It’s been returned to the original glory it celebrated when it first opened 119 year ago. The third floor of the Historic Courthouse was filled today. City leaders, planners and visitors stood on a glass floor under the dome as Mayor Jim Gray told us to “look up and view for the first time in 60 years, this remarkable restoration of the courthouse dome.”
The building was one of the first electrified buildings in the area and the first in Lexington. To complete the work, plasterers took castings and replaced missing columns and ornamentations, the paint colors match the originals and bulbs were replaced in the light fixtures that first illuminated the dome 119 years ago. Holly Wiedemann is the development agent for the multi-million dollar restoration project.
Work will continue on other floors of the building which is expected to be done this spring, that’s when the old courthouse will officially be open to the public. The entire renovation project came at a price tag of $32 million and was paid for through a public-private partnership.
