Recently I acquired a large platter with the Phoenix Hotel Lexington logo on the front.  The back lists the supplier or manufacturer as J.D. Purcell Home Furnishings, Lexington, Ky.  From the web I discovered the Phoenix was razed in 1987, but couldn’t find any information on the J.D. Purcell Store as to the years it was in operation.  Do you have the dates they were in business, and where they were located in Lexington?

The store owned by J. D. Purcell, known by patrons as Purcell’s, opened as the Racket Store in 1887. In 1923, he erected the building that housed the store which closed in 1970. Purcell was also the founder of what is now Central Bank.
The building was demolished in 1980 to make way for Vine Plaza and eventually the Radisson Hotel. It was located at 320 West Main St.
Purcell’s history in Lexington was rich. It was the first store to offer trading stamps and one of the first stores to have Santa Claus at Christmas.
The Phoenix Hotel, a fixture in Lexington since the mid-1800s, closed in 1974. It was torn down in 1982 by Wallace Wilkinson to make way for an office tower which never materialized. It was at 120-22 East Main Street and extended to the corner of Main and Limestone.

Filed under: Lexington History