Higgins Block (Lexington, Kentucky)

The Higgins Block, also known as the Fayette Cigar Store, in Lexington, Kentucky, is a 3-story brick building designed by John McMurtry and constructed in 1872. The cast iron, Italianate facade originally contained five storefronts on West Main Street, each with three window bays. The surviving 2-storefront building is a remnant of the original commercial block, shortened in 1912 when construction of the Fayette National Bank Building required demolition of part of the Higgins Block. The remains of the Higgins Block were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.[2]

Higgins Block
The Higgins Block in 2019
Location145--151 W. Main St., Lexington, Kentucky
Coordinates38°02′49″N 84°29′52″W
Arealess than one acre
Built1872 (1872)
ArchitectMcMurtry,John
Architectural styleItalianate
NRHP reference No.77000613[1]
Added to NRHPAugust 12, 1977

A public auction of the east 18-foot exposure of the Higgins Block was held in 1900 to divide the estate of the Higgins family, and the sale may have helped to preserve what is left of the building.[3]

John Allen Higgins (1831-1880) was a planter who owned a farm near Lexington and a plantation in Arkansas.[4] He was a son of Joel Higgins (1802-1859) and lived at Lexington's Higgins Mansion (1837-2017) until his death.[5]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. Mrs. Richard Schubert (November 28, 1976). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Higgins Block". National Park Service. Retrieved May 9, 2019. With accompanying pictures
  3. "Public Sale of Business Property". Morning Herald. Lexington, Kentucky. March 11, 1900. p. 2. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  4. Charles Kerr (1922). History of Kentucky. IV. American Historical Society. p. 203. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  5. Janie-Rice Brother (June 9, 2016). "The Clamor of the Wrecking Ball: Two Historic Houses Fall on Lexington Avenue in Lexington, Kentucky". Gardens to Gables. Archived from the original on November 14, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2019.

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