February 25, 2025
Downtown Piggly Wiggly grocery store, 1941
The Piggly Wiggly grocery store in downtown Lexington at Broadway and Short Street, October 1941. Six months later, two buildings shown here would be torn down and replaced by a new one-story Kroger supermarket. The Kroger featured 5,520 square feet of floor space and a new style of checkout counters. In each of the three checkout lanes, the carts were rolled inside the checking counter so they could be easily reached by the clerks and out of the way of customers. The building on the far right in the picture is the Lexington Opera House. The building to the left of the Opera House now houses the law offices of Garmer & Prather PLLC. In the 1970s, the Opera House was bought by the Lexington Center Corp., and a side entrance was added to the complex. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
View from Courthouse bell tower, 1974
View from the old Fayette County Courthouse bell tower looking looking toward Market and Short streets in December 1974. At right is the old Herald-Leader building. Photo by Tom Carter | Staff
Closing up old Fayette County jail, 1976
Fayette County Attorney E. Lawson King, left, and Jailer Harold Buchignani locked up the old Fayette County jail, built in 1891, on Short Street on Oct. 10, 1976. One day earlier, 124 inmates were transported from the old jail to a new $6.4 million jail on Corral Street. By 1989, that jail, designed to hold 574 inmates, was consistently overpopulated, and a federal judge ordered the city to fix the problem. The solution was the current jail, off Old Frankfort Pike. That $62 million jail, completed in 2000, is capable of holding 1,200 inmates. On Oct. 21, 2000, 450 inmates were moved from the downtown jail to the new one. Photo by Ron Garrison | Staff
John Glenn visits W.T. Young, 1967
Former astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. was in Lexington May 22, 1967 as a house guest of William T. Young. From left, William T. Young, John H. Glenn, Jr., Lucy Young and Rex Potter. Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth died yesterday at age 95. He was the the last surviving member of the original Mercury astronauts. He would later have a long political career as a U.S. Senator. Photo by Bill Wilson | Staff
Larry Bird, 1984
Basketball legend Larry Bird ducked under some trees to line up a golf shot on June 30, 1984, during the third annual Children’s Charity Golf Classic at the Greenbrier Golf and Country Club. Bird, who had recently led the Boston Celtics to the NBA championship, was playing golf for only the second time that season. He finished with a respectable score of 84 and led his team to a sixth-place finish at 25 under. “It went pretty good for the first 10 or 12 holes,” Bird said. “Then I just blew up. I played nine holes yesterday and that was the first time I’ve played this year. But this is a really beautiful course to play.” Actor Leslie Nielsen and four other golfers combined for a 31-under total of 113 to win the event. The scores were taken from the best two balls of each hole, with each player’s handicap figured in. The tournament, featuring Phoenix Suns player and ex-Cat Rick Robey as host, raised $56,000. The money benefited the Children’s Charity Fund of the Bluegrass, and the tournament is still played today. Bird, an Indiana native who went on to win three NBA titles and three league MVP’s, recently turned 60. Photo by Steven R. Nickerson | Staff
Herald extra: Pearl Harbor attack, 1941
The front page of the extra edition of the Lexington Herald on Monday morning, Dec. 8, 1941, reporting Japan’s declaration of war against the United States with the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7. Only a few Pearl Harbor survivors remain today in Kentucky. Click on the image for a larger view.
Lexington Christmas parade, 1949
The Lexington Herald reported that an estimated 100,000 people braved a cold, rainy night on Dec. 1, 1949, to watch the downtown Christmas Parade. Police reported that the parade route from Third Street and Midland Avenue through Main Street to West Second Street and Broadway was packed solid. This year’s Christmas parade will be held downtown starting at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
Man o’ War Boulevard construction, 1982
Construction of Man o’ War Boulevard at Richmond Road on July 21, 1982. This view is looking southwest down Man o’ War. At left is what is now the site of a CarMax auto dealership, and on the right is where Walmart is now. Man o’ War was completed and widened in segments over 15 years. The segment shown here extended Man o’ War 1.1 miles from Richmond Road to Mount Tabor Road, now known as Alumni Drive. Click here to see another photo of Man o’ War construction, this time along Harrodsburg Road. Photo by E. Martin Jessee | Staff
Timothy Taylor and his war bride, Andree, 1946
Timothy Taylor of Cumberland Falls and his French war bride, Andree Julette Errera of Paris, were photographed in April 1946 at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. Allan Smith on Shady Lane in Lexington. Andree arrived on the exchange ship Gripsholm in March 26. The couple planned to move to Cooperstown, the veterans housing project at the University of Kentucky, later in the month. Published in the Lexington Leader on April 7, 1946. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
John Wooden presents Wooden Classic trophy to UK, 2003
Legendary former UCLA basketball coach John R. Wooden held the game trophy with the University of Kentucky team after the Wildcats beat the Bruins 52-50 in the John R. Wooden Classic on Dec. 6, 2003, in Anaheim, Calif. UK players in front include, from left, Erik Daniels, Gerald Fitch and Antwain Barbour. The 2016 version of the matchup is Saturday, as Kentucky hosts UCLA in Rupp Arena at 12:30 p.m. Photo by David Stephenson | Staff
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