Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Children sledding, 1951
Children sledded down a hill on Patterson Street in Lexington in February 1951. During a record cold snap that hit Lexington, the temperature went as low as minus 15 degrees. The brutal cold was part...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Purcell’s department store, 1967
Purcell’s department store at 320 West Main Street in downtown Lexington on Nov. 5, 1967. Purcell’s, which opened in 1887 as a 5-and-10 called the Racket Store, originally was on the north side of West...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Crowd at Union Station for Dewey’s visit, 1948
A crowd gathered outside Union Station on Oct. 12, 1948, to greet New York Gov. Thomas E. Dewey, the Republican nominee for president. The downtown train station was at what is now the corner of East...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Rupp Arena construction, 1974
Aerial photo of downtown Lexington on Nov. 23, 1974. Main Street runs vertically in the middle of the photo. Rupp Arena is shown under construction near the lower right corner.
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ades-Lexington Dry Goods building
An undated photo of the Ades-Lexington Dry Goods Co. building, 249 East Main Street. In 1977, the Ades family discontinued the dry goods business, and the building became a warehouse. The site is now...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vietnam War protest, 1970
University of Kentucky students protesting the Vietnam War marched down Main Street in Lexington on May 6, 1970, after being forced off their own campus en route to Transylvania Univesity, where they...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Main Street downtown Lexington, 1945
The 100 block of East Main Street in downtown Lexington at Limestone, May 1945. That corner, once dominated by the Phoenix Hotel, is now the site of Phoenix Park, the Central Library and Park Plaza...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Downtown Lexington, 1974
Aerial picture of downtown Lexington, looking from the east, October 1974. At the top, just above the Fayette County Courthouse, is early construction of Rupp Arena. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
View ArticleClik here to view.
3-D movie at the Strand Theatre, 1953
The Strand Theatre in Lexington drew record crowds in February 1953 for the world’s first full-length, full-color 3-D movie, Bwana Devil. The theater, at 153 East Main Street, opened in 1915 and closed...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Meyers building, 1985
The Meyers building in downtown Lexington, at East Main Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard, on Feb. 17, 1985. For 15 years, it was a men’s and women’s fine clothing store. The Meyers building...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kentucky Theatre, 1952
Patrons lined up to watch The Big Sky in October 1952 at the Kentucky Theatre on Main Street in downtown Lexington. The Big Sky, an American Western based on the novel of the same name, was written by...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lyndon Johnson at funeral of Kentucky senator, 1951
From left, U.S. Sens. Dennis Chavez (D-N.M.), Ernest W. McFarland (D-Ariz., the Senate majority leader) and Lyndon B. Johnson (D-Texas, the Senate majority whip) talked during the funeral for Sen....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Van Halen concert at Rupp Arena, 1988
Sammy Hagar, lead singer for Van Halen, during a Sept. 30, 1988 concert at Rupp Arena. Hagar took over lead vocal chores for Van Halen after David Lee Roth left the band in late 1985. At the time of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mitchell Baker Smith department store, 1965
The Mitchell Baker Smith Co., 230 West Main Street in downtown Lexington, October 1965. At the time of this picture, the department store, which billed itself as “Lexington’s leading department store,”...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Goodyear blimp flies over Lexington, 1980
A Goodyear blimp flew over the Fayette County Courthouse on Aug. 18, 1980. Goodyear flew its first airship on May 24, 1917, and has flown blimps ever since. The 1980 World Series was the first to be...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Downtown Lexington, 1972
Aerial picture of downtown Lexington on Aug. 27, 1972. Running horizontally is West Vine Street. Just above the center of the photo is the Fayette County Courthouse, which is now empty. The left side...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Midsummer Night’s Run, 1990
The start of A Midsummer Night’s Run, Aug. 18, 1990, in downtown Lexington. The 5K race, sponsored by Baptist Health Lexington, has been an annual summer event since the inaugural race in 1985, when...
View ArticleClik here to view.
V-J Day celebration in Lexington, 1945
A group of teenagers piled on a car in downtown Lexington on Aug. 15, 1945, during Victory over Japan Day or Victory in Japan Day, more commonly known as V-J Day. It marked the end of World War II and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
East Main Street, downtown Lexington, 1956
Two-way traffic on East Main Street in downtown Lexington, looking east, in May 1956. The building at upper right is the Lafayette Hotel. It closed in 1963, and the building now houses the offices of...
View Article