Paris Cemetery Co. Inc. Trail

Paris Cemetery Co. Inc. Trail. . The Paris Cemetery Gatehouse is a rare surviving example of Gothic architecture in Kentucky. John McMurtry was the Lexington builder/architect who had worked with Alexander Jackson Davis, New York architect, as the builder of Loudoun House (ca. 1847) in Lexington. Along with Christ Church Cathedral, McMurty, who introduced the Gothic style to Kentucky also designed and built the Lexington Commentary Gatehouse (ca. 1848) in the Gothic style. Lexington's gatehouse was demolished in 1899. The Paris Cemetery Gatehouse completed in 1862 remains as a memorial to McMurty which was his stated goal for the Lexington gatehouse demolished in the year he died. The Gothic gatehouse is appropriate style for the natural landscaped cemetery design becoming popular along in 1840's Kentucky. The design consists of three Tudor arches, wider center openings for carriages with smaller side openings for pedestrians anchored by end wings for the cemetery offices. The center projected section framed with four cross columns are set in the corners of the two square, two story, cemetery office wings. The entry is crowned with four unique elaborate cast iron pinnacles which define the vertical proportions of the structure. The Paris gatehouse stands today as a very significant historic structure, a fine example of Gothic architecture and a cultural symbol representing the importance of the cemetery.