walkLEX: Gratz Park

Bounded by Lexington’s Third, Mill, Second and Market Streets is Gratz Park. On its grounds once stood the Transylvania Seminary, which moved north across Third Street to its present-location. Remaining in the park from the days of the school is the Old Kitchen Building.

The park also contains “The Fountain of Youth,” a statue gifted to the “children of Lexington” by author James Lane Allen. The cities old library, a Carnegie, remains on the south end of the park and operates as the Center for Literacy. The park is named after Lexington businessman Benjamin Gratz, whose home stands at the corner of Mill and New Streets. Some of the cities finest historical homes are in this neighborhood. It also serves as a public gathering place for art fairs and the annual Fourth of July Concert by the Lexington Philharmonic.