Both the Charles Young Park and its community center were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. In 1930 the city of Lexington purchased the lot that would become the second public park to honor African Americans. The park was…

For Lexington, the African American population more than doubled between 1860 and 1870. This was due largely to recently freed enslaved people migrating from rural areas to more urban areas. In response to this influx, landowners and developers…

Deweese Street, often called the “do as you please street”, was, by the late 1800s, the center of culture for the East End and the site of numerous prosperous African-American businesses. The Lyric Theater and Sterling Barbershop are two such…

Winn Gunn, an ardent abolitionist who lived at 340 East Third Street, bought a 14-acre tract of land between Deweese and Race streets after the Civil War. There he developed Gunntown, a community of small shotgun houses built on narrow lots,…

After Kentucky finally ratified the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865 and all of the state’s Black citizens were officially free, the state saw a huge shift in the Black population as they left agricultural areas and moved to cities and towns.…

As you begin your tour, please enjoy the Blue Grass Trust's recording of Frank X Walker reading his poem, "Ode to the East End." The poem is displayed as a mural on the side of the MET, featured as the beginning of this tour and located at 576 E…