Show & Sale Barn
Looming on the landscape, the barn commands attention, respect, even reverence. The American Barn is an irrefutable testimony to the integrity and economy with which builders’ shaped native materials into monumental structures. The American barn is one of a handful of rare symbols that immediately evoke our national heritage. The red, white, and blue with the stars and bars of our flag, or the magnificent bald eagle are both icons that symbolize America. Following closely is the image of a barn, another enduring symbol of the American pioneer spirit, and one that recalls the hard work and cultural values that combined to build our nation. Barns evoke a sense of tradition and security, of closeness to the land and to the people who built them. No two barns are exactly alike, which is another reason for their appeal. Americans take special pride in being singular individuals, and barns reflect that uniqueness. More than shelter and storage, a family's barn was a statement of pride.

The two most frequently seen and most culturally significant farm buildings in the Bluegrass are tobacco barns and horse barns. In earlier days, some Bluegrass horse barns were so elaborate and luxurious they were described as palaces or cathedrals. Some even had stained glass windows and seating areas where visitors scrutinized horses paraded before them. That tradition has continued and a number of today's Bluegrass horse barns are so elaborate as to defy the category barn.

Architectural styles in Bluegrass horse barns have paralleled to some extent period styles in residential architecture. Early ones were rectangular, plain, staunch, and sturdy, and some plain ones continued to be built later. However, when residences bore a profusion of Victorian embellishments, the accompanying barns and carriage houses often had irregular roof lines, varying floor plans, brackets, arches, and an almost ubiquitous cupola. At the turn of the century several barns followed a cathedral-like plan having a clerestory and a lower section along the sides containing the stalls.

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