calling the building a "local landmark" as it had not been associated with specific historic events or figures other than the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, which did not allow Black members for decades. Council member Bill Hollander, meanwhile, who voted against stripping it of local landmark status, said the agreement between Metro Council and Omni required plans for the space to be in place ahead of demolition and said Omni had not filed any plans for the site following destruction.

Hotel officials had previously discussed turning the space into an indoor and outdoor entertainment venue, but nothing had been approved or set in stone.

This story may be updated.

Reach reporter Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez at abrinez@courier-journal.com and follow her on Twitter at @SoyAnaAlvarez.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville Odd Fellows Building avoids demolition with judge's ruling