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1914
21c Museum Hotel Lexington
Lexington, Kentucky
167 W. Main Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40507
Original Property Opened in 1914
Historic Hotels of America member since 2019
art
The 21c Museum Hotel Lexington building dates back to 1913, when the Fayette National Bank constructed its grand headquarters. Yearning for a place to do business that could properly reflect its prestige, the bank hired architectural firm, McKim, Mead & White, to design its new home. 21c Museum Hotels acquired the building in 2012. Following a four-year renovation, the towering edifice was opened as the 21c Museum Hotel Lexington. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the building today is both a luxurious hotel and a contemporary art museum. Woven into the fabric of downtown Lexington, the hotel welcomes both visitors and the local community to enjoy its curated exhibitions and cultural programming.
DISCOVER
- Discover the imposing façade of the 21c Museum Hotel Lexington, which was the first skyscraper in Lexington and the first building in the region with an elevator. The Fayette National Bank was the last high-rise office building built before World War I in the city, and features Beaux-Arts Classical, Imperial Roman, French Renaissance, and Baroque design elements.
- Discover historic details complemented with artwork and the iconic Blue Penguin throughout the 21c Museum Hotel Lexington. See the original mail shafts and Greek key tile work at each elevator landing, and visit the art gallery to see innovative artwork in the 7,000-square-foot space.
- Discover the beautiful artwork on display at this outstanding historic hotel. Varying in color and lit from within, the acrylic spheres hanging overhead in Lockbox, the restaurant at 21c Lexington, are arranged as atmospheric molecules in Bigert & Bergstrom’s multi-media installation, Tomorrow’s Weather. The atmospheric molecules (H2O, C2, N2, etc.) change color depending on the following day’s weather forecast.
- Learn about the History of the 21c Hotel’s Penguins that have remain part of the Hotel’s permanent exhibition since 2006. They were first debuted at 21c Louisville and 21c founders Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson purchased the sculptures after seeing them perched around the city at the 2005 Venice Biennale public art project. People really interacted with the penguins would be seen taking photos with them, taking them to dinner, and even just walking around with them. They became an icon and contributed to the hotel’s mission of making contemporary art more accessible to the public. Over a decade and many hotels later, each 21c has its own flock of Penguins and each are in the color that embody the singular identity of the city. (For those looking to visit them all: 21c Louisville, Red Penguin; 21c Cincinnati, Yellow Penguin; 21c Bentonville, Green Penguin; 21c Lexington, Blue Penguin; 21c Durham, Fuschia Penguin; 21c Oklahoma City, Purple Penguin, 21c Nashville, Teal Penguin, 21c Kansas City, Sky Blue Penguin).
EXPLORE
- Explore the Mary Todd Lincoln House, the childhood home of the future First Lady that was the first historic site restored in honor of a First Lady. Wander through the 14-room house and see its period furniture, portraits, and artifacts.
- Explore Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate that is a U.S. National Historic Landmark in the central Bluegrass region. Tour the 18-room mansion and see the Henry Clay exhibit room, as well as the outbuildings, formal garden and walking trails, and Civil War monument.
- Explore the Headley-Whitney Museum of Art, which began as a private gallery for George Headley III and is named after Headley and its benefactors Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney and Marylou Whitney. See the Bibelot and Jewel Room, Library Collection, Shell Grotto, Whitney Estate Dollhouses, and Marylou Whitney Garden.
EXPERIENCE
- Experience a gallery tour of the 21c Museum Hotel Lexington. Part of North America’s only multi-venue museum dedicated to contemporary art, most of the 21c Museum team is based out of Louisville, and Lexington’s Museum Manager is Alex Brooks, a local writer, artist, and printmaker.
- Experience a performance at the Lexington Opera House, a historic theater dating back to 1886 that is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. After the grand theater’s stints as a vaudeville house and movie theater, this intimate venue features ballet and opera performances, concerts, and Broadway national tour performances.
- Experience Keeneland, a U.S. National Historic Landmark, and enjoy a thrilling horse race on the Keeneland Racetrack, which is located in Lexington, the Horse Capital of the World.
TASTE
- Enjoy seasonal local cuisine at Lockbox, the signature restaurant of the 21c Museum Hotel Lexington. Dine among the original marble floors, decorative plaster details, and large windows while sitting at a communal table in the dining room, or enjoy the best in private dining in The Safe, the original vault of the Fayette National Bank.
- Taste world-famous Kentucky bourbon by joining the Bourbon Passport Club at Lockbox, the signature restaurant of this historic hotel. Sample all that Bourbon Country has to offer, as Lexington was home to the first registered distillery in Central Kentucky, and head to the historic Distillery District.
- Savor the daily deviled egg appetizer at Dudley’s on Short. Located in The Northern Bank Building, which dates back to 1889, Dudley’s currently occupies one of the most prominent historic buildings in downtown Lexington.
FEATURED ACCOMMODATIONS
Featured Offers
Best Available Rate
Book the Best Available Rate at this property on HistoricHotels.org and receive a complimentary one-year family membership (a $30 value) to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Stay Longer Experience More
The longer your stay, the more you save. Stay 5 or more days and receive:
- Deluxe suite upgrade
- One free room per 5 nights stayed
- Mini fridge and microwave
- 24-hour fitness center access with Peloton bikes
- 10% off gift shop purchases
- $10 mini bar credit per day
- Complimentary wifi and Business Center
