The twin spires turn 130 this year at Churchill Downs.

For 130 years, the twin spires have stood watch over America's most famous racetrack, through devastating tornadoes and floods, two world wars and a global pandemic. Like New York City's Empire State Building, Seattle's Space Needle, and The Alamo in San Antonio, the twin spires are Louisville's most important landmark and provide a sense of place.

"One of the things you hope for in architecture is that you're designing something recognizable," said Rolf Provan, president and CEO of Louisville-based architecture firm Luckett & Farley. "It's quite rare to design something like the twin spires, which are so visually amazing that they are instantly recognizable, celebrated and iconic."

The credit for designing the spires goes to a 24-year-old draftsman working in the Louisville office of D. X. Murphy & Bro., Architects, which changed its name to Luckett & Farley in 1962. In 1894, Joseph Baldez was tasked with designing a new grandstand for Churchill Downs, then known as the Louisville Jockey Club, which he decided needed something extra to give the building a more striking appearance.