Mod Room: Southland Scenes

Lexington, Ky. is known best for its world-renowned horse racing industry and college basketball. When it comes to residential architecture, Colonial and Federal style abounds--think columns and pediments. One of my favorite magazines Domino (which sadly folded in early 2009) described the city as “preppy, conservative,” and I’ll have to agree. Traditional is always “in” here. But what Lexington lacks in mid-century and modern residential architecture, it makes up for in its commercial buildings. Have you noticed?

Southland Drive, a corridor in South Lexington that connects busy Nicholasville Rd. to Clays Mill, provides me with new eye candy every time I drive it. The two-mile long shopping district is home to a quintessential piece of mid-century culture--a vintage bowling alley with its original bowling ball sign high above the parking lot, adorned with the simple command, “Bowl." (See photos below) Last year my heart sank when I noticed the ball had been taken down. Much to my delight, it was returned to its perch a few weeks later with a fresh coat of paint. Even though it’s now white (I’ve never seen a white bowling ball), at least they didn’t tear it down!

Southland Drive has many more examples of interesting relics of post-war commercial design that have somehow escaped tragic alteration over the last 50 years. This is good and bad. Good, because I love to see this type of design survive. Bad because many of the buildings are in need of repair and proper restoration after half a century. Not only that, but quite a few of Southland’s retail and office buildings are without tenants and have been empty for some time. I can’t help but think a new owner might prefer a 21^st century rmakeover, or even a wrecking ball, to the current retro façade.

There are signs of hope though. An up tick of new local businesses have opened their doors over the last few years--Morris Book Shop, the Soup Kitchen, a tattoo parlor. Both Good Foods co-op and Habitat for Humanity Re-Store have both expanded. But other national chains like Save-a-Lot and Dollar General have moved in and cheapened the landscape in my opinion.

So, while we still have them, I decided to take a few photos of the eye candy. It’s my hope that more Lexington business owners will find Southland’s quirky, retro buildings appealing enough to keep around for another 50 years.