High above the Ohio River’s big southern b/files/storyimages/lies New Albany’s historic Silver Hills neighborhood. Long before it was settled at the turn of the 20th century, Shawnee Indians camped here. In the early 1800s, naturalist John J. Audubon tramped its slopes sketching birds. Later in the century, its commanding river view attracted week/files/storyimages/sightseers, who came for hiking, bike riding and outdoor concerts. In fact, Indiana’s first interurban railway opened in May 1892 to shuttle residents and visitors a mile and a half up the hill from central New Albany.
Today, Silver Hills retains many traces of its past, from its narrow, meandering streets and mature trees to its charming old homes, such as the limestone-veneered Queen Anne owned by Dr. Al Knable and his wife Jessica. The Knables’ purchase of the three-story, 5,000-square-foot home in 2004 was actually the culmination of a boyhood dream for Al, who grew up in the neighborhood.
The poolside panorama. 
The kitchen-adjoining hearth room, converted from a breakfast alcove. 
Limestone eagle medallions and an old coach step at the front gate.
Jessica tells the story. "Al used to ride his bike by here as a little kid. It was his dream house. We were living in Dayton, Ohio, at the time and his friends told us the house was for sale. However, we were outbid and gave up on it," she recalls. "Later, after we moved back to Louisville and were living in Indian Hills, we heard again that it was for sale. But it really wasn’t. The woman living here was a realtor and had leaned a ‘For Sale’ sign up against the fence while she was cleaning up the garage. Al says, ‘Anything’s for sale if the price is right,’ and we were able to negotiate a price and buy it."
Al has always been intrigued with older homes. "I like the thought of generations living here before me," he says. "We are the sixth owners of this house, since it was built in 1892." According to his research, a Civil War veteran who made his fortune in the hardware business bought the land and built the home for about $5,000. Originally wood-sided, the house received its stone veneer sometime around the turn of the century using stone quarried nearby and brought up the hill by mule. Since that time, not much has changed, he observes. "I’ve seen a photo dated 1910 and everything looks remarkably similar."
The Knables’ first order of business before moving in was to fence the pool to protect their four young children. They chose wrought-iron fencing that was in keeping with the home’s period style but would not obscure the view. After moving in, they went to work on the yard, which was seriously overgrown. Pitting and settling had occurred in the original sidewalks, retaining walls and limestone veneer, and the front gate’s stone columns were bowing. "They were built without footers and were leaning," Al recalls. "We hired a stonemason to straighten them, and he also added the decorative limestone eagle medallions. They came off a federal building in Philadelphia; the stone is a remarkably good match with the columns."
A spruced-up former potting shed. 
The living room’s riverboat mural. 
The 114-year-old hilltop home. 
The renovated kitchen.
Indoors, the house was in good condition. Jessica’s only major concern was the kitchen and adjoining breakfast room. "Al likes to cook and he wanted a gas stove, but we had no way to vent it since it was in the island in the middle of the room," she says. Their contractor, Jerry Keys, came up with an innovative solution: create a soffit on the ceiling to hide the necessary ductwork for a commercial-sized ventilation hood. Keys also gave the kitchen a new look without replacing the black painted cabinets. New granite countertops, a new stone sink and faucet, antique-style cabinet hardware, and a granite and travertine tile backsplash give the kitchen a warm, homey feel. The island was also enlarged to include a step-up bar for seating and butcher-block counters on either side of the new gas cooktop.
Keys also overhauled the adjoining breakfast room, turning it into a cozy hearth room. "The area was really too crowded for a table large enough for a family of six, so we decided to use the dining room for family meals and turn the breakfast room into a comfortable spot to read the paper and drink coffee," Jessica says. A gas-burning heat stove was replaced by a faux-stone corner fireplace with raised hearth. Then Jessica furnished the area with two overstuffed black leather wingback chairs and a copper-topped coffee table. "It went from being my least favorite room in the house to my favorite," she says.
A swinging door leads into the unusually shaped dining room, which features deep red walls, an angled fireplace, a built-in china cabinet and hand-painted eagle and patriotic motifs around the bay window. The room accommodates an eclectic bl/files/storyimages/of furnishings dating from the Victorian era to the 1960s. Antiques include the pink Victorian settee and matching chairs in the window bay, a small secretary-style desk and a restored grandfather clock. The crystal chandelier over the table is at least 50 years old, says Jessica. "We know it was here because there’s a story about how a former owner was having her friends to lunch, and the children were bouncing around upstairs and dust fell off the chandelier onto her dining room table."
An open archway separates the dining room from the living room, which features a sinuous sectional sofa, grand piano and a period-style mural of a riverboat scene. On the staircase, a vintage postcard titled "Residences on Highest Point on the Knobs" includes a view of the Knable home. Also framed are note cards that depict points of interest in Silver Hills, including the Knables’ carriage house and the steps leading down to the interurban line. According to Al, traces of those steps can still be found beneath the terrace overlook in the back yard.
Glenda Krauss of Glenda’s Wall to Wall Art painted the murals that adorn the bedroom walls. "We were lucky to find her," says Al. "We actually let our kids tell her exactly what they wanted in their rooms. She has a knack for taking what you want and bringing you into the creative process."
Nine-year-old Clair’s room features a pond scene. On a dormer ceiling in the third floor bedroom shared by six-year-old Harrison and four-year-old Elias is an aquarium mural. Two-year-old Nolan’s room features a trompe l’oeil train, a chair rail of red and blue track, and a hand-painted chalkboard titled "2004 Boilermaker Express." "We picked the theme because Al is a Purdue graduate and we thought trains might be something Nolan would like even as he got older," Jessica explains.
Living high atop Silver Hills gives the Knables exactly what they wanted — a sense of history and a safe place to raise their kids. Plus, they get a spectacular view of the fireworks during Thunder Over Louisville and Independence Day celebrations. "We don’t have to go anywhere; our friends come here," Al says. "We get spoiled."
