Thanks for visiting us. There is a LOT of stuff on this site. Scroll all the way down on this page...its long...

Take some time, come back often. We think you will enjoy it.

We have one mission: to help our community create a Legacy in advance of the 2010 World Equestrian Games. Two specific projects were chosen by the community after a dynamic city-wide public visioning process in 2007.

The Legacy is this: we are going to help the community with the on-going renaissance in the East End neighborhood as well the creation of a biking and walking trail to the Horse Park. These are the projects that our fellow citizens deemed the most important for our city AFTER the Games are over.

Each is connected to the other – each is only whole in relation to the other – both must succeed. Both will.

Many parts. One Legacy.

Leave us a message. Share with your friends. Now is the time to make Lexington a better place.

To find out more about us, click on the "about us" tab in the menu.

The clock is ticking! We now have less than 225 days until the games begin.

Questions or comments? Email Steve Austin: saustin@bgcf.org
follow us on twitter: lexlegacycenter andeastendlegacy

We've just received a final edition of a GREAT video about the Legacy Projects - hope you enjoy!

watch part 2 here - do it!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGtZQa0rzlQ

Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden design refinement

UPDATES:

1. We now have a design with which to begin construction of the Garden!

Led by the soul of the East End, the energy of the IMMAG volunteers, guided by landscape architect Mark Arnold, and supported with the gentle and warm person of Milenko Matanovic of the Pomegranate Center in Seattle, we reached a new level.

The Pomegranate Center combines design and art with community planning, public participation, environmental methods, hands-on learning and mentoring in an integrated process to help communities become more livable, sustainable, and socially engaged. For more info on the Pomegranate Center: http://www.pomegranate.org/

We came to the collective understanding that we are in the process of creating not a park, but a community gathering place. Parks can be static, nice to see, but no one uses it - we have enough of those around town. Gathering places are an extension of community life. The IMMAG will be a place to play, sure, but also, learn, discuss, create, ponder, participate, watch, and listen.

East End is gaining so many meaningful places – the Lyric, the William Wells Brown School, but a community gathering place is still lacking. That is the role the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden will fill. And the design now completely fits that. There will be a “river path” connecting the neighborhood to the Garden. A spiral seating area will be both visually interesting as well as a place for teaching and performances. Community-created art will be found throughout the Garden, ever evolving and changing. And overall, the spirit of Isaac Murphy himself will connect the place to the larger city, via the Legacy Trail.

This Garden will be helped be built by citizens. It is not a gift to the city, it is a gift by the city for the city. Our fingerprints will be all over it. In keeping with the spirit of the Pomegranate center, this will be a place of multiple victories. Victories of art and community involvement, victories of recognition and respect, victories of beauty and togetherness. Victories for our possibilities.

Much work remains to be done. We need you. We need you to volunteer to be a part of the creation of this place, to get your boots and hands dirty. We need you to share this story. We need you to identify the artists, craftspeople, artisans, storytellers, and poets who must be involved in this garden’s birth. We need you to find the materials that belong in the Garden. We need you to help financially and in uncovering in-kind possibilities. We need you to find the ways that this place can be used, the ceremonies, the celebrations, the learning, and creating that can take place here. We need your head and your heart.

Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden Christmas Tree Lighting!

Scores of kids, their parents and city neighbors came out to see one of the most visible symbols of the East End revival: an official City Christmas tree. We had caroling, hot cider, cookies, kids decorating the tree (the Lexington Fire Department helped us get to the top). Under a full moon and a cold sky, that glowing, beautiful tree offered a lot of warmth for the future of this city! For more pics click here (thanks Geoff): http://www.flickr.com/photos/geoffandsherry/ Please visit the Isaac Murphy site: http://www.isaacmurphy.org/IMMAG/Home.html

Lots of great things going on in the East End - Lyric Theatre renovation underway, Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden, William Wells Brown School, new homes in Equestrian View, Art in Motion bus shelter, new energy and great spirit - scroll down for more details. Read Business Lexington's article "The East End gets its Groove": http://www.bizlex.com/Articles-c-2009-07-22-88484.113117_The_East_End_gets_its_groove.html

"This is the most exciting time to live in the East End. There is so much positive energy, things are beginning to happen. " Thomas Tolliver

UPDATES
1. Look for groundbreaking on the Trail in March - we'll keep you posted.
2. We are proceeding with a master plan for public art along the trail - a community meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 23 at 7:00pm in the Lexington Public Library.
3. Work on a narrative plan for the Trail - to tell it's story - is on-going. Stay tuned.
4. UK Landscape Architecture Students will be working on expanding the trail into the region - first public meeting is Friday, February 12 at 2:00pm at the Fayette County Extension Office. Call us for details.

The Legacy Trail will be a nine-mile walking and biking trail leading from the Issac Murphy Memorial Art Garden in the East End, and other areas in downtown, to the Horse Park. After leaving the trailhead at the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden, the Legacy Trail will follow 3rd Street to Newtown Pike. Other street connections in downtown will feed into the Trail. The Trail will go off-street north of Loudon Avenue at the Northside Family YMCA, pass across the Lexmark property and over New Circle Road across Lexmark's bridge. In the short term, there will be only one major street crossing, at Newtown Pike and Citation. Eventually, the plan is to create a sculptural pedestrian bridge over Newtown Pike. Over time this Trail will grow and link to Georgetown to the north and to the Kentucky River on the south.

We see the Legacy Trail as a nine-mile sculpture gallery, an extended book that will reveal our past and future, a way to learn about our unique environment, and a great way to simply get healthy and enjoy our beautiful countryside. This multi-use corridor will be a wonderful connection from urban Lexington to rural Fayette county - and over time it will tie into the other great trails being established here like the Town Branch Trail as well as into our northside neighborhoods.

The Trail will tie into the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden. Isaac Murphy was a leading African American Jockey in the late 19th Century who lived and worked in Lexington's East End. His final resting place is at the Kentucky Horse Park. Its a natural that the Trail and his park should become linked. The Issac Murphy Memorial Art Garden is also one of the city's Legacy Projects - there is much more information found below on this page.

Legacy Trail Design Booklet
The link below will take you to the final design booklet for the Trail. This booklet is the guiding document to the design and construction of the trail. Within it you'll find recommendations for the overall alignment, elements such as signage and amenities, as well as public art. Construction planning is underway, adhering to this document, and we are anticipating a HUGE groundbreaking celebration in early October. This will give us plenty of time to complete the trail prior to the 2010 World Equestrian Games. This is a very large file and will take a little bit to load - click here: Legacy Trail Design Booklet.pdf
CHECK OUT THE PICTURES OF THE TRAIL ROUTE ON THIS SITE!

Legacy Trail Funding
We now have over $10 million with which to build the infrastructure of the trail. We still need funding for arts and amenities - the things that will truly make this the best trail in central Kentucky.

While we have shown generally the Trail route, the rural areas are NOT open to the public - please dont ride or walk on private property.

ACEWeekly Annual Best of Lex READERS’ Poll: Legacy Trail voted “best thing to happen to the suburbs this year”! We want to thank everyone for their tremendous support of the Legacy Trail.
http://www.aceweekly.com/

How you can help:
+ Become an official spokesperson for the Trail - we can teach you everything you need to know
+ Share with us what stories the Trail should tell - cultural, environmental, etc
+ Be a Legacy Trail "friend gatherer" - get folks to join this site, or become a friend of the Trail on Facebook: Legacy Trail!
+ Give us your ideas of how the Trail can be used - share videos, pictures, or your words on this website
+ You can make a tax deductible contribution to the Trail Fund at Blue Grass Community Foundation and help us make this a reality! www.bgcf.org