February 24, 2025
1916 Lexington fire engine’s semi-retirement, 1962
Old Engine No. 1 left the Central Fire Station on East Third Street on Jan. 12, 1962, on its way to semi-retirement. The engine was given by the Lexington Fire Department to the Lexington Recreation Department to be used summers at the city playgrounds for children to climb on. The engine didn’t run, but it was to be pulled from playground to playground during the summer and left at each for four or five days. The city bought the engine in 1916 for $13,000, and it made all major fire runs from then until 1949. Believe it or not, this 100-year-old engine is still around. A group of firefighters restored it a few years ago and even had it running. It’s on display at the Lexington Fire Training Academy on Old Frankfort Pike. Fireman Conrad Wells is in the driver’s seat, and Fireman Raymond Stamper is beside him. Getting a free ride on the running board are Kime Tice Daniel, Debbie Watts and Stephen Wise. W.H. Brown, left, maintenance foreman of the recreation department, and Fire Chief H.L. Petit watched the engine leave. Published in the Herald-Leader. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
Loretta Lynn at ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ premiere, 1980
Kentucky first lady Phyllis George Brown met with Oliver “Mooney” Lynn and Loretta Lynn at the Kentucky premiere of “Coal Miner’s Daughter” in Louisville on March 5, 1980. The film was based on a book by Loretta Lynn, describing how she emerged from poverty in the coalfields of Eastern Kentucky to become one of country music’s top stars. Sissy Spacek played Loretta and earned an Academy Award for best actress. Lynn recently had to postpone shows after suffering injuries in a fall that will require minor surgery. Photo by David Perry | Staff
Ringing Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, 1950
Two unidentified performers with Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus waited for their show call outside the big top on July 27, 1950 in Lexington. These photos are part of a series of portraits Herald-Leader photographer John C. Wyatt produced while the circus was in town for a one-day, two-performance stand at the show grounds on Newtown Pike. The Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus Xtreme has been in Rupp Arena this weekend and will have two more shows Sunday, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Last time UK lost its second game of the season, 1997
Kentucky wide receiver Craig Yeast ran with the football after catching a pass from quarterback Tim Couch in UK’s 35-27 loss at Mississippi State in the second game of the 1997 season. The Wildcats are 18-0 in the second game on their schedule since. Photo by Mark Cornelison | Staff
Ray Larson sworn in as Fayette County commonwealth’s attorney, 1985
Ray Larson was sworn in as Fayette County commonwealth’s attorney on Jan. 2, 1985, by Circuit Judge L.T. Grant as Larson’s wife, Betty, looked on. Larson was appointed by Gov. Martha Layne Collins to succeed Larry Roberts, who had been commonwealth’s attorney for seven years and who announced in November 1984 that he was resigning to enter private practice. In the brief swearing-in in front of an overflow crowd of about 175 people at the Fayette County courthouse, Larson, 40, said he looked forward to the challenge of trying to maintain the level of professionalism for which, he said, Roberts’ office had become known. Almost 32 years later, Larson announced Sept. 9, 2016, that he is retiring as Fayette County’s longtime chief prosecutor. Photo by Tom Woods | Staff
Slum clearance area along Kenton Street alley, 1954
Rundown housing along an alley that was part of Kenton Street, showing an area that was part of the city’s slum clearance project in March 1954. That alley remains, still named Kenton Street, running north from West Fifth Street but ending before West Sixth. A wider section of Kenton Street runs south to West Fourth Street. Published in the Lexington Leader on March 24, 1954. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
Kentucky Avenue porch renovation, 1980
Cloyd Standafer with C&S Painting scraped loose paint from the Victorian gingerbread woodwork of a porch at 154 Kentucky Avenue on Sept. 29, 1980. Photo by Charles Bertram | Staff
Henry Clay High School driving class, 1948
Lexington patrolman William Sellers gave some pointers to Henry Clay High School students in preparation for a driving class in September 1948. The classes were sponsored by the Bluegrass Automobile Association and the Lexington Police Department. From left, Bobby Cain, Pearl Woolery, Betty Smith, Jo Ann Robinson and Sellers. About 40 students took the course. Published in the Lexington Leader on Sept. 17, 1948. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
Opening of Louisville’s Galleria, 1982
The atrium of Louisville’s Galleria on opening day, Sept. 29, 1982. The $130 million development included more than 1.4 million square feet of office space, anchored by two 27-story glass and steel office buildings containing 415,000 square feet each. A three-level retail mall with 339,000 square feet was between the towers. The development covered much of the two square blocks downtown, bounded by Fourth Street, Liberty Street, Fifth Street and Muhammad Ali Boulevard. It was built on the site of the River City Mall, which opened in 1973. On the day the Galleria opened, about 75 percent of the retail space had been leased. In 2004, the retail part of the development went through a $75 million renovation featuring a collection of bars, restaurants and stores now called Fourth Street Live! Photos by Charles Bertram | Staff
People waited on Fourth Street for the opening of the downtown Louisville shopping mall. An estimated 18,000 people attended the opening ceremony at 9:30 a.m., and the total had reached 25,000 by 11 a.m. Click here to read the story on the opening.
Mother Teresa in Eastern Kentucky, 1982
Mother Teresa left her mission house in Jenkins to go to Mass on June 19, 1982. She was in Eastern Kentucky to open her first Missionaries of Charity convent in Appalachia. Thirty-four years later, the Missionaries of Charity have carried on her work of serving the poor, the sick and the aging in the mountain community. Mother Teresa is to be canonized as a saint in the Catholic Church on Sunday, Sept. 4. Photo by Charles Bertram | Staff
Photo reprints
See a photo that you would like to have a reprint of? All photos that appear in this blog can be purchased from
MyCapture .
TITLE
 | Follow us on Twitter @KYPhotoArchive |
TITLE
Kentucky.com news feed
- Driver arrested after hitting two men changing tire on Bluegrass Parkway. One is dead.
- Lexington’s Blue Grass Airport adds flight to America’s best beach. See ticket prices
- 4 kids have died by suicide recently in Boone Co. ‘I hope this doesn’t happen anymore’
- UK, King’s Daughters to build new medical center in Greenup County
- 3 people killed in shooting outside Kentucky driver’s license branch
- Lexington retail changes: Stores closing at The Summit, Fayette Mall
- A double UK basketball legacy, Jake Feldhaus is making his own name
- Lexington Mardi Gras guide: Where to find crawfish, jambalaya, beignets, King Cake
- Fayette students returned to class Friday. Here’s how the district decided.
- Woodford Reserve releases highest proof bourbon yet, Chocolate Whisper Redux