February 24, 2025
Festival Market opens, 1986
A large crowd was on hand as hundreds of balloons were released to signal the grand opening the Festival Market on July 25, 1986. The grand opening for $16 million development at West Main Street and North Broadway kicked off 10 days of festivities that allowed the public to become acquainted with the shops and restaurants located inside the 3-story marketplace. About 42 of the market’s 72 shops and restaurants were open. The development failed to generate sustained profit and the complex was sold for $600,000 in 1994 in an auction. Festival Market was rebranded in 1999 as Triangle Center, consisting primarily of offices with a few retail and restaurant entries, including Sawyer’s Downtown Restaurant and Grill. Photo by Frank Anderson | Staff
Heat wave, 1981
Joe Montgomery sought a break from the heat as he sat in front of the un-air-conditioned apartment building he owned at 249 East Fourth Street on June 9, 1981. Temperatures in the upper 80s and high humidity forced many Lexington residents to their porches for some relief. Photo by Charles Bertram | Staff
Building demolition begins for CenterPointe, 2008
Mary Beth Navmann and Kevin Compton, left, and Brent Roach and Elizabeth Browning watched a crew from Diversified Demolition tear down the former Rite Aid building at Limestone and Main Street in Lexington on July 23, 2008. The building and others on that block were demolished to make way for the proposed CentrePointe development. The long-delayed development has been through a lengthy delay and numerous changes. Developer Dudley Webb recently released the final renderings for the downtown project and said the complex would be complete by spring 2018. Photo by David Stephenson | Staff
Nutter Center dedication, 1987
Dedication of the $5.7 million E.J. Nutter Training Facility, at that time a major upgrade to Kentucky football’s training facilities, took place on September 11, 1987. Speaking was E. J. Nutter, a UK alumnus who contributed one million dollars to start the fund-raising campaign. From left were Cliff Hagan, athletics director, Otis Singletary, former university president, David Roselle, university president, Seth Hancock, a Kentucky horseman who donated $300,000 and Jerry Claiborne, UK’s head football coach. UK’s new $45 million football training facility, beside Commonwealth Stadium, will be ready for the team the first week of August. Photo by Jocelyn Williams | Staff
Kentucky wrestlers, 1979
From left, University of Kentucky wrestlers Ricky Dellagatta, Reggie Burke and James Johnson in fall 1979. Johnson, along with five other ex-Cats has been named to the class of 2016 Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame. He was a four-year letterman who started from 1977 to 1980 as a 190-pounder. Johnson was a three-time SEC medalist. His post-college career included being a member of the USA National Wrestling Team for 12 years, and he was named USA Wrestling’s athlete of the year in 1993. He began his coaching career as graduate assistant at UK. He coached in the 2012 Olympics and is on the training staff for the 2016 Olympics. Photo by Christy Porter | Staff
Summer computer camp, 1985
Lisa Sherrod, 9, left, and Kirby Varney, 11, worked on an Apple IIe computer during summer computer camp July 16, 1985, at Shearer Elementary School in Winchester. During the camp, students got lessons in computer history, computer literacy and typing skills, and how to create and save programs. After the technical things were learned, the students turned to more fun things. They drew pictures on the computer screens. Some were simple, such as an American flag or a computer, but others were more detailed, such as a picture of Jetfire, one of the Transformer toys. Photo by John C. Wyatt | Staff
‘Glory’ opens at Kentucky Theatre, 1956
Three of the stars of the movie “Glory,” John Lupton, left, Margaret O’Brien and Byron Palmer, were shown at the world premiere at the Kentucky Theatre on Jan. 11, 1956. The movie told the story of a young woman who raised a filly named Glory to become a Kentucky Derby champion. The movie was filmed in part at Keeneland, Calumet Farm and Churchill Downs in Louisville. The Kentucky Theatre is currently in the news because of a renewed effort to renovate the theatre’s original organ. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
Ronald Reagan pins at Kentucky GOP convention, 1984
Jefferson County delegate Johnny Ray Ashby showed off some of his buttons supporting President Ronald Reagan at the Kentucky Republican Convention on May 12, 1984. At that convention, Kentucky Republicans decided to send 37 delegates to the national convention that summer in Dallas, and all were expected to support Reagan. This year, 46 delegates are headed to Cleveland for the GOP convention, which begins Monday. Photo by Ron Garrison | Staff
Kids dog show, 1956
Owners of three dogs in a Kids Dog Show, held June 16, 1956, at Austin’s Supermarket in the Meadowthorpe Shopping Center, worked with their pets before the big moment for judging arrived. From left, Stevie Penrod, 4, with Tinker Bell, a collie; Kathey Penrod, 7, with Penny, a pomeranian; and Sally Adcock, 7, with Roughneck, a chihuahua. Judges in the background are Lawrence Sheets, a dog showman, and Kenneth Whalen with the Humane Society. The show was sponsored jointly by the supermarket and Quaker Oats Co. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
Street rod meet, 1984
Charlie Brandenburg of Lexington lifted his son Charlie, 3, for a better look through the sunroof of a 1932 Ford that had been customized into a street rod at the Street Rodders Thoroughbred Meet, July 7, 1984, at the Holiday Inn North in Lexington. A car show of a different caliber is under way this weekend at Keeneland: the Concours d’ Elegance. Photo by David Perry | Staff
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Kentucky.com news feed
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