Commonwealth Building (Louisville)

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Information
Commonwealth Building

Location	Fourth St and Broadway Downtown Louisville
Status	Demolished
Opening	1928
Height
Roof	255-foot (78 m)
Technical details
Floor count	21
Developer	James Graham Brown

The Commonwealth Building was a 21-story, 255-foot (78 m) building in Downtown Louisville, Kentucky located on the northwestern corner of Fourth Street and Broadway.

The Commonwealth Building was built by James Graham Brown across Fourth Street from the Brown Hotel in 1928 and originally named after his late brother, Martin Brown^[1]. In 1955, a 19 story vertical addition was constructed which took the title of Louisville's tallest building away from the catty-cornered Heyburn Building across Fourth and Broadway. The building featured a light beacon on its roof for a short time until being turned off due to complaints by residents in Floyds Knobs, Indiana.

The owner of the building, Commonwealth Life Insurance, created Capital Holding Corporation in 1969 ^[2] and, as the company grew, decided to build a new headquarters building on the southwest corner of Fourth and Market named Capital Holding Center to reflect the company's business interests outside of life insurance. Once Commonwealth Life Insurance and Capital Holding relocated to their new headquarters, the Commonwealth Building was imploded on January 16, 1994. A low rise office building and open space now occupy the buildings former site.