In the lobby alcove you will find a large terra cotta jar. This is one of two which stood for over 50 years on either side of the front door on the slate pedestals. They were installed there by the original architects and are seen on the historic photos which date from our opening in January of 1929. We only have one now. Unfortunately it’s companion blew over and broke sometime in the 90’s.

This classic, hand-thrown, ceramic form was produced by Rookwood Pottery in Cincinnati, Ohio in the 20’s. To be more specific, by the Rookwood Architectural Faience Department (Faience means earthenware decorated with opaque colored glazes—a French word after the Italian town of Faenza.). The Rookwood Architectural Faience Department produced tiles, fireplaces, mantels, plaques, statues, fountains, garden pottery, and garden figures beginning in 1903 and lasting for about 25 years. The faience department was separate from the art pottery department which is better known. This Department also is responsible for the bathroom tiles in gradated colors which decorated all the original baths in TheCommodore. They also designed Seelbach Hotel's Rathskeller in downtown Louisville.

Rookwood Pottery is considered world-wide, the finest ceramics America has ever produced. Examples have garnered exceptional prices at auction. In 1980, 100 years after its founding, a piece of Rookwood pottery sold for $23,000 at an auction at Christie's in New York, setting a world record price for pottery!

Rookwood faience are many times marked with the familiar reversed R joined to a P but larger P and the sequence 3076Y and J291, and without flames, and/or a shape number and/or letter. The bottom of The Commodore’s jar has the reversed R and P466. We hope everyone enjoys this treasure of Commodore history and treats this, as well as all our antiques with care.