February 24, 2025
Festival Market’s carousel, 1994
The carousel in Festival Market, now called Triangle Center, on July 25, 1994, three days after the carousel and the building were sold at auction. The 12-horse carousel, 22 feet in diameter, was bought by politician and Lexington caterer Jerry Lundergan for $35,000. He tried to sell it to the Lexington Children’s Museum for the same price he paid for it. Mayor Pam Miller said the city had considered buying the carousel for the museum, but there wasn’t the money to buy it or someone to run it, and “there is no extra space in the Children’s Museum,” she said. Lundergan eventually sold the carousel to Tom’s Farms, a produce and amusement complex in Corona, Calif. It remains in use there today. The carousel, built in San Francisco in 1986, was “a beautiful piece of equipment,” Lundergan said after the auction. “It was the showpiece of Festival Market.” The carousel was always popular and added to the vibrancy of the mall, said Dudley Webb, partner with the Webb Cos., which developed the downtown Lexington shopping center. The $16 million, three-story mall opened in 1986 as Lexington Festival Market, designed as an upscale center with dozens of shops and restaurants. While children rode the merry-go-round on the top floor, a jazz pianist played lunchtimes in the courtyard below. However, the mall, which was expected to have as many as 70 businesses, never found its niche, and it lost money each year since it opened. At the time of the auction, it was being converted from an upscale center to a factory outlet mall. It was developed by the Webb Cos. in partnership with Kentucky Central Life Insurance Co., but when the insurance company failed in 1993, the mall was placed in receivership. The estimated debt of the mall was more than $13 million, according to court records. The Webbs had managed the mall since it opened but gave up, citing frustration over efforts to revitalize it. A judge’s order dissolved the partnership between The Webb Cos. and Kentucky Central, and the building went to auction, where it sold for $600,000. Photo by Frank Anderson | Staff
Nazareth School of Nursing student nurses, 1946
Five of the 39 student nurses in the new fall class at the Nazareth School of Nursing at Saint Joseph Hospital and two members of the school staff in September 1946. From left, Sister Joseph Beatrice, staff member and editor of the school paper; Charlotte Wood of Beckley, W. Va.; Alice Keller of Covington; Louise Amato of Lexington; Jean Tabor of Morehead; and Virginia Duffy of Midway, being fitted for a uniform by Sister Robert Ann, director of the school. A total of 115 students were enrolled in the school, which was operated by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth in conjunction with St. Joseph’s Hospital. The school, which opened in 1919, was housed in Euphrasia hall and was rated by national and state accrediting agencies as one of the outstanding schools of nursing in the South. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
Kentucky beats Georgia in Rupp Arena, 1994
Kentucky’s Gimel Martinez, left, and Roderick Rhodes trapped Georgia’s Charles Claxton in the first half of their game on Feb. 27, 1994, in Rupp Arena. Rhodes had 15 points, six rebounds and three steals in the Wildcats’ 80-59 win. The Rick Pitino-coached team went on to with the SEC tournament, then lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Marquette, finishing the season 27-7. The Wildcats play the Bulldogs on Saturday night in Athens. Photo by Marvin Hill Jr. | Staff
Bryson’s General Store, 1988
Jim Bryson in June 1988, in the two-room general store that he and his wife, Gladys, ran in the Shultz Creek area near South Shore that had been in his family since 1910. The Brysons said they logged 12-hour workdays every day except Sunday. Jim Bryson died in 2002 and Gladys in 2012, but ownership stayed in the family. Today, Bryson’s General Store remains in business, but only on Saturdays. Photo by Frank Anderson | Staff
Hidden railroad crossing, 1951
This photo, published in the Lexington Leader on July 19, 1951, attempted to show how a U.S. 60 sign, center right, below the Standard Oil sign, blocked the view of the flashing Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad signal at Main Street and Midland Avenue. The signal was supposed to warn eastbound traffic of an oncoming train. This view from inside the photographer’s car is looking east toward the Main and Midland intersection. At that time, the C&O Railroad tracks crossed East Main Street at Midland Avenue. In the distance at the far left of the windshield is Combs Lumber Co., at 145 Indiana Avenue, which is now the site of the Lexington Herald-Leader building. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
Beaumont Centre under construction, 1996
Aerial photo of Beaumont Centre under construction on Feb. 20, 1996. New Circle Road is running horizontally at the bottom of the photo and intersects with Harrodsburg Road at lower left.
UK mascot proposal, 1999
The University of Kentucky Wildcat mascot donned a heart costume for Valentine’s Day before the Feb. 13, 1999, Kentucky-South Carolina game at Rupp Arena. Gavin Duerson, a senior, was in his third year as the UK mascot. Photo by Janet Worne | Staff
Later, Duerson proposed to his girlfriend, UK student Karla Sodan, in grand style. With 7:53 left in the second half of UK’s victory over South Carolina, Duerson, in full costume, climbed to the top of a cheerleaders’ pyramid wearing a shirt that said: “KARLA WILL YOU MARRY ME?” Photo by Janet Worne | Staff
A cheerleader led Sodan onto the court, where Duerson knelt and gave her a ring. Then he carried her away as the crowd cheered. Sodan’s reaction? “Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh!” That was a “yes.” Duerson, 21, and Sodan, 20, both from Berea, had been dating off and on since middle school. The couple were married in May 2000 and live in Lexington. Photo by Mark Cornelison | Staff
Oliver North book signing, 1992
Oliver North signed copies of his best-selling book, “Under Fire: An American Story,” on Feb. 13, 1992, at two Lexington bookstores. He signed 400 books in one hour at The Corner Stone on Woodhill Drive and at least 700 in two hours at Family Bookstores in Fayette Mall. North, 48 at the time of this picture, was a former Marine lieutenant colonel who became a celebrity when he testified before Congress about his part in a covert operation to sell U.S. arms to Iran and divert the profits to the rebels in Nicaragua. In 1989, he was convicted of several charges, including lying to Congress. The case was later dismissed on appeal. At one of the Lexington signings, a reporter asked him if he had solicited additional money in Kentucky at the time. He said, jokingly, “This is going to sound unusual, senator, but I just don’t remember.” People in line waited more than 90 minutes for North’s autograph, and many bought more than one copy of his book. But not all were there to praise the ex-National Security Council staff member. At the mall, eight people handed out fliers with North’s photograph under the headline “American Hero?” “When he lied to Congress, he broke a vow to serve the United States,” said one of the protesters, Patrick Ranney, 25, of Lexington. Police said there was a bomb threat at Fayette Mall while North was there. They found no explosives. Mall customers were not told of the threat. Photo by Charles Bertram | Staff
Douglass High School Red Cross class, 1957
Mrs. Fannie Foster, left, a licensed practical nurse and Red Cross nurse instructor, demonstrated baby-care techniques to a Red Cross home-care of the sick class at Douglass High School in February 1957. The students are, from left, Loretta Beatty, Charles Anna Brown, Delores Edwards and Carolyn Jackson. They were among 15 junior and senior home economics students enrolled in the class, which met for a total of 15 hours. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
Adolph Rupp, C.M. Newton, 1971
University of Kentucky basketball coach Adolph Rupp was greeted by Alabama coach and former Kentucky player C.M. Newton on Feb. 22, 1971 at Memorial Coliseum. Rupp, then 69, was sidelined for the game with a foot infection complicated by by diabetes. He had been hospitalized at the UK Medical Center since Feb. 8, but he commuted to UK home games and some practices — all while having a hospital identification tag affixed to his wrist and right foot. Rupp missed three games, viewed three other ones as a spectator and made a road trip to Vanderbilt. Assistant coach Joe B. Hall was named active coach during Rupp’s absence. Newton was a member of UK’s 1951 national championship team under Rupp. He coached at Transylvania University for 12 years before being named coach at Alabama, a job he got in part because of a recommendation by Rupp. Newton went on to lead the Tide to three straight SEC titles. After a 30-year coaching career, he came back to Lexington in 1989 to be the athletic director at his alma mater, UK, where he served for 11 years. Click here to see other photos of Rupp from our archives. Herald-Leader Staff File Photo
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