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| Cadets Parading along Main Street in 1914. Looking east from Main and Broadway, the buildings depicted are the site of the present-day Triangle Center. UK Libraries. |
One can easily get lost in the archives of a library’s special collections department, especially those of us who are self-professed “history geeks” or, more nicely put, have “history in our genes.” No matter how you want to label the history junkie, we are a breed that loves discovering new things from our past.
So when a library unveils a ‘new’ digital collection of dry plate, silver nitrate glass negatives dating mostly from ca. 1898-1918, we get a little excited. It takes awhile to sift through the new 3,854 items added to the University of Kentucky’s Special Collections, and I’m not near finished.
But there are some real gems in this glass negative collection that show special moments in the history of both the University of Kentucky and of Lexington. You can explore the entire collection by clicking here. A few gems I found follow.
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| A neighborhood battle of tug-of-war at the Clifton Pond, near site of UK’s W.T. Young Library. UK Libraries. |
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| The area around the Lincoln School, in Lexington’s Irishtown, ca 1912. UK Libraries. |
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| Students exercising at the Lincoln School in Lexington’s Irishtown, ca. 1912. UK Libraries. |
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| Broadway Christian Church, Broadway & 2nd streets, under construction, ca. 1918. UK Libraries. |
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| Soldiers ‘breaking camp’, ca. 1918, along Main Street. Buildings on opposite side of the street are the vacant Centrepointe block. UK Libraries. |
And a hat tip to Curiosities & Wonders, the blog of UK Libraries Special Collections, for updating us on the happenings in that most excellent of departments!