Mile Stones Of The Past? Threatened In The Future?

I received an email from a friend just after the work on the Woodland Triangle began. He was concerned that they crew replacing the sidewalk along High St has also removed the historic white milestone. It was something that both of us thought would be a travesty.

When I drove home that night, I went out of my way to check and it is still there. This time luck was on our side.

There is a description in George Ranck's History of Lexington,of a survey ordered by the town's trustees in the spring of 1791 and taken verbatim from the Trustee's Book.

"Surveyed by order of the trustees of the town of Lexington, 204 acres of land, including the court-house of Fayette county in the center, in a circular figure of two miles in diameter. Beginning at A (a point), one mile southeast from the said court-house, at a post on the northeast side of the road, running thence south 56 (degrees) west 125 poles to a post crossing Tate's creek road at 85 poles;”

The Lexington Press, in their edition of May 5, 1871, reported that the City council proposed to mark the city boundary with a ring of stones placed 500 feet apart. A week later a crew under the direction of Col. De La Pradele were busy setting the stones to mark the boundaries of City at one mile from Court House. This came just two months after a proposal to make the city limits a square rather that a circle.

Work was still progressing in November of the following year. By 1873 the City Council voted to leave the city boundaries the same and new stones be put up at appropriate distances.

Now, if you take a one mile radius from the old Court House and superimpose it on a map, that point A is almost exactly where Walton Ave intersects E Main St. Following that sweeping arc to the southwest toward E High St., or what would have been called the road to Tate's creek in those days, you will find a white stone set in the ground. It is about 10 to 12 inches to a side and well weathered. It is also one mile from the old Court House.

One mile in the other direction from the Court House on Leestown Rd, just opposite the entrance to the Calvary cemetery, is a similar stone, also set well in the ground and weathered. Neither of these stones have any plaques or markings to tell what they are (or what I suspect them to be.) I believe them to be the two remaining stones from that project of over 140 years ago.

When I spoke to the city's construction manager, overseeing the work at the Woodland Triangle, he had no idea that the stone was even there. I also found out the the city's Division of Historic Preservation was requiring an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness for replacing the sidewalk, even after the work was completed. This is required for all historic overlay zones, yet no one is looking out for a possibly 145 year old stone marker?

Are these the only remaining stones? Have the others been carelessly removed because someone did not know (or care) what they were? It would stand to reason that other stones would appear along the aforementioned arc at 500 foot intervals.

In 1871 the Woodland Park did not exist nor did any of the adjacent neighborhoods and that interval would span approximately half way through the future park. The fall of 1884 saw several crews of men construct a large lake of no more than 3 acres. This lake, called Lake Chenosa, was placed squarely on the city boundary. Surely, someone remembered the boundary stone placement of a dozen years previous so as to avoid them.

By my calculations, a stone 500 feet along the arc would appear near the existing first base dugout structure of the ball-field which occupies the former “lake” site. Approximately twenty or so feet past and ten or so feet behind. I have not been there lately to look for it and it does not show up in any recent aerials. Also, some years ago the Parks maintenance crews reworked that hillside for drainage issues.

It puzzles me as to why these stones, if they are what I think they are, are not identified. This town is so quick to claim anything old as historic and they have rushed to protect items of lesser age. We have even been known to remove major historical artifacts from their original context, thereby diminishing their true worth. This has happened to at least two county boundary markers.

I repeat, I believe that we dodged a travesty recently and I hope that we can prevent it in the future.

Heat Wave And The Fourth Of July

I doubt that many of us remember how it was during the days before air conditioning when heat waves would come rolling through the countryside, but I can just imagine what the public warnings could have sounded like. Since there was no such thing as radio or TV in the 1800's, and the newspapers of the day were reporting the weather not predicting it, many folks simply relied on common sense and practical measures

For instance, residential housing was built in such a way as to take advantage of the natural breezes and air currents with strategic placement of windows and doors. It even extended so far as to include landscaping and trees. It was the city densities and commercial buildings which began to plague the occupants during the hot spells and made city life nearly unbearable.

Today, the public announcements call for those with ailments and allergies to stay inside and for others to keep a check on the elderly or disabled. Places which were recommended for relief (Woodland Park or country outings) are now to be avoided since they are equated more with physical activity than with passive recreation. Those who wished to find a swimming hole could locate a shaded body of water, whereas now there are just expanses of sun-baked concrete and rules.

Lexington, like most urban areas, is not the small, ecologically designed community that it once was. We, and they, have sprawled out and built fanciful imitations of homes which remind us of what was, but cannot function without mechanical, environmental aids. This we call progress.

While ruminating on these processes of the past, I am also brought to consider the upcoming 4^th of July activities and the events surrounding a fireworks display. The events of these days seem so different from those of my youth. Time may have moved much slower back them but, then again, it may be a matter of perspective.

I have read where this year's celebration will be capped off by a 17 minute aerial display (providing the fireworks are allowed at all due to weather) and it hardly seems worth it. I can remember when the 4^th just seemed to never get here. Also, there was not a downtown based, community event.

Lexington's involvement was limited to the individual parks preparing decorated floats (flatbed trailers generally provided by a local transfer company) for a parade through downtown to the football stadium at UK. Most floats were designed and decorated by the older park regulars and directed by a team of parks staffers. The inter-park competition caused some floats to become quite elaborate. Probably the best part was the total lack of overtly political interjection.

Drivers would haul their park's float to Woodland Park and line up on Kentucky Ave. Then, at around 7 or 7:30, the parade would begin. From the park to Main St. and right down through the middle of town. A turn on Broadway and up the hill to Maxwell and back to Rose St.   Out Rose to the Avenue of Champions and ending between McLean Stadium and Memorial Coliseum.

Many of the participating parks had had their cook-outs and neighborhood celebrations or parades earlier in the day, but the kids still had their sparklers and flags for the evening. There was enough light left in the evening to get to the seating and maybe get a drink. Climbing to the top of the stadium and looking over onto the street below was a thrill to many a kid as was watching the sun dip below the treetops in anticipation of the “real” show. (Sunset would have come about 9 p.m. since this was before the Uniform Time Act of 1966 and there was no Daylight Savings Time.)

The fireworks were set off from the field where the marching band now conducts practice and the western end zone seats held the constructs of the so called “ground displays”. At dark the stadium lights would go out and a “test” shot would go up, I believe, to determine the wind conditions. Then the show would start.

There was an intermission during which music was played and the parade float winners were announced. More drinks and hot dogs and then back to the seats for some more show. An interspersing of aerial and animated ground displays later and the grand finale of bombardments over, it was time to go home. The parks staff rounded up their charges, got back on the floats and went to their respective neighborhoods. Even though I lived close to the stadium, I got home around 11 p.m. and sent to bed, one tired puppy.

Daylight Savings Time, a much larger parks network and insurance/litigation issues have surely put an end to such happenings but simple memories of simpler times make it rough to not long for those days again. I am sure that many of you have your own memories and will be making more this coming week, so I hope that the weather is kind to you and that we all play it safe this year.

Chevy Chase, The Trolleys And Other Happenings

I picked up the latest Chevy Chaser the other day and saw where the Business Owners group there are exploring the possibility of being added to the Blue (or Main/Vine) trolley route.

The last that I have spoken of this was back in August when I suggested adding the Woodland Triangle shops into the route. The Chevy Chase folks want to bypass that idea and team up with the restaurants on Main and Ashland to make a longer loop.

As their proposal is described, they would take their extension from the existing turn at Woodland and Vine/Central and continue on instead of turning left. They would go to Ashland and proceed to High St and the Chevy Chase area proper. Then, returning to Ashland for a run up to Main St. and then back downtown.

I, on the other hand, would proceed to the next street and turn right on Kentucky Ave., run up by the park and turn right on High St. Then loop around the Triangle, head straight down High, past Ashland to the Euclid/Fontaine intersection where I would hang a right. After another right onto Ashland, would proceed to Main St for the run downtown.

This route would limit the number of left hand turns for which we have no dedicated timing at the signalized intersections, while passing a larger number of businesses or points of destination. The expected extra cost could be split among a larger number of participants and the distance is not significantly more than the alternative. There also would not be any repetitive travel by backtracking over the same street in both directions. It would open up the possibility of a noontime stroll in Woodland Park, or a picnic of take out from some of the restaurants along the route.

While on the subject of Chevy Chase, I also see where they will be losing another of the neighborhood churches. The Greek Orthodox Church at Tates Creek and Melrose has been given permission to head farther out Tates Creek and build a new, larger facility on the corner with Rebecca Rd.

This location is right across the street from the exit of Immanuel Baptist Church and right in the middle of the mega-church row. It just happens to be on the other side of the street. I have a friend who attends this congregation and she tells me that they can rarely fill the seats that they have, much less do they NEED a bigger building. This is just one more instance of neighborhood churches leaving to become “available” to their constituents.

Funny thing is, this could have become my neighborhood in my teen years. About the time I was 10, my mother toyed with the idea of moving from the area around Woodland Park and joining a few of her sorority sisters in the spacious suburbs. She went so far as to find a lot and sketch out the type of floor plan that would suit her and our family. Next, she found a builder and convinced my father to go along with the scheme. Everything was a go, until she found out that we kids would have to go to the County schools. This was pre-merger of the schools which occurred well before the merger of the governments.

We would have to ride the big yellow buses and spend some hours in traffic both morning and evening. This did not set well with her.

At this time Tates Creek Road was a narrow two lane country road and a dairy across the from the lot she had chosen. Our new house would have been quite some distance from shopping, any other entertainment and the rest of our relatives, who then resided not more than 6 blocks from our current home. I would have grown up a much different person had we moved.

Well, my mother backed out of the deal, but the builder took the plans, made some slight modifications and built the house on the corner of Rebecca Rd and Tates Creek. On the town side of this photo and across the street from what will be a new church.

I am kind of glad that I did not move to the county, it would have given me a different and wrong slant on life. I am a city kid.

Today At The Art Fair

This weekend was the Woodland Art Fair and, as a playful jab, I suggested to Mrs. Sweeper that we should bike in this year. We have walked to the fair when we lived closer and usually find some way to get there, just to see what is available.

Then, while watching the news last night, they gave a report on a new service at this years fair-a secure, monitored bike storage for those who bike to the fair. Mrs Sweeper said "We should ride our bikes in and use that".

Oh boy, now I was now in trouble. I have, in the PAST, done a whole lot of biking. I used to ride to work every day unless the weather was just too bad. There were days when I used to go home for lunch(3 miles each way) or go for a ride in the country on the way home(an extra 20 miles or so). Every weekend I could be found out riding through some portion of the county and a trip to the river was not out of the question. Like I say, that was in the past. At least 25 YEARS in the past.

My two youngest boys have recently decided to take up cycling and I have, just this summer, got my bike back in working order. Last week I and one of my youngest did make it to Woodland Park, along with my eldest who has been biking around town for a while now, and I did pay for it for the next few days. I am basically out of shape.

This morning, after breakfast, the Mrs. and one son(the one who had not made the trip before) struck out to trek to the Art Fair and try to get back in one piece. Half an hour later. a bit winded and a little sore, we found the bike corral and had our bikes taken care of for the next few hours.

This years Fair had been spread out over the park in a much more logical manner than in the past and refreshment were more interspersed on the Clay Ave side of the exhibits. I can't help but compare it to the St James Ct Art Fair in Louisville and still the Woodland Fair come up short but it is growing. Maybe when it spills out onto the surrounding streets on more than one corner we will have arrived.

The one thing that still irks me about the people who attend these type of events is: the fact that they bring their dogs. Their strollers with the kids and the wagons so that the kids can ride around is understandable, but the dogs? Can the dogs appreciate the artisans or the craftsmanship? No!!! Take the dogs to the dog park for a run with companionship, but leave your DAMN dogs at home during such things as an art fair or an outdoor concert(Ecton Park, Thursday Night Live, etc...). If you need to spend more time with your dog, then stay home a little but we don't need them to be underfoot at every event we attend.

We spent two and a half hours at the Fair, went back and collected our bikes, thanked the attendants and slowly made our way back home. Today did prove one thing to all of us, that we could make it to Woodland or Ecton, or even the grocery, but more than that that we needed to do it more often.

Another Project from the Mayors Stimulus Package

This past week I stopped by the Woodland Park and took this shot of the former Realtor's Plaza.

This, of course, was an item on the Mayor's wish list for stimulus money and something that I commented on when the list first became public. At the time I did not know what the plans were for the site and I hoped for some type of shelter to welcome the visitors to the park. I would be disappointed when I found out the plans.

I was hoping for something of a nice, simple facade like the building that used to occupy that spot. I also know that the City builds thing on the cheap, but what I wanted was way more than $150k.

I remember the old auditorium vividly. I should, I passed by every school day for 7 years . Coming and going, morning and afternoon and yes, I used to go home for lunch in those days. Then there were the summer days playing in the park, being in or near the office and elsewhere. For a youngster, it was an imposing place and the park directors told the kids to stay out of the balcony, for safety reasons and "the bats".

I never saw any of the shows that were presented there, it had already fallen out of use. My father told me of boxing and wrestling matches and I even found a photo of one on the KDL website. From what I've found on the Library's Local History Index, there were a lot of shows around the early 1910s. The streetcar line used to run by there and at one time they had to install a streetcar siding to allow many more cars to held there for after the performances.

The building was taken down in the early '70s and there followed much discussion about a new Community/Senior Center on the location. A mass of opposition killed that idea so that it sat vacant and ugly, until the Board of Realtors volunteered to fund a beautification project., in the 1980s They only spent $25,000 and boy did it show. Cheap material and labor and a crappy design. We would have been better off with the seniors.

Well, what are we getting for $150,000? A parking lot. A parking lot to replace a parking lot.

It is not what I expected and not what I wanted, but it is better than the ugly Realtor's Plaza

Mayor's Stimulus Package

Today, I want to take a break from the Destination 2040 visioning comments and think about the Mayor’s $556 million stimulus package wish list.

This list contains some interesting and somewhat confusing items, but I think that all of them are needed at some level.

All of the Airport projects are well documented but yet may be less needed if the airline industry declines further or the tourism industry continues to falter.

• Carrier Ramp Rehabilitation 2,618,000
• Terminal Drive and Airfield Lighting Electrical Vault 5,930,000
• TW D Relocation and Corp. Ramp Addition ? Phase II 7,033,000
• Construct RW 9-27 Phases II and III 18,000,000

There are a number of projects that puzzle me concerning the Government Center Buildings. Primarily the main Government Center, the Switow building , the Phoenix building and the Old Court House(now the History Museum). The Mayor and the Council have made a big deal about the need for a new City Hall Complex and have had a consultant study the same. The recommendation has been given that, yes, we do need a new building but a location has not been identified. The Mayor an Council have proposed replacing the Stewart’s garage and Police headquarters with a new City Hall and removing the Phoenix building and parking garage. With that as background, we find on the wish list these items:

• Switow Building; Painting/Flooring and HVAC Improvements 170,000
• Phoenix Building; Windows/Flooring/Painting and HVAC Improvements 2,020,000
• Government Center; Total Building Renovations 8,000,000
• Coroner's Office; Total Building Renovations including HVAC 1,500,000
• Government Center Parking Garage Restoration. Safety, ADA, and structural improvements to important downtown public parking garage. 2,181,000
• Annex Parking Garage; Concrete Repairs 100,000
• Courthouse Parking Garage; Upgrade Revenue Producing Equipment 100,000

Each of these would be vacated and/or demolished in the near future if a new city hall is built, so is the administration covering its bases or wasting money?

A great deal of discussion has been held in many forums, about the CentrePointe TIF. Several public projects have been identified for the use of the TIF funds in the area surrounding the new hotel/condo tower, not the least of which is the old Court House renovation. So, where did this come from?

• Fayette County Courthouse; Major Renovation/HVAC 23,000,000

If the old Court House is done with stimulus money for what do we use the TIF money? Does this put the TIF status in jeopardy? Can we be double dipping?

The Distillery District is also in the pipeline for TIF status and it too has a stimulus entry.

• Distillery District public improvements to include new sidewalks, Town Branch Trail, placement of utility lines underground, storm drainage improvements, and new sanitary lines 15,000,000

And how about the following, can they not be combined into one project?

• Upgrade of Roofing (insulation)and HVAC systems of Bell Place 200,000
• Renovate historic Carriage House Theater at Bell House, a 150 year old historic landmark in Lexington 250,00
• Bell House replacement windows on signature public space in Lexington. Project will reduce fuel costs, water incursion and deterioration to 150 year old National Historic Register property 150,000

The only skatepark in Lexington is in Woodland Park which is also the site of Realtor’s Plaza. There is also a set of tennis courts sandwiched in between.

• Renovate outdated shelter/restroom building that houses Therapeutic Recreation and swim camp programs and skateboard/concession functions with energy and security efficient structure 150,000
• Redevelopment of Realtor's Plaza 130,000

Once again these could be combined in to one project.

There are several signalized intersections listed to be rebuilt.

• Rebuild Signalized Intersection, Cooper Drive at University Drive 200,000
• Rebuild Signalized Intersection, Rosemont Garden at Southland Dr 200,000
• Rebuild Signalized Intersection, Third Street at Race Street 200,000
• Re-build Traffic signals in downtown 1,600,000

The last entry does not identify which signals or how many, but from the cost given, I would guess the number to be eight. That would not jive with the number of jobs created though. The first three add five jobs each, but the last one adds 15. Go figure.

This next ones really throws me. Somewhere there is a disconnect in these two entries.

• develop centralized city-wide 4 field Football Complex with artificial turf to avoid 'home-away' conflicts and provide safer surface 3,000,000
• Lafayette High School Football Stadium 6,500,000

Each of the 4 other public high schools has rebuilt their football stadiums in the past few years and each with artificial turf, I believe. Two of the private high schools have their own sports complexes. So, where can we find a “central location”, presumably, currently owned and construct 4 fields, for half the price of one, at its present location. Does anybody have any idea where this is proposed?

The Board of Education has a few items on the list, and well they should, and only a handful give rise to questioning.

• Arlington Elementary School 13,206,275
• Bryan Station Middle School 16,983,245
• Cassidy Elementary School 13,827,791
• Leestown Middle School 18,227,636
• Russell Cave Elementary School 6,905,067

I know that the plans for Cassidy are ready to go and Bryan Station Middle are close, but I thought that Arlington was already underway. The students who attend there are in the old Johnson School site this year so that work could progress. If this item were to be approved, would they just reimburse the Board for some other project? Are a majority of the others currently bonded/ funded?

I know that to some this may sound nit-picky, but if Cheapside as a street, has been closed permanently, then would this item be a streetscape or a part of the old Court House renovation?

• Streetscape Improvements - Cheapside Park 2,000,000

Transit has been a large part of the Obama campaign during the election, so it has a number of requests. Also, the City has awarded the development rights above the Transit Center to a national design/build firm who, I understand, wishes to acquire the current garage, demo it and build from the bottom up. To that end, how do we explain this:

• Transit Center Parking Garage Restoration. Safety, ADA, and structural improvements to important downtown public parking garage. 1,026,000
• Transit Center Parking Garage; Upgrade Revenue Producing Equipment 300,000
• Transit Center Parking Garage; New Lighting/HVAC Improvements 136,000
• Construction of new transit center in downtown Lexington. 20,000,000

Once again, I don’t want anyone to think that I am against any of these projects. I want to see a stimulus to the local economy, but not in the worst way. I am sure that these projects were listed so as to be able to be done on a “stand alone” basis , if necessary and they were pulled together in a short time span. I just think that we can do better if we give the public some wiser planning.

Streetcars and Reopening of streets

The other day I posted about the St James Ct area in Louisville and the beauty as compared to Woodland Park. What I did not consider at the time was the idea of what their personal vehicles would have been.

The Woodland subdivision was created in 1887 from the 110 acre James Erwin farm and the park of 19 acres was preserved right in the middle. This development pre-dated the Aylesford area and straddled the existing city limit line, generally set by state law at 1 mile radius of the county court house. Woodland Park for years had served as a relaxing respite from the heat and noise of the downtown for all of Lexington’s social strata. The Agricultural and Mechanical College of the Kentucky University (Transylvania University) had been using the property before being given their own land and it is easy to understand why a large number of professors bought or had built new homes in Woodland. Other well heeled and educated professionals in Lexington quickly settled in the suburban area and made their way to town to work.

Now, in the late 19th century there was no such thing as an automobile so one either, walked, rode a horse or drove a carriage for personal transportation. The other option was the mass transit of the day, the streetcar or formerly mule cars. Then, as today, people desired a commute of about 25-30 minutes and the streetcar extended the distance from town that one could live and still commute. The streetcars were extended into the Woodland subdivision as an economic development stimulus tool in that they would allow residents to live further from their job and still hold down the commute time. Since the affluent were the ones who could afford mortgages and then automobiles, the streetcars evolved to be for the working, servile laborers who made their way to clean and cook and staff the houses of those who could employ others while they, the aristocracy, led society.

In the 1880s-90s even the most forward thinking of these intellectuals would not be dreaming of a self-powered vehicle to carry him and his family to town or for a trip into the country. I, as familiar as I am with the area, cannot fathom where or how these people sheltered or maintained a horse and carriage on the properties there. Then, in less than one generation, the horses are gone. And in less than two generations so are the streetcars. Fast forward a handful of generations and we still have the automobile. Fossil fueled autos that have passed through stylish, powerful, fast, compact, SUV and ostentatious, and yet there has been no paradigm shift like we saw at the turn of the previous century. At mid-century the visionaries predicted flying cars and vehicles powered by exotic fuels or power sources yet to be defined and we are still plodding along with the same old internal combustion engine of the original autos.

What is most striking about the preceding is that it, for the largest part, is an American scenario. The rest of the world continued with mass transit from residential areas to the town centers and intercity rail to move around the countryside. London and Paris dismantled their streetcars near the mid-century, most likely from the American influence, but large swaths of Eastern Europe have maintained and expanded their systems to this day. Everywhere that America has spread her influence and lifestyle the automobile has cast its ominous shadow.

It may be time for us as Lexingtonians to take back the streets, to use the streets as a social interaction venue. To that end I support the Second Sunday event scheduled for October 12.

Lexington will make a bold statement by shutting down a major roadway in downtown for 4 hours. Four hours, is that enough? Limestone St in downtown, is this not just for show? Won’t all the major cross streets remain open so that one can’t really walk, ride, run, skate or congregate from one end to the other. This is a big splash visual event that will probably aggravate more motorists than enthuse those who wish to actually make the streets a people place.

It did not happen overnight, the abandonment of the streets to the automobile. It was a gradual thing. And taking them back will also be gradual. Why not start a little smaller, with maybe a few streets in a cluster totaling 1 mile in length. A few residential blocks and just let the people use them as they wish. A block party, a street circus, a community-wide yard sale, no structured activities unless designed by the neighbors. Don’t do it once a year, do it every month on the second Sunday. Have 1 cluster in each council district just to spread it around a little. Have the neighborhood associations compete for the privilege of hosting a Second Sunday event.

To quote Rob Bregoff, a poster on Planetizen.com, “My main issue, though, is labeling these events as street "closures" when they are really "openings" for people to use and enjoy the public space as it is meant to be used.