FRANKFORT, Ky., Aug. 13, 2019 — In a naming ceremony today, Finance and Administration Cabinet Secretary William M. Landrum III officially announced the name of Kentucky’s newest state office building, The Mayo-Underwood Building, referencing the Mayo-Underwood High School, the African-American school that stood for more than 40 years at the corner of Mero Street and Wilkinson Blvd, where the new EOP-designed building is now situated.
Before today, no historical marker existed to commemorate the memory of the high school, razed after its neighborhood, The Craw, was damaged in the 1937 flood. Capital Plaza Tower occupied the site until it was demolished 18 months ago for the office building. However, the Commonwealth saved a monument and brass plague that stood on the Capital Plaza Site regarding the high school, and those markers will be placed in a prominent location within the lobby.
“History is important,” remarked Landrum. “I’ve read and heard about the profound impact and lasting memories residents of the area have of the Mayo-Underwood School. It continues to be an enduring symbol of community where doctors, lawyers, teachers and many civic leaders graduated.”
The facility, developed by CRM Companies and constructed by D.W. Wilburn, is a state-of-the-art, 385,500-square-foot, 5-story building with attached 1,206-space parking structure. The new office building for 1,600 employees will house four complete cabinets previously spread throughout 23 different locations. Those cabinets include Tourism, Arts & Heritage; Education/Workforce Development; Public Protection; and Labor.
“I’m so touched by the building’s name, especially to honor the citizens in the area,” said Frankfort Mayor Bill May. “They went to school in this area, and it honors the past as we move to the development of our future.”
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