The placement of large parking areas in the middle of each block in downtown Covington was an innovation back when it was done in laying out the town in 1813. The areas were originally to park oxen and wagons in back of the stores instead of on the street in front of the places of business.
Over the years, they have been incredibly convenient and for a time were incredibly controversial as lawsuits erupted over the actual ownership of the ox lots and what to do with private buildings that had been built on them as time passed. Here is some information on those ox lots.
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