Author: thekaintuckeean

The Temptations. Count Basie and his Orchestra. Duke Ellington. Ella Fitzgerald. All played in Lexington; all at the Lyric Theater. The corner of Third and Walnut Streets (now Third and Martin Luther King) was the center of much of Lexington’s best entertainment for the better part of the early twentieth century.

But the Theater closed in 1963 and fell into disrepair (as did much of Lexington’s east end). Although it has often been targeted for demolition, the city has finally OK’d the renovation of the Theater to create a community center, a smaller theater and multi-purpose space. The renovation is projected to cost $9 million and the funds will come from a public-private partnership. The Lyric is scheduled to re-open in September 2010 and talks and meeting with New York City’s Lincoln Center promise a return of jazz excellence to Lexington’s east end.

I like to imagine this theater at its heyday, when one of my old neighbors would have played within those walls. Clarence “Duke” Madison called Lexington home from the late 1940s until he passed in 1997, and I still remember the sweet sound of his saxophone stirring sweaty summer nights. The sounds filled the night.

Although Duke may never play again in Lexington, I hope that Lexington can again host music’s best.

In 1854, David Sayre founded the Transylvania Female Institute to promote the education of women in “the widest range and highest order.” Renamed Sayre Female Institute a year later, the school has since 1942 been a co-educational public-school alternative named Sayre School.

Names are important at Sayre. The school does not have a cafeteria; it has “The Buttery.” It does not have a grade school and a high school; it has the Lower School, the Middle School and the Upper School. Between its three schools, the campus hosts over 600 students. The school has recently gone through a multi-million dollar renovation and has expanded its campus along the North Limestone corridor.

One of many “Spartans” to pass through Sayre’s halls is Kentucky Wildcat super-fan and actress, Ashley Judd.

Since Lexington was first laid out, many roads have changed their name. Walnut Street has become Martin Luther King Blvd. Cross Main Street is now Broadway. Winslow Street is now Euclid (though one block of Winslow Street remains, between Limestone and Upper).

My favorite is Limestone Street. Originally called Limestone Street because it was the road heading north to the Ohio River town of Limestone (now Maysville). In an attempt to create a softer and more Victorian name, Limestone Street was renamed Mulberry Street.

According to some accounts, many disliked this name as not being helpful for directional purposes. In time, the street was renamed Limestone Street. Remaining vestiges of the “Mulberry Street” era are many maps, a historic district (Mulberry Hill includes North Limestone from Salem Alley to Fifth Street) and the shop pictured above that curiously takes its name out of history.

Bounded by Lexington’s Third, Mill, Second and Market Streets is Gratz Park. On its grounds once stood the Transylvania Seminary, which moved north across Third Street to its present-location. Remaining in the park from the days of the school is the Old Kitchen Building.

The park also contains “The Fountain of Youth,” a statue gifted to the “children of Lexington” by author James Lane Allen. The cities old library, a Carnegie, remains on the south end of the park and operates as the Center for Literacy. The park is named after Lexington businessman Benjamin Gratz, whose home stands at the corner of Mill and New Streets. Some of the cities finest historical homes are in this neighborhood. It also serves as a public gathering place for art fairs and the annual Fourth of July Concert by the Lexington Philharmonic.

In 2000, the Kentucky Horse Park hosted an exhibit that was acclaimed worldwide: Imperial China (the art of the horse in Chinese history).

As a gift to the host city of Lexington, the Chinese city of Xi’an (and Shaanxi province) had shipped to Lexington (at Lexington’s $15,000 expense) a replica of an1,800 year old Han dynasty sculpture. The city placed it in a plaza across from city hall at Main Street and North Martin Luther King Blvd.

The Flying Horse is the official symbol of tourism for China and has become a fixture in downtown Lexington (except for the year that the leg broke and repairs cost the city $38,000).
Fear not: the horse should be fine. Seth Tuska, of Lexington’s Tuska Fine Art Studio and Foundry, did the repairs.

Lexington has four “sister cities.” The purpose of the relationship is to have strong cultural and economic ties, but I don’t think Lexington derives much benefit from these relationships. All of Lexington’s sister cities are considered to be Thoroughbred breeding centers in their respective countries, so there are certainly economic relations (if not direct benefits) between Lexington and her sisters.

Lexington’s first sister was Deauville, France (since 1957). Then came County Kildare, Ireland (1984) and Shizunai, Japan (1988, merging governments resulted in Shinhidaka being the sister city since 2006). Finally, Newmarket, England and Lexington became Sisters in 2003.
In the courthouse plaza, their lies a way-finding sign to Lexington’s sisters. Perhaps it should be my duty to visit them…

And another sign of relationship between Lexington and Deauville – a wonderful French restaurant (le Deauville) is located only a couple blocks north of the way-finding sign on North Limestone.

Lexington has a number of statues in the downtown area. Three utilize children as their figures; one is a water-fountain and one is a fountain. Each are unique

At the Sayre School on North Limestone, two children are playing leapfrog:

At the northern end of Gratz Park, a young boy shows a young girl his sailboat as they sit atop a rock. The statue is part of a fountain. It was a gift “to the city’s children” from 19th century author and Lexingtonian James Lane Allen.

In front of the old Fayette Courthouse stands Trois Enfants dans le Font, a useful statue of three children in the nude clutching a tree (which is topped by a light fixture). Beneath the children is a water fountain for adults and at ground level, “a drink for our friend.”