Circa-1891 Victorian mansion on St. James Court in Old Louisville, painted pink by the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in the 1910s; private residence with a 'crisis apparition' named Avery — exterior viewing only.
1473 St. James Court, Louisville, KY 40208
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
No public access. The exterior is visible from the public sidewalks of St. James Court and is a regular stop on guided Old Louisville walking tours.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Public sidewalk viewing only; sidewalks along St. James Court are generally accessible.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1891 · St. James-Belgravia Historic District · Former St. James Court Gentlemen's Club and Casino · Former Woman's Christian Temperance Union temperance hall
The mansion at 1473 St. James Court was constructed circa 1891 in the booming Victorian-era residential district that developed on the former site of the 1883 Southern Exposition. The building was built as the St. James Court Gentlemen's Club and Casino, intended to serve the wealthy residents of the surrounding court. Its three stories, oversized windows, and corner turret styled after a French chateau give it an outsized presence on St. James Court.
In the 1910s the local chapter of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union purchased the building and converted it to a temperance hall. The WCTU painted the red brick facade pink, which the local press of the time treated as a deliberately attention-getting choice; the pink paint endured through subsequent ownership changes and gave the building its enduring local nickname. After the WCTU period the property reverted to private use and has functioned for most of its history as a private residence, occasionally subdivided into apartments. Atlas Obscura reported the property at auction in the late 2010s.
At the south end of St. James Court adjacent to a small ornamental fountain, the building is a fixture of the St. James-Belgravia Historic District. The Pink Palace is privately owned, is not open to the public, and is treated by Old Louisville walking tours strictly as an exterior stop.
Sources
According to David Domine's book Phantoms of Old Louisville and a 2021 KET segment on Haunted Louisville, the most-told Pink Palace story is that of Mr. Avery. He is described as a tall, clean-shaven, white-haired figure in an old-fashioned white 'duck' (linen) suit and black string tie. In paranormal-research literature he is classified as a 'crisis apparition'—a figure who appears specifically to warn the living of impending danger.
The principal first-hand account comes from Jenny Dickerson, a University of Louisville student who lived in the basement of the Pink Palace in the 1960s and 70s. In her interviews with David Domine, she described seeing the man first in her kitchen and then in her bathroom while bathing; she described him as transparent and aristocratic in bearing, and noted that the appearance preceded a personal crisis. KET's Haunted Louisville segment includes Domine recounting the story, and the Pink Palace is now a standard stop on Old Louisville ghost walks.
A 2022 Boondocks Gazette piece reexamined the Mr. Avery legend and noted that the historical record does not produce a single identifiable Avery figure tied to the building. The Pink Palace's paranormal reputation thus rests primarily on Jenny Dickerson's account through David Domine's research and the wider Old Louisville folklore tradition that David Domine has helped consolidate.
This venue is privately owned and not open to the public — appreciate from the public sidewalk on St. James Court only.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
View the pink Victorian mansion with its French chateau-style turret from the public sidewalks of St. James Court. The house is regularly featured as a stop on David Domine's Victorian Ghost Walk and other Old Louisville walking tours.
Multiple Old Louisville ghost walks include the Pink Palace as a stop. Tour operators tell the Mr. Avery 'crisis apparition' story from the public sidewalk; the interior is not part of the tour.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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