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Current view of the Downtown
Commercial District, and historic view of Main Street at corner
of Main & Broadway (c1895)
Color photograph by Eric Thomason, courtesy of Blue Grass
Trust for Historic Preservation. Historic image courtesy of
Transylvania University Special Collections |
The Downtown Commercial District attests to Lexington's early
importance as a commercial center, and was the pre-World War II
commercial, financial, institutional and governmental center of
the city. This district was vital in the early years of Lexington's
history and again during the post-war boom of the 1950s. There
are many architectural styles represented in this district including
Victorian, Federal, Art Deco, Beaux Arts, and Richardsonian Romanesque.
The district contains several early, high-rise office buildings.
The earliest of these was the American Bank Building at the northeast
corner of Upper and West Short streets. Originally five stories
when it was built around 1900, two stories were added by 1905
and it became the tallest building in Lexington. At the easternmost
edge of this district on East Main Street stood the Ben Snyder
Shopping District. Most of the buildings in this block have been
demolished to make way for the new Fayette County Courthouse but
three buildings remain; Embry's Department Store Building, the
Lowenthal Building, and the Lexington Laundry Company, all excellent
examples of early 20th-century architecture. The Laundry Company,
built around 1929, is possibly the best example of Art-Deco architecture
in Lexington. The façade is composed of wheat-toned glazed tile
highlighted by stylized floral patterns. Plans are proposed to
incorporate these three buildings into an art center for the city.
1898 Lexington-Fayette County
Courthouse in Downtown Commercial District
Photograph by Eric Thomason, courtesy of Blue
Grass Trust for Historic Preservation |
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The Lexington-Fayette County Courthouse is also located within the
Downtown Commercial District. During Lexington's earliest days,
the area adjacent to the courthouse was known as Cheapside and served
as an important trading center for agricultural goods and horses.
"Court days" were held in Cheapside on the second Monday of each
month for many years. These "Court days" provided time for socializing
as well as business activities. Five courthouses have stood on this
site and the present courthouse was built in 1898. It is an excellent
example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture. Few changes have
been made to the exterior while minor changes, due to modernization,
have been made on the interior. On the courthouse lawn are statues
of Vice President John Cabell Breckinridge and General
John Hunt Morgan, both natives of Lexington. Although Lexington
has become suburbanized in recent years and most of the commercial
business done in Lexington has moved to the outer fringes of the
city, the Downtown Commercial District is slowly making a comeback
and continues to regain the prominence it once held in the city.
The Downtown Commercial District includes
the north side of East Main St. and Short St. between Broadway and Martin Luther
King Blvd. |