Tag: Fayette

Regional Look to Blue Grass Trust’s 11 Endangered List

Photographs of Select Sites on the Blue Grass Trust’s Eleven in Their Eleventh Hour List

Each year, the Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation assembles a list of historic central Kentucky properties which are threatened. For the 2015 edition of the “Eleven in Their Eleventh Hour” list, the BGT has looked primarily beyond Fayette County to sites across 11 central Kentucky counties.

The list of counties largely resembles those included in the 2006 World Monument Fund’s designation of the Inner Bluegrass Region. The Blue Grass Trust included Madison County on its “11 Endangered List” while omitting Anderson County. All Kentucky counties, however, have “at risk” structures and deserve the attention of preservationists.

The BGT’s list is a great step toward recognizing that preservation can and should occur throughout Kentucky and not only in our urban cores. The 14 structures within the 11 counties also reflect that theme.

According to the BGT, “the list highlights endangered properties and how their situations speak to larger preservation issues in the Bluegrass. The goal of the list is to create a progressive dialogue that moves toward positive long-term solutions. The criteria used for selecting the properties include historic significance, lack of protection from demolition, condition of structure, or architectural significance.”

The sites are listed below.

Bourbon County – Cedar Grove & John T. Redmon House 

Both Cedar Grove and the Redmon House are architecturally significant houses from the early 19th century. The circa 1818 John & John T. Redmon House has a steep roof more often found in Virginia than Kentucky and has lost its original one-story wings. Though both buildings are vacant, they have undergone partial renovations recently and the BGT believes these structures could be still restored.

Boyle County – Citizens National Bank & Dr. Polk House

Mostly empty for two-plus years, the Citizens National Bank building at 305 West Main Street in Danville was built in 1865 with a double storefront that housed First National Bank of Danville and a drug store. Bank-owned and listed for sale, a demolition (or partial demolition) of this structure could affect adjacent structures with which the building shares walls.  Dr. Polk House at 331 South Buell Street in Perryville sits across from Merchants’ Row and is arguably the historic landmark most in need of restoration in the downtown. Built in 1830 as a simple Greek Revival house with two chimneys and two front doors, the structure was purchased by Dr. Polk in 1850. A graduate of Transylvania University, he was the primary caretaker of wounded from the Battle of Perryville and his 1867 autobiography details the gruesome battlefield.

Dr. Polk House in Perryville, Kentucky. Photo courtesy of the BGT.

Clark County – Indian Old Fields 

Indian Old Fields in Clark County was the location of Eskippakithiki, the last known Native American town in what became Kentucky. Located on Lewis Evans’ 1755 map of Middle British Colonies, this highly important site was significantly impacted during construction of a new interchange (which opened September 2014) for the Mountain Parkway crossing KY 974 near the center of the Indian Old Fields.

The Kentucky Heritage Council noted in 2010 that “’Indian Old Fields,’ is a historic and prehistoric archaeological district of profound importance,” with 50 significant prehistoric archaeological sites identified within 2 kilometers of the interchange. These sites cover the Archaic Period (8000-1000 BC), Woodland Period (1000 B.C. -1000 AD) and Adena Period (1000-1750 AD), with several listed on the National Register of Historic Places. These include villages, Indian fort earthworks, mounds, sacred circles and stone graves. The site also has substantial ties to the famous Shawnee Chief Cathecassa or Black Hoof, Daniel Boone, and trader John Finley.

With the new $8.5 million dollar interchange now open, there are significant concerns that these sites with be under threat from pressure to further develop the area.

Fayette County – Modern Structures 

The Blue Grass Trust’s 2014 “Eleven in Their Eleventh Hour” focused on the historic resources at the University of Kentucky. Many of those included on the list (and most of those demolished) were Modern buildings designed by locally renowned architect Ernst Johnson. Research into Johnson’s work by the BGT and others such as architects Sarah House Tate and Dr. Robert Kelley was joined with education and advocacy programming focused on his architecture and legacy as a master of Modernism. This research and programming led to other efforts by the Blue Grass Trust, namely working to educate the public on the historic value of mid-century architecture.

In our continued education and advocacy effort surrounding these structures, the Blue Grass Trust lists Fayette County’s mid-century Modern architecture as endangered. Often viewed as not old enough or not part of the traditional early fabric of Lexington and surrounding areas, the Modern buildings of the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s are being substantially and unrecognizably altered or demolished. It is important to recognize that buildings 50 years of age are eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, a length of time deemed appropriate by the authors of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 for reflection on an era’s importance. Read more from the Kaintuckeean’s earlier post on the People’s Bank branch on South Broadway.

People’s Bank in Lexington. Photo by Rachel Alexander.

Franklin County – Old YMCA & Blanton-Crutcher Farm

Both the Old YMCA in downtown Frankfort faces potential demolition and the Blanton-Crutcher Farm in Jett are slowly deteriorating from neglect and both structures are worth saving. The 1911 Old YMCA at 104 Bridge Street in Frankfort, designed in the Beaux Arts style by a a Frankfort architect, was a state-of-the-art facility featuring a gymnasium, indoor swimming pool, bowling alley, meeting rooms and guest quarters. While a local developer is hoping to transform it into a boutique hotel, there is also a push by the city of Frankfort to demolish this structure. If saved, this could be a transformative project in our capital city. 

The Blanton-Crutcher Farm in Jett includes an architecturally and historically significant circa 1796 house built by Carter Blanton, a prominent member of the Jett farming community. In 1831, Blanton sold the farm to his nephew, Richard Crutcher, the son of Reverend Isaac Crutcher and Blanton’s sister, Nancy Blanton Crutcher. The 1974 National Register nomination for the farm notes: “The Crutchers were excellent farmers. Three generations of the family farmed the land and made improvements on the house until 1919 when the property was sold. It has remained a working farm with a large farmhouse, at its center, that has evolved over 180 years of active occupation.” In the 1880s, Washington Crutcher significantly increased the size of the house, turning it into the Victorian house that stands today (although the porches were removed due to deterioration and other modern features have been added).

Harrison County – The Handy House aka Ridgeway 

The Handy House, also known as Ridgeway, is located on US 62 in Cynthiana, KY. The nearly 200-year-old house was built in 1817 by Colonel William Brown, a United States Congressman and War of 1812 veteran. The farm and Federal-style house were also owned by Dr. Joel Frazer, namesake of Camp Frazer, a Union camp during the American Civil War. In the 1880s, the house underwent significant renovations by W. T. Handy, the owner from 1883-1916 and for whom the house remains named.

The Handy House checks almost every box when it comes to saving a structure: an architecturally and historically important house in good enough shape to rehabilitate, a listing on the National Register of Historic Places, qualification for the Kentucky Historic Preservation Tax Credit, and a group, the Harrison County Heritage Council and a descendant of the original owner, willing to take on the project. Unfortunately, the Handy House is jointly owned between the city and the county. County magistrates voted to tear it down, and the city opted not to vote on it with the hopes that the new council will come to a deal with the Harrison County Heritage Council, which has offered to purchase and restore the house as a community center. Read more from the Kaintuckeean’s earlier post on Ridgeway.

Jessamine County – Court Row 

Completed in 1881, Nicholasville’s Court Row is located right next to the Jessamine County Courthouse. Italianate in design and largely unchanged exterior-wise, Court Row is one of the most significant and substantial structures in downtown Nicholasville.

In a broad context, the listing of Court Row is a comment on the status of all the historic resources in downtown Nicholasville. Several threats exist that are culminating in drastic changes to the fabric of the town. Foremost, Nicholasville failed in 2013 to pass its first historic district, an overlay that would have encompassed the majority of the downtown and helped to regulate demolition and development. Then, within the past month, two historic structures were demolished, including the Lady Sterling House, an 1804 log cabin very close to the urban core. Additionally, Nicholasville is on the ‘short list’ for a new judicial center, the location of which has yet to be determined but will almost certainly have an effect on the downtown. Together, these threats present the potential for the loss of significant portions of Nicholasville’s charming downtown.

Madison County – Downtown Richmond 

Preservation has had a lot positive movement in Richmond. The Madison County Historical Society is active; the beautiful Irvinton House Museum is city-owned and the location of the Richmond Visitor’s Center; and the downtown contains a local historic district. Like most local historic districts (also known as H-1 overlays), though, the Downtown Richmond Historic District protects historic buildings and sites that are privately owned. That means that city- and county-owned sites are exempt from the H-1 regulations.

The potential damaging effects of this can already be seen. In February 2013, downtown Richmond lost the Miller House and the Old Creamery, two of its most historic buildings. Both were in the Downtown Richmond Historic District and on the National Register of Historic Places. Owned by the county, the buildings were demolished with the hopes of constructing a minimum-security prison on the site that would replicate the exterior façade of the Miller House, according to Madison Judge/Executive Kent Clark. There are several other historic sites in the urban core that are owned by either the city or the county, leading to worry about the state of preservation in Richmond’s downtown.

Mercer County – Walnut Hall

Built circa 1850 by David W. Thompson, Walnut Hall is one of Mercer County’s grand Greek Revival houses. A successful planter and native of Mercer County, Thompson left the house and 287 acres of farmland to his daughter, Sue Helm, upon his death in 1865. In 1978, Walnut Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places along with two other important and similar Mercer County Greek Revival houses: Lynnwood (off KY Highway 33 near the border of Mercer and Boyle Counties) and Glenworth (off Buster Pike).

The James Harrod Trust has notified the Blue Grass Trust that the house may be under threat of demolition, as it is owned by a prominent Central Kentucky developer known to have bulldozed several other important historic buildings.

Scott County – Choctaw Indian Academy 

Located in Blue Springs, KY, off Route 227 near Stamping Ground, the Choctaw Indian Academy was created in 1818 on the farm of Colonel Richard M. Johnson, who served as Vice President of the United States under Martin Van Buren (1837–1841). The Academy was created using Federal funding and was intended to provide a traditional European-American education for Native Americans boys. (It was one of only two government schools operated by the Department of War – the other being West Point.) Originally consisting of five structures built prior to 1825, only one building – thought to be a dormitory – remains. By 1826, over 100 boys were attending the school, becoming well enough known to be visited by the Marquis de Lafayette in 1825. The school was relocated to White Sulphur Springs (also a farm owned by Colonel Johnson) in 1831. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Read more about the site from the Kaintuckeean’s earlier post on the Choctaw Indian Academy.

Remaining structure of Choctaw Indian Academy. Photo by Amy Palmer.


Woodford County – Versailles High School 

 Located on the corner of Maple Street and Lexington Pike in Versailles, the Versailles High School is a substantial structure built in 1928. The building operated as a high school for 35 years before becoming the Woodford County Junior High in 1963, operating as a middle school until being shuttered in 2005. After 77 years of continuous operation, the building has been empty for nearly 10 years.

With no known maintenance or preservation plan, concern exists that the historic Versailles High School will deteriorate from neglect and, ultimately, be demolished.

You can learn more about the Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation on its website, www.bluegrasstrust.org.

150 Years at the University of Kentucky

Maxwell Place – Home of the University of Kentucky President. Author’s collection.

This week, the University of Kentucky is celebrating Founders Week. The annual occasion is more significant in this year which is the University’s sesquicentennial.

In 1865, James K. Patterson assumed a professorship at the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky. At that time, and through 1878, the college was a part of the larger Kentucky University.

Kentucky University, like many institutions of higher learning of the day, was founded in affiliation with a religious organization. Its College of the Bible evolved into a significant seminary for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). In 1878, theological differences caused the two schools to separate.

Kentucky University retained the campus in the Woodlands, but leased it to the State A&M College. The Woodlands campus was to the immediate west of Clay Avenue and would today be recognized as Woodland Park.
The cost of renting its campus, along with plummeting tuition numbers, sparked great concern in Frankfort for the face of the Commonwealth’s only public college. This was a big moment for the future of both Lexington and for what would become the University of Kentucky.


A bidding war began amongst a number of Kentucky communities vying to be the home of the only state college in Kentucky. Bowling Green made a strong bid and nearly stripped Lexington of its opportunity to be the home of two major institutions of learning—UK and Transylvania University.

Administration Building, ca. 1882. University Architect & Facilities Planning.

But the City of Lexington finally offered $30,000, plus its fifty-two-acre city park on the southern edge of town, to serve as the home of the state college. Fayette County added $20,000 to the effort to entice the legislature in Frankfort to keep the state college in Lexington. In 1880, the legislature made Lexington the permanent home of the state college.

For a number of years still, the school largely emphasized agricultural and mechanical studies. President Patterson continually added more and more liberal arts to the curricula. The shift from agricultural and mechanical studies to liberal arts was recognized by the state legislature in 1908, and the school was re-chartered as State University: Lexington, Kentucky. And in 1916, the University of Kentucky moniker was formally adopted.

Happy Birthday, UK! Festivities go on throughout the week, but the big shindig was on Monday with a convocation service featuring a keynote address by Brit Kirwan. Kirwan is the chancellor of the University System of Maryland and the son of former UK president A.D. Kirwan.

Author’s Lego interpretation of the Kirwan-Blanding residential complex at UK named, in part, for President Kirwan.
Author’s collection.

This post is based on an excerpt about the Lost Campus from LOST LEXINGTON, KY.

Lexington has dozens of well-restored landmarks, but so many more are lost forever. The famous Phoenix Hotel, long a stop for weary travelers and politicians alike, has risen from its own ashes numerous times over the past centuries. The works of renowned architect John McMurtry were once numerous around town, but some of the finest examples are gone. The Centrepointe block has been made and unmade so many times that its original tenants are unknown to natives now.

Where to purchase LOST LEXINGTON?

Lexington Landmark: St. Paul’s A.M.E. Church

Lexington, Kentucky has fifteen historic districts and two historic landmarks. One of these two local historic landmarks is the St. Paul A.M.E. Church on North Upper Street.

Prior to 1826, a small number of blacks worshipped at the predominately white Lexington Methodist Church which was located “on the north side of Church Street, between Limestone and Upper streets” in the “large two-story brick Methodist Church, built in 1822” according to Wright’s Lexington: Heart of the Bluegrass. In 1826, however, the Methodists congregation aided their black brothers and sisters in the acquisition of an “old stable on North Upper Street.”

That mission on North Upper Street would become, over time, the St. Paul AME Church. This historically black congregation meets in a building that was erected on the site of the original stable in 1826. Today, that structure is said to be the oldest continually used house of worship in Lexington. Over the years, it was expanded to meet the needs of the growing church body. Significant renovations and expansion projects occurred in 1850, 1877, 1906, and 1986.

This historic house of worship was the site of the Blue Grass Trust’s February 2015 deTour.

Scenes from St. Paul AME, including the steps that once served as a station on the
underground railroad. Author’s collection.

African Methodist Episcopal Denomination

In 1787, a former slave by the name of Richard Allen helped establish the AME Church in Philadelphia as it split from the Methodist Episcopal Church. Six years earlier, Allen had purchased his freedom. Allen, along with his the Rev. Absalom Jones, regularly worshipped at Philadelphia’s St. George’s ME Church.

The church had separated its colored congregants by having them seated around the room’s perimeter. One Sunday in 1787, Rev. Absalom Jones, however, began his prayers prior to the service closer to the sanctuary’s center. A sexton ordered Allen’s friend to get up and advising that Jones “must not kneel here.” Interrupting Jones’ prayers, the sexton persisted. Jones ultimately responded to the sexton   that he ought to “wait until prayer is over, and I will get up and trouble you no more.”

After the conclusion of their prayers, all of the congregants worshipping at St. George’s rose and departed the church. The moment is perceived as the beginning of the AME denomination.

Methodism in Lexington & the Beginning of St. Paul AME

The decade before, the ME Church began a mission in Lexington which ultimately would become what is today the First United Methodist Church on High Street. By 1803, the congregation had 47 white and 30 black members.

By 1820, several black members sought their own separate house of worship and a mission of Hill Street ME Church was started in a brick stable on North Upper Street. Six years later, the St. Paul ME Church was formally established and the deed to the stable was acquired a year later. In 1830, a small brick church was built (though a portion of the original stable remains in the extant church’s foundation).

The church began to grow both in numbers and in assets as additional property was acquired. Soon after the Civil War concluded, St. Paul (along with another 300 predominately black ME churches) withdrew from what was then known as the ME Church Conference of the South, or simply ME South).

Within a year, St. Paul affiliated with the AME Church. And for many years the church continued to grow and build.

A Pillar of the Community

St. Paul’s legacy extends far beyond its walls. During the era of slavery, the church functioned as a station on the underground railroad. Although not safely accessible today, a narrow twisting staircase behind the chancel rises to a small hidden room above the sanctuary which once served as a place of refuge for slaves on their way toward freedom.

Following the Civil War, the church hosted discussions about the education of black Kentuckians. Members of St. Paul AME helped organize both the Colored Orphan Industrial Home and the Phyllis Wheatley YWCA. An 1885 assembly at St. Paul AME on the subject of black education led toward the creation of what became Kentucky State University.


The Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation hosts a monthly deTour for young professionals (and the young-at-heart). The group meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. Learn more details about this exciting group on Facebook! You can also see Kaintuckeean write-ups on previous deTours by clicking here.

TONIGHT: BGT deTour of St. Paul A.M.E. Church

Lexington’s St. Paul AME Church. Photos by M. Sloan, arr. by W. Rhorer.

This month’s Blue Grass Trust deTours program is tonight, Wednesday, February 4! It will feature one of two Lexington landmarks as designated by the city: St. Paul AME Church at 251 North Upper Street.

St. Paul AME moved to this location in 1820, when they began renting a stable on the site. In 1827, the congregation purchased the stable and surrounding lot for $280. Significant updates to the lot and building occurred in 1850, 1877, 1906, and 1986. It is believed that asection of the original stable is thought to be in the basement. And the church was also a stop on the Underground Railroad!

The event is free and open to the public. deTourians begin gathering at 5:30 pm, and the tour starts at 5:45 pm. A social AfterHour will follow at the Atomic Cafe, 265 North Limestone.

Parking is available along Third Street or in the parking lot at the corner of Upper and Mechanic Streets. On Facebook? Let your friends know you’ll be at the deTour and encourage them to come, too! Just click through on the event below and say “I’m Going!”

(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));

Post by Kaintuckeean.

Pearson’s Parody of Centrepointe

Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the afternoon and the weekend. If you are planning on watching the Super Bowl, you can read my thoughts on #deflategate here. (Go Seahawks!)

But in downtown Lexington, I’m admiring the blue skies, cool temperatures, and the stoic cranes that have stood o’er Centrepointe for weeks.

A reader recently sent me a link to his drawings and song about Centrepointe, “Trouble with Bubbles.” Published in May 2014, the song is about “urban development in a southern town.”

With that, enjoy Rolf Pearson’s “Trouble with Bubbles” …
 

Mayor Gray: Lexington’s rich past will inform and inspire our future

Discussing Lost Lexington with Mayor Gray in City Hall. Mayor’s Office. 

In the nearly two and a half centuries since Lexington was
founded in 1775, this once–frontier
settlement has grown into a flourishing city of more than 300,000 residents. It
has produced some remarkable landmarks and people. These entrepreneurs,
intellectuals and civic leaders had the imagination and vision that helped make
Lexington what it is today: a city that embraces new ideas and innovation while
valuing its rural landscape and authentic past. … As Lexington continues to reinvent itself, it is the
city’s unique and rich past that will inform and inspire its future.

I was honored that Lexington’s Mayor Jim Gray penned the words to the foreword of my book, Lost Lexington. In a few paragraphs, he synopsed the entire text with those inspirational words for the future. Best of all, Mayor Gray wasn’t just paying lip service to historic preservation and a dynamic future for Lexington that honors its “unique and rich past.” His commitment was a hallmark of his first time as mayor and was on display yesterday during his State of the Merged Government Address (link to full text).

In Lost Lexington, I focused on the landmarks that once stood in and around Lexington. Those landmarks, however, are gone. I hoped that the book would encourage us to realize the history that was lost and do something about the threatened historical places that are still around.

The dome of the Old Courthouse in Lexington.
Author’s collection.
During his Address, Mayor Gray discussed Lexington being the best city. He said that “being the best means honoring and preserving our history.” 
He went on to deliver a plan for the historic old courthouse in Lexington’s core that has been shuttered since 2012: “In 2014 the City shored up the critical needs of the foundation. This year we will be taking steps to save the building. The courthouse needs to be imaginative, innovative and functional … a gravitational pull that will attract citizens and visitors. The courthouse will have an assessment report in the next few weeks and then in February and March we will host a series of public meetings to get the Community’s input. And I will include funding for the first phase in my budget address in April.”
He touched on other important projects, too. Like funding for the Town Branch Commons – a new linear park that would link the urban core to rural Fayette County. And he noted the heavy costs of having city hall in the old Lafayette Hotel. Relocating city hall to a more efficient location would be good for government and could allow private reinvestment into the structure that dates to the 1920s. 
These ideas are all good for Lexington. Mayor Gray is right to do these things and I hope the efforts are all successful. Because “being the best means honoring and preserving our history.”

6 Sites Recommended for the National Register (part 1)

Marianne Theatre (Bellevue), Lynn Acres Apartments (Louisville); and the
Charles Young Center (Lexington). Images from respective NRHP Applications.
Last week, the Kentucky Historic Preservation Review Board approved six sites for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, nominations which will now be forwarded to the National Park Service (NPS) for final determination of eligibility. A decision on designation will be rendered within 60 to 90 days.

The sites were:

  • Marianne Theater in Campbell County; 
  • Charles Young Park and Community Center in Fayette County; 
  • Lynn Acres Apartments in Jefferson County;
  • Louisville, Gas & Electric Co. Service Station Complex in Jefferson County; 
  • Hellman Lumber and Manufacturing Co. in Kenton County; and 
  • Elkhorn City Elementary and High Schools in Pike County. 

A summary about the first three is included below and the final three will be covered in a post tomorrow. But first a little bit about the National Register and the process for getting a property listed:

The National Register

Owners of National Register properties may qualify for state and/or federal tax credits for rehabilitation of these properties to standards set forth by the Secretary of the Interior, as certified by the Kentucky Heritage Council, or by making a charitable contribution of a preservation easement. National Register status does not affect property ownership rights, but does provide a measure of protection against adverse impacts from federally funded projects.

The National Register is the nation’s official list of historic and archaeological resources deemed worthy of preservation. Kentucky has the fourth-highest number of listings among states, at more than 3,300. Listing can be applied to buildings, objects, structures, districts and archaeological sites, and proposed sites must be significant in architecture, engineering, American history or culture.

And now for the properties …

Marianne Theatre

Marianne Theatre Marquee. NRHP Application.

This Bellevue, Kentucky, theatre was designed by Registered Architect Paul B. Kiel in 1941 in the Art Deco and Moderne Style. It was built by owner-manager Peter L. Smith in 1942 in the center of the 600 block of Fairfield Avenue in Bellevue, Kentucky. Already on the National Register as part of the Fairfield Avenue Historic District, the property is being indvididually listed to draw additional attention to it.

There once were over 60 neighborhood theaters in northern Kentucky and the Marianne was one of the finest.

Charles Young Park and Community Center

Charles Young Center. NRHP Application.

Across the street from Lexington’s Isaac Murphy Memorial Garden stands the Charles Young Park and Community Center. This part of Lexington’s East End is undergoing a renaissance and the Charles Young facilities stand to be a landmark in this change.

The park has been owned by the city since 1930 and the one-story brick veneered side-gable community center is an icon of Third Street. During Jim Crow-era Kentucky, segregation dictated separate community facilities for blacks. According to the nomination, the “Charles Young Park provides an important physical and spatial indication of the existence of the East End community, and the importance that a public place holds for any community— for recreation and civic gathering.”

Lynn Acres Garden Apartments

Circa 1950 Aerial of Lynn Acres. NRHP Application.

The 66 two-story apartment buildings in Louisville’s southside were constructed between 1947 and 1950. The complex includes a variety of 12-, 8-, and 4-plex units with greenspace behind each structure intended for children’s play but which is now used by many residents for gardening.

The brick construction and side-gabled roofs had architectural attention in their design – a rarity in today’s residential apartment design. But perhaps the layout of the buildings deserves the most attention as the green space between them and the connected streets are key to good community design.

The other 3 sites nominated by the Heritage Council will be discussed tomorrow on the Kaintuckeean.

Lexington’s First Airport was at Halley Field

The entrance to the Meadowthorpe neighborhood. Author’s collection.

Last month, a historic marker was dedicated at the Lexington intersection of Leestown Road at Boiling Springs Drive. The spot marks the entrance to Lexington’s first true subdivision: Meadowthorpe.

In a chapter on the Bluegrass region in Lost Lexington, I mentioned the Meadowthorpe neighborhood and the historic airport. From Lost Lexington: 

In the early 1950s, Lexington’s first true subdivision was developed off Leestown Road. The subdivision was named Meadowthorpe, after the large residence associated with the equine stock–farm that once operated there. The area was also once the site of Lexington’s first municipal airport, Halley’s Field. It was here that Charles Lindbergh secretly arrived to visit his friend in 1928. Despite an attempt at secrecy for Lindbergh’s visit, word spread of the famous aviator’s arrival and three thousand witnessed the challenging takeoff from the open field that was bounded by both tree and telephone wires. Subdivision of the farm and the erection of houses at Meadowthorpe began in late 1949, with the subdivision’s first homes being constructed from the limestone fences that once dotted the farm’s landscape. At the time, living in Meadowthorpe was still considered “rural living.”

Historic marker of “Lexington’s First Airport” at Meadowthorpe. Author’s collection.

The historic marker, #2440, offers this history:

Halley Field, Lexington’s first municipal airport, was located on Meadowthorpe Farm, owned by Dr. Samuel Halley. Although aircraft landed here as early as 1921, it officially opened May 28, 1927 and was dedicated June 10, 1927. World-famous aviator Charles Lindbergh landed here on March 28, 1928. Over.

(Reverse) Halley Field hosted air circuses, air shows, flight training, sight-seeing tours and small airlines. It reverted back to farmland in 1934 and became a subdivision in 1949. Meadowthorpe Farm included a two-story Greek Revival house, later purchased and enlarged by Col. James E. Pepper, distiller and owner/breeder of Thoroughbreds.

This post includes an excerpt from Lost Lexington, Kentucky.

Lexington has dozens of well-restored landmarks, but so many more are lost forever. The famous Phoenix Hotel, long a stop for weary travelers and politicians alike, has risen from its own ashes numerous times over the past centuries. The works of renowned architect John McMurtry were once numerous around town, but some of the finest examples are gone. The Centrepointe block has been made and unmade so many times that its original tenants are unknown to natives now.
Click here for details on author events and purchase info!

A deTour of Temple Adath Israel TONIGHT

Lexington’s first Jewish congregation was and is the Temple Adath Israel. It was established formally in 1904 “for the purpose of religious services, a Sabbath school and other matters pertaining to the moral elevation among the Jewish people of Lexington and Central Kentucky.”

Temple Adath Israel is affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism. According to reformjudaism.org, that movement of Judaism aims “to introduce innovation while preserving tradition, to embrace diversity while asserting commonality, to affirm beliefs without rejecting those who doubt, and to bring faith to sacred texts without sacrificing critical scholarship.”

Tonight at 5:30 p.m. the Blue Grass Trust’s deTours program will host its monthly event at Temple Adath Israel’s historic sanctuary which is located in Lexington at 124 North Ashland Avenue. Specific event details are available at www.facebook.com/BGTdeTours or by calling the BGT office at (859) 253-0362.

The congregation first met in 1903, before charter in “a rented lodge hall on short Street in downtown Lexington, where a dozen of the it’s most prominent Jewish residents met to hold services, listen to the lecture of a visiting rabbi, and set in motion the establishment of a new congregation” according to the book The Synagogues of Kentucky. The congregation constructed and began worshiping in a synagogue on Maryland Avenue in 1904 in what was the first physical synagogue in Lexington; that structure is still standing.

Temple Adath Israel Sanctuary prior to remodeling. UK Libraries.

The only physical sign that the Maryland Avenue synagogue was a Jewish house of worship was “nothing more than a wooden sign near its door.” That sign has been on display at the Ashland Avenue synagogue since the congregation relocated to the location in 1926.

Sanctuary of Temple Adath Israel, ca. 2014. Author’s collection.

The Ashland Avenue facilities were expanded in 1950 and 1955, but those additions were removed when the entire complex was remodeled in 1984. At that time, the sanctuary was also partially remodeled with changes including the removal of the old pipe organ.

The congregation and its members have played a vital role in Lexington’s growth as well as our community’s commercial and spiritual activities.

We hope to see everyone tonight at the Blue Grass Trust deTour which begins at 5:30. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/BGTdeTours or call the BGT office at (859) 253-0362.

Support the Fayette Courthouse … TONIGHT

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

That’s the approach my grandfather took when tackling a big problem. And that’s the approach that Lexington will need to take in order to save the historic 1898 courthouse in the heart of Lexington.

It is time to take a bite and a step toward preservation of this important structure which served as the center of Fayette County’s governance for over a century.

The Lexington-Fayette UCG is requesting a $200,000 grant from the EPA’s Brownfields Program.
Brownfields are “real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant” according to the EPA’s website.

The old courthouse, as has been well-documented and reported since the building’s public closure in 2012, contains a significant amount of lead-based paint, mold, asbestos, and guano (bird poop).

The city’s Division of Historic Preservation describes the old courthouse as a “property of extreme importance architecturally and/or historically.” There can be no doubt: the 1898 courthouse is significant and worthy of being preserved and restored. I don’t know what the ultimate use for this important structure will be, but nothing can be done unless and until the property is cleaned up and stabilized. Obtaining funds from the EPA Brownfields Program is a crucial step toward accomplishing the goal.

I was quite honored to read that much of the building’s history that was contained in the Brownfield Application references The Kaintuckeean‘s March 1, 2012 post.  If you are unfamiliar with the courthouse’s links to Tibetan palaces and the Canterbury Tales, then you should click through and read the history.

But here’s what you can do to help the grand old courthouse: Show your support for the Grant Application. In person, come tonight at 5:30 p.m. (December 1) to the public meeting (they are accepting public comment) to the third floor Phoenix Building conference room, 101 East Vine Street. Online, you can make your public comments (or statement of support) by sending an email to [email protected].

And for more details about Brownfields Application, visit www.LexingtonKY.gov/brownfields.