Tucked away off Caden Lane and shrouded by tree cover, you'll find a one room structure that sat vacant and in disrepair for decades.
That's until a project called "A Sense of Place" came along, vowing to preserve the Rosenwald School, where Black students learned prior to desegregation. Now, just a glimpse shows what a change a few years makes — a fresh coat of paint, restored windows, and the soon-to-be-unveiled interior, which was redone to appear as it did when the school was in use in the early 20th century.
Adrienne Ticour with Lexington Parks and Recreation says there's a reason the inside won't be on display until June 19, otherwise known as Juneteenth.
"It is a historical marker of the resilience of the Black community prior to and after the period of slavery as it fully ended on June 19, and it is one of the only public spaces in Lexington where Parks and Recreation can help the city at large invite the community in to see and experience this living part of history that's with us still," she says.
Meanwhile, the city is also working to restore a cemetery behind the school, which was once covered in vegetation that's been cleared away. Workers are conducting tests on the ground to see where interments occurred.