UK plans to raze a 1908 campus building. Preservationists say it would be a mistake
A Lexington preservation group is pushing back against a plan by the University of Kentucky to raze a former agricultural building to make way for an expansion of the business school.
In a Facebook post, Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation said the state’s flagship university plans to demolish the C.W. Mathews building at 606 S. Limestone. The building was constructed in 1908.
“In 1907, mechanical engineering professors F. Paul Anderson and Leon Frankel (of the firm Frankel & Curtis) designed this striking Beaux-Arts/Colonial Revival building as one wing of a much larger facility for the Department of Agriculture that was never constructed,“ the Dec. 17 post reads.
The agriculture building was renamed in 1976 to honor Professor Clarence Wentworth Mathews, a former dean and horticulture professor who died in 1928. A Massachusetts native, Mathews constructed Queen Anne home at nearby 660 S. Limestone in 1900 and lived there for the remainder of his life, according to the trust.
Zak Leonard, historic preservation manager for Blue Grass Trust, said the Mathews building is unique as it also represents the university’s past, when it was largely an agriculture school. It’s also unique because it was designed by UK professors.
Jonathan Coleman, executive director of Blue Grass Trust, said the building is in a prominent location, near Memorial Hall.
“It will be a significant loss and a very visual one for those who travel down South Limestone,” Coleman said.
During a June UK board of trustees meeting, the building at 606 S. Limestone was declared surplus. That’s typically done when a building is slated for sale or, in this case, demolition.
The Mathews building will be razed to make room for an expansion of the nearby UK Gatton College of Business and Economics, according to UK. The university announced in April it was expanding the college for the third time since 1963. The school has seen a dramatic increase in enrollment, officials said in April.
“We urge the administration to reconsider this decision, which has not been publicized, and safeguard a key part of the university’s own heritage,” Blue Grass Trust wrote.
UK says 1908 building is too costly to maintain
Jay Blanton, a spokesman for UK, said the university needs to tear down the building, which has long been plagued with mechanical and insect problems, to make room for the business school expansion.
“Gatton is making tremendous progress on fund-raising for this critically important expansion as the college has continued to grow its enrollment to meet the workforce needs of the Commonwealth,” Blanton said.
A timeline for demolition has not been set. The building has been empty for more than a year, Blanton said. It most recently housed the marketing and communications department.
“There were ongoing, consistent and repeated issues with heating and cooling,” Blanton said. “There were issues with termites and cockroaches that repeated fumigation did not mitigate. Accessibility was a constant concern and challenge as well.”
As problems stacked up, the building has become too costly to maintain, he said.
“Making continued repairs to the building, only to come back to make the same repairs again and again, was and is cost prohibitive, particularly when the space could be utilized for the benefit of students with the expansion of Gatton,” Blanton said.
In the past, historic preservationists have successfully convinced UK to back off demolition plans of historic buildings. In 2012, UK was set to demolish C.W. Mathew’s home at 660 S. Limestone and an adjoining property. After a public outcry, the university aborted its plans.
This story was originally published December 18, 2025 at 12:17 PM.
