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.