April 20, 2025
Clays Ferry bridge, 1944
The Clays Ferry bridge was under construction over the Kentucky River in November 1944. The task of laying superstructural steel work on the pylons was done by the Mount Vernon Bridge Co. of Mount Vernon, Ohio. The structural work was started from the Fayette County side of the river and rose at a three percent incline to the Madison side. This slight grade can be seen in the photo. The bridge was 280 feet high at river level, the highest structure of its kind east of the Mississippi River at the time, and was more than 1,500 feet long. Published in the Lexington Leader.
Continental Inn pool, 2002
The swimming pool at the Continental Inn on New Circle Road in Lexington on Feb. 14, 2002. After 40 years of business, the iconic 319-room hotel closed in 2005. Click here to see an image from our archives of a typical room in the hotel. Photo by Charles Bertram | Staff
Stoll Field, 1947
On Nov. 1, 1947, the University of Kentucky football team lost 13-0 to Alabama at Stoll Field. Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant was in his second season as head coach of the Cats. Four games later, he led UK to its first-ever bowl victory, 24-14 over Villanova in the Great Lakes Bowl. For 48 years, the Cats called Stoll Field home, until they moved into Commonwealth Stadium in 1973. Stoll Field was across the street from Memorial Coliseum.
Joyland Park pool, 1946
The Herald-Leader sponsored a girls’ learn-to-swim course at the Joyland pool in June 1946. Joyland, once an amusement park on the north side of Lexington, became a bowling alley and a neighborhood.
Confiscated moonshine, 1948
Fayette County Patrol Lt. Frank Dillon, left, and Police Chief Walter Franklin poured confiscated moonshine whiskey down a Lexington storm-sewer grate in July 1948.
Nicholasville Road at Rose and Limestone, 1946
Workmen finished the first half of new concrete on Nicholasville Road at its junction with Rose Street and South Limestone, Nov. 14, 1946. At left is what is now the University of Kentucky’s Albert B. Chandler Hospital. Click on the image for a closer look. Herald-Leader archive photo
John C. Wyatt, 1960s
This is longtime Herald-Leader chief photographer John C. Wyatt, who is responsible for preserving the photo collection on which this blog is based and for saving it from the landfill. Shown covering a parade in the 1960s, he worked at the newspaper from 1946 until he retired in 1990. To learn more about the archive, click on “Wyatt Collection” on the homepage of this blog. Photo by Jim Mellon
UK’s final game in Memorial Coliseum, 1976
Kentucky’s Rick Robey and Mike Phillips blocked the path of a Mississippi State player on March 8, 1976, during the final game in Memorial Coliseum for the UK men’s basketball team. Photo by Frank Anderson | Staff
Lexington’s original peanut butter plant, 1946
For $75,000, William T. Young erected this factory in August 1946 at 767 East Third Street to manufacture Big Top peanut butter. In 1955, he sold the brand to Procter & Gamble, which renamed it Jif. The current Jif plant is near this site.
Hamburg Place, 1997
Aerial view of the Target store being built at Hamburg Place on Man o’ War and Interstate 75, Sept. 22, 1997. I-75 is running top to bottom on the right side while Man o’ War is left to right at bottom. Click here to see other images form our archive of Hamburg. Photo by Charles Bertram | Staff
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