Waiting for Isaac Murphy

By Patrice Morgan

As the revitalization of Lexington’s East End begins to make major headlines, I find myself asking the question: The Lyric Theatre has reopened…now what about the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden?

Isaac Burns Murphy was born in 1861 in Bourbon County, Kentucky. Before his death in 1896 he became a legend, winning three Kentucky Derbies and leaving behind a legacy unmatched more than one hundred years later. Interest in educating the community about Murphy’s accomplishments was sparked some three years ago. David Cozart, along with other members of Leadership Lexington, a program sponsored by Commerce Lexington, began a community project focusing on the East End of Lexington. The group asked members of the William Wells Brown Neighborhood Association what they thought would be a valuable project for the neighborhood. Out of this collaboration came the idea for the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden. The garden would pay homage to, and educate people about, Murphy and other African-Americans’ contributions to Kentucky thoroughbred racing.

Cozart, President of the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden, said the goal is to “create a functional public space where individuals and families can come together and do art, education, and recreation.” The memorial garden is sure to be a popular site amongst neighborhood residents and those from surrounding communities. Located on Third Street at Midland Avenue, the memorial garden, currently populated by hundreds of flags, has been shown through both archaeological evidence and old property records to have been once owned by Isaac and Lucy Murphy.

Along with the link to Murphy, this area is historically significant because of its long-standing association with horse racing. Before Keeneland, the Kentucky Association Race Track, active in the 1800s and located where William Wells Brown Elementary now stands, was once home to live racing action. Race Street acquired its name for leading up to the Kentucky Association Race Track. Established in 1826 by 60 prominent businessmen, the Kentucky Association was founded to promote the breeding and racing of thoroughbreds in the Bluegrass. The construction of a racetrack in 1828 began the association’s long history of racing; it’s demise came with the opening of Keeneland in 1935.

Latest rendering of Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden. Courtesy of David Cozart.

The project, estimated to cost $400,000, has received donations from Fifth Third Bank, Toyota, and Keeneland, along with other private benefactors. About half the cost has been allocated from state funds, and the use of native materials such as Kentucky limestone has helped make the project more cost effective. LFUCG Parks and Recreation will help with the upkeep of the property. The William Wells Brown Neighborhood Association has also become a big part of the project, along with the Friends of Isaac Murphy Memorial Garden Association, which aims to create programming for the garden.

Acquiring funds has been difficult, Cozart said, due to the fact that “raising the money in a horrific economic climate is obviously a barrier.” Cozart also remarked that “when using federal or government dollars there are lots and lots of requirements. We had to make property title transfers, do environmental studies, land sample, and other technical things that are time-consuming and tedious at times.”

The community has also had the opportunity to take a hands-on approach to the memorial garden. In planning, Cozart’s Lexington Leadership group was “determined to make this a grassroots, community-led process and project; it took a little longer to do design, concepts, and things because you had to make sure folks had ample opportunity for input and that decisions were not made and tenets were not established by just a select few. Public meetings and input events were held, and the information was sifted through, and as many as possible were folded into the ‘spirit’ of the project and process. This takes time and fair judgment. Something that many processes are not willing to do.”

In addition to giving input, community members have contributed to the groundwork for the garden by physically helping create a space that would be beneficial not only to them, but also to others outside the neighborhood. Summer children’s programs and the Lexington Art League have made concrete art tiles, now on display, that will eventually be a part of the sidewalks throughout the garden. The actual design, although recently modified, will consist of an amphitheater and interchangeable art display panels in an effort to provide education to its visitors.

The creation of the garden has also been the key in the University of Kentucky’s effort to launch a statewide literacy project entitled “Isaac Murphy Everybody Reads Project” featuring Patsi Trollinger’s Perfect Timing and Frank X Walker’s Isaac Murphy: I Dedicate This Ride.

“Getting folks that are not familiar with, not concerned with, or see no value in placing a high-quality product/space in ‘that area of town’ presented a challenge at points,” Cozart said of support for art garden.

The larger message, however, is that the East End is being revitalized. Throughout the past few years, there has been a noticeable face-lift in the East End growing from the desire to revive a once thriving neighborhood. Banners commemorating Isaac Murphy, the restoration of the Lyric Theatre, and new housing due to efforts of the Urban League are all signs of progress in the area. These things not only serve as “signification that revitalization is here and coming,” Cozart said, but also to “remind people and let them know about the thriving history [of the area].”