Notice the courthouse rising at 215 West Main Street, the fifth building to serve as Fayette County's courthouse. Built between 1898 and 1900 and designed by Cleveland-based architects Lehman & Schmitt, this was the fifth structure to serve as the Fayette County Courthouse. Today the building wears many hats: civic offices, event spaces, and commercial retail occupy its rooms, and locals have long called it the "most iconic building in Lexington.
It sits in a prominent spot, close to the exact geographic center of the urban agglomeration, within the Downtown Commercial Historic District. The courthouse occupies the very center of the block bounded by W. Main Street, Cheapside, W. Short Street, and N. Upper Street, and is the only enclosed structure on the block, set off from surrounding buildings by considerable space as befits a monumental civic structure. Notice how the site slopes from north to south, exposing a basement story on the south, the main façade, while the basement is hidden below ground on the north.
Even the building’s plan speaks to purpose—using the shape of a Greek cross. Notice the basement exposed along the south façade where the site slopes, and the four streets — Main, Cheapside, Short, and Upper — framing this block.