Newest Historical Marker Tells of Phoenix Hotel in Lexington

The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) dedicated a new historical marker on the former site of the storied Phoenix Hotel in Lexington on Thursday, June 23. For many years, the hotel was the regular weekly meeting site of the Rotary Club of Lexington, which sponsored the historical marker.

The marker is at the corner of Limestone and East Main streets. It notes a hotel occupied the site in downtown Lexington for 180 years, from 1797, when John Postlethwait opened an inn and tavern, until 1977, when the eventual Phoenix Hotel was closed. The building was demolished in 1982 and the land is now the site of Phoenix Park.

The historical marker also notes the Rotary Club of Lexington, the third to be chartered in Kentucky, first met on June 23, 1915, and held weekly meetings at the Phoenix Hotel until 1942. In 2015 the Rotary Club of Lexington marked its centennial.

More than 2,400 historical markers statewide tell Kentucky’s history. Also on the site is the Explore Kentucky History app, a source of supplemental information about marker topics and virtual tours of markers by theme. KHS administers the Kentucky Historical Marker Program in cooperation with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.