A new Facebook group, People for the Peoples, has issued the following alert: “We have just been alerted that demolition of the Peoples Bank in Lexington, Kentucky is slated for the morning of Thursday, April 30.” Here’s their post in full:
We have just been alerted that demolition of the Peoples Bank in Lexington, Kentucky is slated for the morning of Thursday, April 30. The intention of this page is to create a forum in which people who support preservation of the Peoples Bank can have their numbers counted. We would like to show the developer how much love there is for this architectural gem in the local community as well as how much national interest exists for midcentury commercial architecture. This is meant to be a positive page. Any negative posts about the developer will be deleted. If you are not a fan of the bank, this isn’t the page for you. We want to see how many numbers we can garner by morning to show our support! Please “like” and “share” so that supporters of the bank can be counted!
Please follow People for the Peoples! Support their campaign for this important building!
It was only Tuesday night when the Blue Grass Trust hosted Sarah Tate and a panel discussion on midcentury modern architecture. What a travesty it would be to lose one of Lexington’s finest examples of the period at this time. And for what cause?
It is my understanding that demolition permit was issues some time ago for this property, though preservation considerations had seemed to carry the day. Just a couple weeks ago, moving the structure was discussed and promoted by several parties as it could become the home for a local non-profit. See this article in the Herald-Leader.
This was only a couple weeks ago. What has changed? Why the rush to demolish? Give the Peoples a chance.
Stay up to date with the effort on their Facebook page.
I understand the Lexington urban county government budgeted money to move this building, so it’s surprising that a demolition permit would not have been revoked. I haven’t heard what the owner is planning on doing with the property after demolition. Maybe something that the city is willing to look the other way for?
Anyways, there is some irony to be found in this situation. I can’t imagine a building permit for one with the same design would ever be issued in Lexington today…