Nothing epitomizes Lexington more than Thoroughbred Park. Lexington is well-known as the horse capital of the world. There are more than 450 horse farms in the area. The massive layer of limestone has helped make Kentucky’s soil perfect for raising strong horses that can withstand the rigors of racing.
Dominating Courthouse Square is this Romanesque structure which served as the Fayette County Courthouse from 1900 to 2002. In 2016, the Courthouse was to be completely rehabilitated and adaptively reused. Today its become a restaurant bar, the city visitors center and a wedding event space.
Taking a glance at the skyline, the sidewalk clock of Skuller’s comes into view. The 14-foot timepiece was installed by the jewelry store owner back in 1913. . It was heavily damaged in a 1974 storm, taken down in 2010 during a downtown streetscape project and now repaired for reinstallation.
Within striking distance is Lexington’s tallest building, Lexington Financial Center. The blue tinted glass skyscraper was completed in 1987 and is 410 feet tall. It is home to financial institutions as well as law offices, real estate firms and insurance companies. My favorite feature of it is how the crown lights up with blue neon lights at night.
A city tour is not complete without a historic theater. Below is Kentucky Theater opened in 1922 in Beaux Arts and Italian Renaissance style. When it opened it was one of the 10 best theaters in the country. Only conspicuous thing about it is that it lacked a balcony and entertained white patrons only. During the Jim Crow era, theaters had to install balcony for African American patrons 😡
Next exhibit is a 1890 constructed stone and brick building. It was originally the Northern Bank building and used to look entirely different according to here. Its as if it used to have a spire and seemed like it housed many businesses in the ground floor like a barber shop and bicycle shop. Today it seems like a club that stays open until 2:30 AM on weekends.
Fittingly named Postmaster’s Pub was once the site of Lexington’s oldest standing former post office circa 1825.
Emblazoned on the Lexington Building are the words “Unlearn Fear and Hate” they come from a poem by Frank X. Walker, Kentucky’s first African American poet laureate. It was intentionally set overlooking Cheapside formerly auction block where enslaved African Americans were sold and traded, not only among Kentucky slave owners, but also to traders from the deep South slave markets of New Orleans, Mississippi and more. Today, the site serves as a public market and gathering space. After the civil rights protests in 2020 following George Floyd it was finally agreed in 2020 for the park to be renamed to Henry A. Tandy, a freed slave, moved to Lexington and became an important figure in the construction of many buildings in the area.
A cool area to check out is the Distillery District. It was the former home of the eponymous James E. Pepper Distillery built in 1879 along the Town Branch creek in downtown Lexington. It is believed that it was his grandfather that opened the first distillery in Kentucky and rumor has it that the that the Old Fashioned cocktail was invented in the Waldorf Astoria’s bar by James E. Pepper himself. After sitting vacant for almost 50 years after the distillery was shuttered in 1967, the property fell into the hands of a team of local entrepreneurs in 2008. They have revitalized the area and turned it into a local hotspot. Today, you’ll find two working bourbon distilleries including a resurrected James E. Pepper distillery, microbreweries, brewpubs, pizzeria and ice cream lounge.
Lastly I am going to leave you with a flat iron building because in my mind they qualify as landmarks. The Lexington Design Center ended up taking this shape due to being on a road adjacent to the C & O railroad tracks.
