AEGON Center
Encyclopedia
The AEGON Center is a skyscraper
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...

 in Downtown
Downtown Louisville
Downtown Louisville is the largest central business district in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the urban hub of the Louisville, Kentucky Metropolitan Area. Its boundaries are the Ohio River to the north, Hancock Street to the east, York and Jacob Streets to the south, and 9th Street to the west...

, Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

 and located at 400 West Market Street. The 35-story, 549 feet (167 m) high structure was designed by architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

 John Burgee
John Burgee
__notoc__John Burgee is an American architect noted for his contributions to Postmodern architecture. He was a partner of Philip Johnson from 1967 to 1991, creating together the partnership firm Johnson/Burgee Architects. Their landmark collaborations together included Pennzoil Place in Houston...

 with Philip Johnson
Philip Johnson
Philip Cortelyou Johnson was an influential American architect.In 1930, he founded the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and later , as a trustee, he was awarded an American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the first Pritzker Architecture...

 and was completed in 1993 at the cost of $100 million (USD). The building, originally named Capital Holding Center, was later renamed Providian Center and is now named AEGON
AEGON
Aegon N.V. is one of the world’s largest life insurance and pension groups, and a strong provider of investment products. Aegon's head office is in The Hague, Netherlands...

 Center.

Currently the tallest building in the state of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

, the building is constructed of reinforced concrete, as opposed to the steel construction usual for buildings of its height. A distinctive feature of the building is the 80 feet (24 m) high Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...

 dome which reflects the building's original name of Capital Holding that is illuminated from the interior at night. The uppermost floors of the building are also illuminated at night. The AEGON Center's lighting is changed from the usual white to a combination of red and green from Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...

 Day until New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...

.

AEGON Center has 633,650 square feet (58,868 m²) of leaseable space for office and 18,787 square feet (1,745 m²) for retail.

The original owner of AEGON Center was a limited partnership which consisted of Hines Interest
Gerald D. Hines
Gerald D. Hines is the founder and chairman of Hines, a privately held real estate firm with its U.S. headquarters located in Houston, Texas, and its European headquarters located in London....

, as a general partner, and Japanese limited partners. In April, 2004, David Werner's investment group purchased AEGON Center.

There is a statue
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...

 in the plaza of the AEGON Center of Alysheba
Alysheba
Alysheba was an American Thoroughbred race horse who won two legs of the Triple Crown in 1987. A successful sire, he produced 11 stakes winners....

, winner of the 1987 Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...

 and a 1993 U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...

 inductee.

See also


External links

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