The Western Suburb District is one of the oldest (if not THE oldest) suburbs of downtown Lexington.  The district includes parts of Short Street, Old Georgetown Street, Ballard Street, Jefferson Street, Felix Street, Algonquin Street, Tucker Street, Quin-Shearer Court, West Main, and Newtown Pike.  The suburb was platted in 1815 and includes homes that span 200 years of architectural styles and economies. 

The land making up the Western Suburb was originally part of a tract of land belonging to Colonel John Todd (the Colonel’s brother, Levi Todd, was Mary Todd Lincoln’s grandfather.  Levi Todd’s daughter, Hannah, is believed to be the first white child born in Kentucky, February 1781.).  Colonel Todd was killed in 1782 while fighting in the Battle of Blue Licks.  Colonel Todd’s daughter, Polly, inherited his vast estate.  Now the richest woman in Kentucky, she married James Russell in 1799.  After Russell died in 1802, Polly began building her home called Glendower, then later Wickliff Mansion, at the corner of Second and Jefferson.  Eventually, this building became the Preston Inn, then later, Milward’s Funeral Home.  In 1942, the home was razed by St. Joseph Hospital.  They used the land to build a residence hall for their nurses.  The residence hall is now the Jefferson Center building.  Polly sold various parts of her land for houses over the years, including the land that eventually housed the Eastern State Hospital. 

From it’s beginning, the Western Suburb District wasn’t a quiet neighborhood.  It has always included a wide mix of income levels and races.  Many of the buildings in the district are reflect the Greek Revival influence so prevalent in the state during the 1830’s and 40’s.  Many of the homes housed merchants who found it convenient to live near their downtown businesses as well as businesses with living quarters above the shop (the buildings located at 170-172 Old Georgetown, 152-154 Old Georgetown, and 651 West Short are typical examples of the late 19th century style of having living quarters above a shop).  The Western Suburb was also where Belle Brezing, the queen of Lexington’s red light district, grew up. 

In the mid 1970’s private citizens, the Bluegrass Trust for Historic Preservation, the Lexington-Fayette County Historic Commission, and Board of Architectural Review members worked for over a year in planning the preservation and revitalization of the historic area.  Almost all of the houses in the district have been restored since that time. 

Several historic homes can be found in this district including the building located on the land at the northwest corner of Georgetown and West Short. This area used to park all of the city garbage trucks, from the mid 20th century until just before 1980.  In 1989, the Historic Western Neighborhood Association purchase the land from the city and developed the infill housing that now occupies this area.  In 2001 the Association was able to buy the property located 173 Old Georgetown Street, the Williams House.  The Williams House was built in 1915 and destroyed by fire in 2000.  For most of the 20th Century the Williams House was known as the Cunningham Funeral Home and was the oldest African-American owned business in Lexington until it was sold by the Cunninghams in 1990.  After the Neighborhood Association acquired the property, it worked with an innovative developer that created the unique infill condominium complex that now occupies the space. 

The copper-clad house located at 151 Old Georgetown Street is a newer addition to the neighborhood and was designed and built by architecture and historic preservation students from UK’s College of Design along with input from professional architects.  This property is one of the first in Fayette County to become LEED certified.  LEED certification is a voluntary, national standard for developing high performance environmentally sustainable buildings. 

Across from the copper house, is Ballard Street, previously known as Ballard Alley.  Ballard Alley was made up of small shotgun houses and was a vibrant African-American community until 1980 when the Connie Griffin Manor on West Second expanded into Ballard Place.  Only a small handful of the shotgun houses from before 1980 remain. Posted by Turf Town Properties on
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