Lexington Audio Walking Tour

Highlights

• University of Kentucky

  Welcome to the University of Kentucky, here in Lexington. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, this public land-grant research university is one of the state's two land-grant universities, the other being Kentucky State University.

• Transylvania University

  Your walk brings you to Transylvania University, Kentucky's oldest university, founded in 1780 as the first college west of the Allegheny Mountains. Founded in 1780 and chartered by the Virginia General Assembly as Transylvania Seminary before Kentucky became a state, this institution is Kentucky's oldest university and was the first college west of the Allegheny Mountains.

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  Lexington Cemetery

  Spread across 170 acres, Lexington Cemetery at 833 W. Main Street is a private, non-profit rural cemetery and arboretum. Established in 1848 as a place of beauty and a public cemetery — in part to deal with burials from the 1833 cholera epidemic — this landscape was later linked to the Civil War when what became Lexington National Cemetery was established in 1861 to inter American Civil War casualties.

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  Mary Todd Lincoln House

  Here in Lexington is the Mary Todd Lincoln House, Mary Todd's girlhood home. This fourteen-room, three-story house was Mary Todd’s girlhood home, and today it is a museum containing period furniture, portraits, and artifacts from the Todd and Lincoln families.

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  Memorial Coliseum

  Memorial Coliseum, in front of you, is colloquially known as The House That Rupp Built and Historic Memorial Coliseum. This 6,250-seat multi-purpose arena opened in 1950 and was built as a memorial to Kentuckians who died in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War; later the names of all Kentuckians who died in the Vietnam War were added.

All 33 stops

• Transylvania University (Lexington)

  Your walk brings you to Transylvania University, Kentucky's oldest university, founded in 1780 as the first college west of the Allegheny Mountains.

• Gratz Park Historic District (Gratz Park)

  Your steps lead into Gratz Park, just north of downtown Lexington.

• Hunt-Morgan House (Gratz Park)

  Your eyes meet the Hunt–Morgan House, historically called Hopemont, a Federal-style home here in Lexington, Kentucky.

• Henry Clay's Law Office (Lexington)

  Henry Clay built this small one-story brick building as his law office in 1803, on Mill Street near his wife's family residence.

• Living Arts and Science Center (Lexington)

  Housed in the historic George B. Blackburn Kinkead House, the Living Arts & Science Center fills the antebellum mansion in front of you.

• Mary Todd Lincoln House (Lexington)

  Here in Lexington is the Mary Todd Lincoln House, Mary Todd's girlhood home.

• Old Fayette County Courthouse (Downtown Commercial Historic District)

  Notice the courthouse rising at 215 West Main Street, the fifth building to serve as Fayette County's courthouse.

• Opera House and Yates Bookshop Building (North Broadway-Short Street Historic District)

  Two neighboring 3-story landmarks face you here: the Opera House and Yates Bookshop Building, listed together on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975…

• Lexington Opera House (downtown Lexington)

  At 401 West Short Street in downtown Lexington, the Lexington Opera House rises in front of you.

• McAdams and Morford Building (Lexington)

  Built in 1849, the three-story McAdams and Morford Building in front of you is also known as Melodeon Hall.

• Monsieur Giron's Confectionery (Mill Street)

  Monsieur Giron's Confectionery, the two-story Greek Revival brick building in front of you, was erected here in 1829.

• Higgins Block (Lexington)

  John McMurtry designed the Higgins Block, the three-story brick building on West Main Street in front of you, and it rose in 1872.

• Fayette National Bank Building (Lexington)

  Rising 15 stories in front of you, the Fayette National Bank Building is also known as the First National Bank Building or 21c Museum Hotel…

• Lexington Financial Center (Downtown Lexington)

  Locals call the Lexington Financial Center, the glass giant in front of you, Fifth Third or the Big Blue Building.

• Triangle Park (Lexington)

  Triangle Park, a private park built for public use, spreads out at 400 W Main Street here in Lexington, Kentucky.

• Lexington Public Library (East Main Street)

  Rose-colored granite fronts the Lexington Public Library's Central Library on East Main Street, connected to Park Plaza Apartments.

• Carnegie Library (Gratz Park)

  Bedford limestone and a tetrastyle portico mark the Carnegie Library, the graceful Classical Revival building at the south end of Gratz Park.

• Christ Church Cathedral (Lexington)

  Christ Church Cathedral, the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington, faces you at 166 Market Street.

• First Presbyterian Church (Lexington)

  First Presbyterian Church rises at 171 Market Street beneath a tall tower and copper spire.

• Episcopal Burying Ground and Chapel (Lexington)

  In 1832, Christ Church purchased the Old Episcopal Burying Ground in front of you, at 251 East Third Street, as a burial ground for its…

• Loudoun House (Lexington)

  Loudoun House, in front of you, is one of the largest and finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture in Kentucky.

• Ashland (Lexington)

  Ashland, the plantation of 19th-century Kentucky statesman Henry Clay, lies in front of you here in Lexington, in the central Bluegrass region.

• Lexington Cemetery (Lexington)

  Spread across 170 acres, Lexington Cemetery at 833 W. Main Street is a private, non-profit rural cemetery and arboretum.

• African Cemetery No. 2 (Lexington)

  African Cemetery No. 2, also known as The Cemetery of the Union Benevolent Society No. 2, lies in front of you in Lexington, Kentucky.

• McConnell Springs (Lexington)

  McConnell Springs, a twenty-six acre natural park, surrounds the historic springs where the city of Lexington, Kentucky was named.

• University of Kentucky (Lexington)

  Welcome to the University of Kentucky, here in Lexington.

• Main Building (Lexington)

  Four stories of brick and stone, the Main Building of the University of Kentucky in Lexington still holds administrative offices and classrooms.

• William T. Young Library (University of Kentucky)

  Known colloquially as Willy T., the William T. Young Library rises in front of you on the University of Kentucky campus in Lexington.

• Patterson Office Tower (University of Kentucky)

  Patterson Office Tower climbs 250 feet above the University of Kentucky campus in Lexington, Kentucky, right in front of you.

• Singletary Center for the Arts (University of Kentucky)

  Opened in 1979, the Singletary Center for the Arts in front of you is the fine arts complex of the University of Kentucky in Lexington…

• Memorial Coliseum (University of Kentucky)

  Memorial Coliseum, in front of you, is colloquially known as The House That Rupp Built and Historic Memorial Coliseum.

• Joe Craft Center (Avenue of Champions)

  Attached to Memorial Coliseum on the Avenue of Champions, the Joe Craft Center in front of you opened in January 2007 at the University of…

• Alumni Gymnasium (University of Kentucky campus)

  On the corner of South Limestone Street and Avenue of Champions, or Euclid Avenue, beside the University of Kentucky Student Center, Alumni Gymnasium is now…

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