March 19, 2025
Southland Shopping Center, 1961
This aerial photo shows Lexington’s Southland Shopping Center in January 1961. Running up the middle of the picture is Southland Drive, and from left to right across the top is Harrodsburg Road. The farmland across the top would later be the site of Turfland Mall.
Christmas shopping, 1980
Dr. Howard Thompson and son Chad waited on Thompson’s wife, who was Christmas shopping in Lexington Mall on Dec. 23, 1980. Thompson said his wife was more than 35 minutes late to meet them as they waited on a bench near the entrance to the mall. Photo by Charles Bertram | Staff
Phone booth, 1981
A woman used a telephone booth in March 1981 on Richmond Road in Lexington. According to the Federal Communications Commission, that same year, the FCC set aside 40 MHz of spectrum for cellular licensing. By 1985, there were more than 340,000 cellphone subscribers in the United States. Twenty-five years later, in 2010, there were more than 300 million subscribers, and the once-ubiquitous phone booth was nearly extinct. Photo by Frank Anderson | Staff
Mistletoe post office, 1992
Postmaster A.B. Couch hand-canceled mail on Dec. 10, 1992, inside the Mistletoe post office in Owsley County. For 11 months a year, about 240 letters a month roll through this post office. But when Dec. 1 hits, it is swamped with at least 10,000 cards and letters. Like Christmas and Rudolph, Fla; North Pole, Alaska; Santa Claus, Ind.; and Snowflake, Ariz., Mistletoe is a sought-after postmark. The cancellation mark, a silhouette of two youngsters kissing under a sprig of mistletoe, was designed by Couch’s son, Wendell. The post office closed on Dec. 30, 1999. Photo by David Perry | Staff
Antioch Christian Church, 1986
The Rev. Jan Ehrmantraut talked to children during the Children’s Moment at Sunday morning worship service on Dec. 14, 1986, at Antioch Christian Church in Lexington. Photo by John C. Wyatt | Staff
Tayshaun Prince hits five consecutive treys vs. UNC, 2001
Tayshaun Prince made one his five consecutive 3-pointers to open a game against North Carolina on Dec. 9, 2001, in Rupp Arena. The senior electrified the home crowd with his five treys in the the first three minutes and 46 seconds of the game. Prince went on to make his first seven shots, six from three-point range, and eight of his first nine (seven of eight from three-point range). He finished with a career-high-tying 31 points in Kentucky’s 79-59 win. “He hit some ridiculous shots,” said Tar Heels Coach Matt Doherty, shown next to Prince on the UNC bench. Photo by Helena Hau | Staff
Asbury College, 1951
Central Baptist Hospital, 1950
Steelworkers assembled the framework of Central Baptist Hospital on Nicholasville Road in December 1950. The 173-bed community hospital opened its doors on May 12, 1954. Published in the Lexington Herald on Dec. 23, 1950.
Santa, 1981
Santa read letters from children as he waited for the taping of the Santa Show on WKYT-TV on Dec. 10, 1981. Photo by Frank Anderson | Staff
Tobacco warehouse, 1948
Mule-drawn wagons hauled 21,000 pounds of tobacco into the Geary-Wright Tobacco Warehouse at 1086 South Broadway in Lexington. The crop was grown by R. E. Tipton on Belmont Farm. Published in the Lexington Leader on Nov. 19, 1948.
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