February 17, 2025
The Springs Motel on Feb. 6, 1985. The motel opened in 1948 with 68 rooms on Harrodsburg Road, which was a two-lane road at the time. Across the road from the motel was a farm that would later become Turfland Mall. Even as newer hotels and motels were built, because of its proximity to Keeneland, the Springs remained popular with people in the horse industry when they came to town. The dining room was popular for its hot Browns, prime rib, fried chicken and Southern-style green beans. It was renamed the Springs Inn in the 1980s, and it closed on Nov. 23, 2008. The landmark motel was razed the next year. A CVS drugstore, a McDonald’s and a Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers restaurant were built on the site. Click here to see an aerial image from our archives of the hotel in 1962. Photo by Ron Garrison | Staff