November 2010

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.

The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library is the first of our nation’s presidential libraries, and it is the only presidential library ever used by a sitting president. FDR visited the Library often during World War II to sort and classify his records and memorabilia. From his study in the Library Roosevelt delivered several of his famous “fireside chats.”

Prior to Roosevelt, the final disposition of Presidential papers was left to chance. Part of the Presidential Library system of the National Archives and Records Administration, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum is committed to providing ready access to essential evidence that documents the rights of American citizens, the actions of Federal officials, and the national experience. The Library itself is built of Hudson Valley fieldstone in the style reminiscent of the local Dutch colonial architecture that FDR favored. He was intimately involved in the building’s design, which he had built with $376,000 in privately donated funds on a site adjacent to his home on his Hyde Park estate.

In 1892, the Flemish Renaissance Revival Mansion of Captain Frederick Pabst, world famous beer baron, accomplished sea captain, real estate developer, philanthropist and patron of the arts, was completed. From the day the house was inhabited, it was considered the jewel of Milwaukee's famous avenue of mansions called Grand Avenue and represented the epitome of America's Gilded Age Splendor in Milwaukee.

The Pabst Mansion is a testament to Pabst's success, his love of life and his German heritage.

The village is located in the heart of the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky. In 1775 a fort was established by Daniel Boone one-half mile west of present day Athens. The community of Cross Plains was founded in 1783 and renamed Athens in 1825 after the Kentucky General Assembly chartered the town. During the early 19th century the community boasted several manufacturing industries including a woolen factory as well as a bagging and rope factory. By 1860 all of the manufacturing buildings had been destroyed by fire. Local historian Robert Peter described why the buildings were not rebuilt in Athens: "Several destructive fires for so small a place have visited Athens during the course of its eventful career. In 1853-54 all the business houses on the south side of Main Street, west of the Cleveland pike were swept away in a single blaze. The buildings consumed were the Bledsoe Hotel, Harvey Nelson's dry goods store, John Donnally's store, a shoemaker's shop and a few dwellings." This description of the fires that destroyed the main part of the town attests to how large and thriving the community of Athens was in the early part of the 19th century.

The First Capitol site features two buildings used during the 1836 Territorial Legislative session. The first was the Council House where the legislators met. The second building was a lodging house for the legislators.

Both structures were eventually used as residences. The lodging house became the residence of territorial Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Dunn. Both were later converted to livestock barns. In 1910 the Wisconsin Federation of Women's Clubs began raising funds for the restoration of the buildings. In 1924 the Council House was moved to its current site and restored. In 1956 the lodging house was moved to the site and restored. During this time it was operated by the Department of Natural Resources. In 1994 the site became part of the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Waveland is considered one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in Kentucky. The home sits atop a small knoll surrounded by 200 acres of Bluegrass farmland. Joseph Bryan constructed Waveland in 1845 on a 2,000-acre tract of land "laid off" by his uncle and frontiersman, Daniel Boone. Washington Allen, a leading Lexington contractor of the day, was hired as builder and foreman of the project. Later members of the Bryan family made Waveland famous for its magnificent trotting horses.

The home contains 14 high-ceilinged rooms and spacious hallways. A monumental pedimented Ionic portico graces the façade. The main doorway is topped by a frieze which is a copy of the north entrance to the Erechtheum on the Anthenian Acropolis. The frieze is supported by pilasters and engaged Ionic columns. The facade is framed by brick pilasters and topped by a deep denticulated cornice.

Lexington's library has a long, distinguished history. Established in 1795, it is now the oldest institution of its kind in Kentucky and possibly the oldest in the west. The library was started with 400 books, which were added to the collection that already existed at the Transylvania Seminary. The library was based on subscription wherein people paid for the use of the library holdings. In 1898, Lexington was deemed a second-class city by the Kentucky Legislature and this classification enabled the city to acquire and conduct a free library.

The Carnegie Library, also known as the Lexington Public Library, was built in 1906 as a gift to the city of Lexington from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation. To receive its donation, the Carnegie Foundation required the city to provide a site for the library and to appropriate funds for the library's upkeep. The new building was constructed of Bedford limestone and was built for a sum of $75,000. Thereafter, the contents of the library were moved to their new home, a beautiful Neo-Classical building at the southern end of Gratz Park.

The Hunt-Morgan House, historically known as Hopemont, was built by John Wesley Hunt in 1814. Hunt was known as the first millionaire west of the Alleghenies and earned his fortune from the mercantile business shortly after Lexington was established. Other notable personalities have also resided at Hopemont. Hunt's grandson, General John Hunt Morgan, was a dashing general in the Confederate Army who gained the nickname "The Thunderbolt of the Confederacy" through his many raids and daring military feats. John Wesley Hunt's great grandson, Dr. Thomas Hunt Morgan, was born in the house in 1866. Dr. Morgan became famous for his work in genetics and is the only Kentuckian to have won the Nobel Prize. The Hunt-Morgan House is a Federal style residence with specific emphasis on the geometric phase of the period.

Mary Todd was not born at this house but moved here with her family in 1832 when she was 14 years old. For four years Mary attended boarding school during the week but returned home on the weekends. She continued to live at the West Main address until 1839, when she moved to Springfield, Illinois, to live with her sister, Mrs. Ninian Edwards. It was here that she eventually married a young lawyer named Abraham Lincoln in 1842.

The house was built c.1803-1806 as an inn and was called "The Sign of the Green Tree" before its purchase by the Todd family. A contemporary of Henry Clay and John Wesley Hunt, Robert S. Todd was a Lexington businessman and politician. Todd was the president of the Lexington Branch of the Bank of Kentucky and also served in the Kentucky General Assembly for 24 years. He was actively involved in the grocery business in Lexington as well as a cotton-manufacturing firm.

Lexington Cemetery was the first rural cemetery in Lexington, Kentucky. The burial ground was originally established in 1849 on 40 acres of land but the acreage was eventually increased to 170 acres. At the entrance to the cemetery is a Romanesque style gatehouse built in 1890. The cemetery also contains an arboretum and a wide variety of plants, shrubs, trees and flowers. There are also two large lakes that provide a home for ducks, swans, and other waterfowl plus hundreds of large goldfish. The Romanesque gatehouse was built in 1890, after the original Gothic gatehouse built by local builder John McMurty was torn down.