March 13, 2025
Brannon Crossing shopping center, 2005
Aerial view of the Brannon Crossing shopping center on Oct. 28, 2005, on U.S.27 at Brannon Road in Jessamine Count, just across the Fayette County line. Under construction at the center of the 94-acre shopping center is a Kroger grocery store. Toward the back is the AmStar 14 movie theater. Future development of the area included an extension of East Brannon Road, which would run toward the top of this photo and connects to a residential area. At the bottom, on the opposite side of U.S. 27, was King’s Gardens Garden Center. The business later moved, and the site is now a Cracker Barrel restaurant. Photo by David Stephenson | Staff
Gene Simmons, Kiss perform at Rupp Arena, 1979
Gene Simmons, bass guitarist and co-lead vocalist of Kiss, played in Rupp Arena on July 16, 1979. The tour was in support of the newly released album Dynasty. Simmons co-founded the band in January 1973. The rock band played Rupp Arena eight times from 1977 to 2000. Photo by Charles Bertram | Staff
B-25 Bomber at Blue Grass Field, 1942
A crowd gathered at Blue Grass Field on July 11, 1942, to watch the first airplane land on the paved runway of the new airport. The U.S. Army B-25 bomber was being flown from Meridian, Miss., to Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. Published in the Lexington Herald on July 14, 1942. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
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 televised from a Goodyear blimp. Photo by Charles Bertram | Staff
Somerset attorney Lester Burns, 1982
Attorney Lester Burns Jr., wearing sea turtle-skin boots, in his Somerset law office, Dec. 30, 1982. Burns, a onetime candidate for governor, was one of the state’s most colorful, best-known defense attorneys, but he went to federal prison in 1986 in a fraud case and gave up his law license. Burns died July 7, 2015. Photo by Charles Bertram | Staff
Lexington Vietnam Memorial, 1987
Workers placed Fayette County’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Central Park in 1987. The park has since been renamed Phoenix Park. Walter Christian, top left, M.E. Wilkerson, lower left, and Eddie Wilkerson of Kentucky Monument Service aligned one of the three black granite sections of the monument on January 6, 1987. The monument weighs about 9,000 pounds and contains the names of Fayette County’s 50 dead veterans or those missing in action. The memorial was dedicated on Jan. 10, 1987. The American Veterans Traveling Tribute Vietnam Wall, a 300-foot-long replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., will be at the Kentucky Horse Park July 8 to 12. Photo by David Perry | Staff
Junior League Horse Show, 1946
Box guests at the Lexington Junior League Horse Show in July 1946. From left, Mrs. Barckley Storey, Mrs. Thomas R. Underwood and Gov. Simeon S. Willis. Front row, first lady Ida Lee Willis. Governor Willis gave the opening address at the show. Published in the Lexington Leader on July 16, 1946. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
Princess Margaret visits Lexington, 1974
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, and Lord Snowdon visited Lexington on May 3, 1974. Margaret was the only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II and the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. She was often viewed as a controversial member of the royal family. Lord Snowdon was married to Princess Margaret from 1960 until their divorce in 1978. They had two children. The divorce earned her negative publicity, and she was romantically linked with several men. A heavy smoker all her adult life, she died in 2002. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
Fourth of July fireworks, 1982
In 1982, Lexington’s Fourth of July fireworks were at Masterson Station Park. Photo by E. Martin Jessee | Staff
American Legion parade, 1946
The State American Legion Parade took place on Lexington’s Main Street on July 8, 1946. In the background, top right, is the Strand Theatre, 153 East Main Street. It opened in 1915 and closed in 1974. Unpublished. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
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