The area was the site of the Southern Exposition and now hosts the St. James Court Art Show which takes place annually the first weekend of October.

[6] By June 1890, the Courier Journal reported that William H. Slaughter purchased 52 lots of land between S. Fourth and S. Sixth Streets.

Although not stated, the selection of the names St. James and Belgravia, with their connections to London, England, were meant to enhance the exclusiveness of this new area and these new homes.

The plan announced in the Courier Journal in June 1890 described the layout of the homes, sidewalks, streets, trees, and common green space.

Slaughter's plan in 1890 included later developments of a stable for homeowners to house their horses and carriages, and a club or restaurant for residential entertainment.

One lot directly across from the central fountain was sold by the Victoria Land Company to Oscar Turner Jr.

McMurtry filed suit against Turner and Phillips Investment Company to prevent the development of the apartment building on the grounds that it violated the terms of the deed transfers for St James.

The case alleged that when the property was subdivided the terms stipulated that the lots should be “used exclusively for the erection of private residences, according to a plan of uniformity and symmetry”.

[9] Neighbors objected not only to the height of the structure, but also to the nature of rental units and a proposed restaurant in the basement of the building.

A longer summary of the decline of Old Louisville provides more detail, but those same factors quickly affected St. James and Belgravia Courts.

Changes in transportation (autos, street cars, and rail) and increased costs for domestic help made these homes less desirable within a couple decades of being built.

The Courier Journal reports deed transfers contemporaneous with those of St. James from the Victoria Land Company to individuals who purchased lots and built homes.

Belgravia's design copies that of St. James with a central common green space that is flanked by parallel sidewalks and two rows of tall shade trees.

There are two parallel sidewalks running the length of the court that mirror the one-way streets on St. James, but no access for carriages in the 1890s or later for automobiles.

After Conrad died on February 13, 1905, William E. Caldwell bought it for his family's residence and called it their home for 35 years.

As fitting for a house to receive members of society in the Victorian Era, the interior features elaborately carved fireplaces, stained-glass windows, high ceilings in parlors and dining rooms, with carved arched fretwork leading the way into these rooms from the reception hall with its large staircase.