Author: thekaintuckeean

walkLEX: The Old Courthouse & Lexington History Museum

On my tour of the Old Fayette County Courthouse, my guide stopped to take pictures of children eating birthday cake. Whose birthday? The Lexington History Museum celebrates this month its sixth anniversary – happy birthday! During this busy day, I had the opportunity to walk and talk with Jamie Millard, the President of this great museum. Thanks to Jamie and the staff of the Museum for coordinating this tour on such a busy day!
The old Courthouse was finished in 1900 and is the fifth Courthouse to stand on the site. In the courthouse’s infancy, the the county required only one courtroom. But as dockets grew, room was made within the structure for additional courtrooms. By the 1950s, however, it was obvious that the courthouse was not sufficient absent significant change. A massive renovation of the building was done in the late 1950s.

Prior to the renovation, visitors inside the courthouse would have marveled at a grand staircase as they gazed up 107 feet to the dome ceiling. The dome, picture above, was painted a blue with dozens of lights which would have illuminated the dome – then one of Lexington’s tallest structures – and the surrounding area. The use of these electric lights in 1900 was groundbreaking; only Paris, France (the “City of Lights”) was using lightbulbs in such innovative ways. The lights would also have illuminated the beautiful interior – the carvings and paintings reminiscent of a 14th century Tibetan palace.

But during the renovations, the grand stairwell was removed and the dome sealed off. The area now below the dome is filled with HVAC and mechanical systems. Although I was disappointed that the remodeling done in the 1950s had hidden from view these great architectural attributes, Millard was quick to point out that this “adaptive reuse” resulted in the preservation of the building’s exterior. And it likely saved Lexington from having at its core a Soviet-era courthouse.

walkLEX will certainly visit the Lexington History Museum and the old Courthouse again – there is so much more to see.

walkLEX: Downtown Horse Fence


Bounded by Main, Upper, Vine and Limestone Streets lies a block of green grass and a four-rail fence. Fences like these dot the landscape of central Kentucky, but this rural landmark now appears in the heart of downtown Lexington.

The site was home to a block of buildings of varying degrees of historical importance, but with all needing significant inflows of time and money to be restored. In the end, the block was razed with the yet unfulfilled promise of a 40-story CentrePointe mixed-use development.

Regardless of its past or its uncertain future, this block (urban for 200 years) has returned for now to being undeveloped greenspace.

-Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

walkLEX: Statue of Gen. J. H. Morgan

John Hunt Morgan Statue
Statue of Gen. John Hunt Morgan  – Lexington, Ky.

In front of the old Fayette County Courthouse (now the Lexington History Museum) stands a statute of General John Hunt Morgan, the “thunderbolt of the Confederacy.” He is mounted upon his noble steed, Black Bess. Sculpted by Pompeo Coppini in 1911, the statue is the only monument in Kentucky of the Civil War with a soldier on horseback.

As the story is told, Coppini arrived from New York for the great unveiling of his work. With dignitaries present, it was exclaimed upon the falling of the curtain that “Black Bess got balls!”

You see, Black Bess was a mare but Coppini had thought it undignified. “No hero should bestride a mare,” he had explained. An anonymous poet later wrote:

So darkness comes to Bluegrass men —
Like darkness o’er them falls —
For well we know gentlemen should show
Respect for a lady’s balls

walkLEX: Courthouse Plaza Topiary

walkLEX is the newest section of The Kaintuckeean. It will catalogue some of the sights in downtown Lexington as experienced by the authors. walkLEX is different from the Kentucky120 Project and No Destinations in that each post will focus on a small component of downtown Lexington, rather than on a town or county. This first post, on a topiary in the courthouse plaza is the perfect example.


After Nate posted about the Fayette County courthouse, Martha asked about the ‘wire horse’ located in front of the Circuit Courthouse.

I can’t figure out who designed it, but this twelve-foot tall Horse Topiary was placed in the Robert F. Stephens Courthouse Plaza in April 2009 as Lexington prepares for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Sustainable plants and flowers are slowly taking over the topiary and it should be filled in by the time the Plaza is used during the Games.

World Equestrian Games 2010


UPDATE (9-25-2010): Photographed nearly a year to the day after my original photo, you can see that the topiary is not completely filled. Even so, it is a nice accent for downtown and all the Spotlight Lexington festivities.

No Destination: London

I intended to go to Powell County and to Stanton before returning home. But rather then turning in Livingston, I went straight. Oops. I discovered my mistake upon seeing the “Laurel County” sign.

The drive into London on US-25(S) is beautiful as you drive through the foothills of the Cumberland Mountains. I called a friend who now lives in London, hoping to stop in for a visit. As a result of my ill-timed phone call, I missed Camp Wildcat (which was the site of an 1861 Civil War skirmish). But that was OK as the plum tart was well worth it!

I will leave London to Nate and to the Kentucky 120 Project as the town was built around its Courthouses. The county courthouse looks older than it is. Even so, a new courthouse is under construction. There is an old federal courthouse, as well as a new one (pictured). Quite a judicial metropolis for a town of only 6,000 inhabitants.

I hope to visit Laurel County again to visit its non-London areas: the Cumberland Gap, the original KFC and the annual World Chicken Festival (which I missed by only two weeks!).

No Destination: Livingston

Of the three incorporated communities in Rockcastle County – Brodhead, Mt. Vernon and Livingston – Livingston was my favorite. And I don’t know why.

According to the 2000 Census, the population was 228. The old graded school was boarded up and over 1-in-4 persons live below the poverty line. Even so, the man sitting on the steps of the school spoke fondly of what the town once was. He recalled his years at the graded school fondly and how the community had once been vibrant. I discovered the following:

But Livingston has no hotel, no drug store or bank or any of these sundry establishments. There was a time when all these and more were present. Not one, but four hotels and numerous boarding houses catered to temporary residents. Not one, but two doctors tended human frailty. All that remain now are ghosts, faint echoes of a once-prosperous past when Livingston was a busy and exciting place to live. Livingston’s Main Street, at the heart of the town, is a place of padlocked doors and boarded windows, of burned and sagging buildings, of broken glass and rotting timbers and unswept dust.

The last source of pride was the Livingston Graded School, which served the community from 1927 to 1994. It closed in the wake of school consolidation and budget cuts as Kentucky sought to modernize its education system.

There is a memorial park in Livingston with a memorial to the Graded School, saying “Can’t Hide the Pride.” Hopefully, this community will again one day have a source of pride.

Also in this memorial park is a beautiful 9-11 memorial. Standing at about 12 feet tall, it is a complete surprise and worthy of being found in a community/town/city of any size. Because in Livingston, you cannot hide the pride.

No Destination: Mount Vernon

As the county seat of Rockcastle County, I anticipated too much of little Mt. Vernon. In truth, it is certainly not a fault of the people. Walking through downtown, I passed the closed (it was a Sunday) Tea Cup Cafe (pictured in the saloon-looking structure) as the owners were exiting. A short conversation revealed that they are working hard to increase the image of Mt. Vernon. The sidewalks need fixing and other downtown improvements are needed – but the good news is that members of this little community recognize and desire these improvements.

On one end of Main Street is the courthouse and new judicial center – which I will leave for Nate to discuss. It was, at best, disappointing (though none of the citizenry seemed to miss the old courthouse either). The town is named after George Washington’s Virginia home; the county after an observation by a hunting party that a rock in the area resembled a castle.

One destination missed on my sojourn is Rockcastle County’s most famous attraction: Renfro Valley. Located two miles north of Mt. Vernon, Renfro Valley is Kentucky’s Country Music Capital is the home to a popular entertainment center and the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame.

No Destination: Brodhead

Entering into the mountain region is simply breathtaking. Throughout the rest of the days’ drive, the scenery was beautiful.

The Rockcastle County community of Brodhead is the home of the Little World’s Fair. The Fair has been an annual event for over 100 years and is now a weeklong fundraiser for the Brodhead Volunteer Fire Department. A curve in the road, Brodhead is at the headwaters of the Dix River. Originally named Stigalls Station, the town was renamed in the late 1860s when it became a stop on the L&N Railroad.

I tend to do a little ‘Googling’ when posting about my travels, and I was surprised to find the following tidbit from Brodhead’s past: “Aug 10, 1993 – In Brodhead, Ky., a man who sat in a lawn chair guarding his marijuana field with an assault rifle was shot to death by police after a daylong standoff.” [And unlike Nate earlier this week in Campton, I felt perfectly comfortable in Brodhead.]