Unfortunate news emerged last month that, due to the discovery of hazardous lead paint, the historic old Fayette County Courthouse was going to be closed indefinitely to the public, effective immediately, along with all of its tenants – a small collection of museums, including the Lexington History Museum.
Though it was fortunate that the dangerous material was detected before any of the courthouse’s workers or visitors were affected, it’s disheartening now to witness the success of the immediate district adjacent to the courthouse, marked by an abundance of new bars and restaurants and so much activity, while its anchor, the old courthouse, sits shuttered.
But closing the iconic downtown structure may just be the impetus needed to spark a robust and concerted effort throughout the city to not only get the old courthouse’s doors re-opened, but to restore the impressive structure to its original grandeur. For a detailed account of the courthouse’s early majesty from an authoritative source, please read history columnist Jamie Millard’s descriptive piece on this “architectural wonder”; incidentally, Millard is also the president and CEO of the Lexington History Museum, so it is a subject very close to his heart, especially since he can’t get into his office.
Millions of dollars will be needed to renovate the old courthouse (somewhere to the tune of $12 million for the restoration project), and some serious and innovative fundraising, as well as determined stewardship, will be required, probably over a number of years, to realize such an undertaking. But compared to other recently ballyhooed endeavors, such as the Distillery District on Manchester Street and the proposed Rupp Arena Arts & Entertainment District – both of which have a projected price tag in the hundreds of millions of dollars to bring to fruition – restoring the old courthouse is an obvious community investment, especially considering its already demonstrative status as a revived cultural hub in Lexington, just as it was when it was first constructed in 1900.
Without a doubt, public funds will surely be important to this undertaking, and that will be a hard sell for some people given the financial straits the city finds itself at the moment. To those people, I urge you to come out one evening this summer or fall for Thursday Night Live, or one Saturday morning for the Lexington Farmers’ Market, or during a special weekend event at Cheapside Park, or any night of the week for that matter, and you will behold how important that structure is to the fabric of downtown, and ultimately the city as a whole.
The old Fayette County Courthouse has weathered a lot in the past 112 years, even mobs and riots, but it has always been a dominant and prominent symbol of downtown Lexington, and it deserves all the attentions and efforts our city officials, and citizens, can muster to ensure this “architectural wonder” isn’t lost on our, or that of our future generations, watch.
Watch for the beginnings of a well orchestrated push in the coming weeks and months to raise funds toward this venture, but if you can’t wait until then, visit www.lexingtonhistorymuseum.org to contribute to the old courthouse’s restoration.