ing livestock, thanks to depths of soil, body
of grass, and four good seasons."
Even so, Lexington could not remain im-
mune to broader trends. In the postwar
boom, with the G.I. Bill and the rise of the
automobile, urban expansion proved as
irresistible here as elsewhere. The chal-
lenge was to avoid the kind of suburban as-
similation Price characterises as "Anywhere,
U.S.A." So when Lexington designated its
girdles of development, it did so with due
vigilance. An Urban Service Boundary was
established by the New Circle Road: with-
in, there could be subdivisions, housing,
offices; beyond, a limit of one house per
ten-acre tract. (As it happens, it bisected
the old Beaumont estate.)
"Ever since the City Planning Commis-
sion was founded, in 1930, there has always
been this tension," Price says. "Our driver
