Dunbar Community Center

Dunbar Community Center is a three-story building offering a full-size gymnasium with bleachers, a weight room, exercise rooms, game rooms, an Esports lounge and flexible event spaces.

October Activities Calendar

November Activities Calendar

Activities

  • Organized sports (flag football, lacrosse, bowling, cornhole, soccer, dodgeball, pickleball, volleyball)
  • Open gym (basketball)
  • Arts and crafts – Open daily
  • ESports (video games, computer lab) – Open daily
  • Game room (pool, pop-a-shot, Table Tennis, etc.) – Open daily
  • Cooking classes
  • Fitness classes (all ages)
  • Library
  • Community gardening
  • Mentoring
  • Weight room / fitness room

History

Erected on Feb. 15, 1923, the original Dunbar High School was named after the famous 19th-century poet Paul Laurence Dunbar. It was the first black high school in Kentucky to be admitted to the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.

The building has a rich sports history. Legendary coach S.T. Roach built a basketball dynasty at the school, winning 512 games and capturing six regional titles and two Kentucky High School Athletic League State Championships. Numerous other championships were won across other sports over the school’s history. Major League Baseball notable Lou Johnson, whose iconic game-winning home run won the 1965 World Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers, was born in Lexington and attended Dunbar High School, where he played baseball and basketball.

In 1967 the school closed due to desegregation, with students divided among other high schools within Lexington. The building was acquired by Parks & Recreation in 1973. Portions of the old building, such as the original cornice above the entrance, were kept. The rest of the building was renovated and converted into a community center which opened in 1978. Other floors of the building were made into offices for Lexington Parks & Recreation, which are still used as offices for the division today.

There are two large murals in Dunbar Community Center. In 1990, local artist, writer, professor, and former Kentucky Poet Laureate Frank X. Walker worked with neighborhood kids to paint a fence row mural outside the gym, celebrating African-American history. In 2017, artist Christine Kuhn painted 15 murals on the side of the building depicting iconic people and memories tied to the center and school through stories shared by a former graduating class.

 

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