Since 2003, Louisville and Jefferson County have shared the same borders following acity-county merger.[13] The consolidated government is officially called the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government, commonly known as Louisville Metro.[14][15] The term "Jefferson County" is still used in some contexts, especially forincorporated cities outside the "balance" area that defines Louisville proper. The total population of the consolidated area was 782,969 at the2020 census, while the balance area (excluding other incorporated cities) had a population of 633,045 and is often cited in national statistics.[16][17] TheLouisville metropolitan area, which includes 12 surrounding counties in Kentucky andSouthern Indiana, has 1.39 million residents and is the43rd-largest metropolitan area in the U.S.[d]
All three are generally considered acceptable; the Louisville Visitor Center says that only the rare/ˈluːɪsvɪl/ⓘLOO-iss-vil is completely unacceptable (though it is the correct pronunciation for the name of the much smallerLouisville, Colorado). There are also acceptable hybrid ways of saying the name, such as/ˈluːəvɪl/LOO-ə-vil, a mixture of the first and second pronunciations.[22]
The dominant local pronunciation, theLOO-ə-vəl pronunciation is widely practiced and accepted.[23] Some even refer to it as the "only" correct way to pronounce the name of the city.[24]LOO-ee-vil, while respecting the proper pronunciation of the name ofthe French king who gave Louisville its name, is significantly less common among locals. It is, however, frequently used by those not from the area.[21][24] In 2001, local journalist and historian George H. Yater noted that older natives tended toward the second pronunciation, and that both the first and second pronunciations were used equally in local radio and television broadcasting; however, new personalities were taught that the first one was "correct".[25]
LUUV-əl is a less common, particularly rural way of saying the name. While it is considered acceptable, it is not as widely heard as the others.[citation needed]
Since the Falls created a barrier to river travel, settlements grew at thisportage point. The first European settlement in the vicinity of modern-day Louisville was onCorn Island in 1778 by Col. George Rogers Clark, credited as the founder of Louisville. Several landmarks in the community are named after him.[26]
View of 2nd Street and Main Street, Louisville, in 1846
The city's early growth was influenced by the fact that river boats had to be unloaded and moved downriver before reaching the falls. By 1828, the population had grown to 7,000 and Louisville became an incorporated city.[30]
Early Louisville was a major shipping port andenslaved African Americans worked in a variety of associated trades.[31] The city was often a point of escape forfugitive slaves to the north, as Indiana was a free state.[31][32]
During this point in the 1850s, the city was growing and vibrant, but that also came with negativity. It was the center of planning, supplies, recruiting, and transportation for numerous campaigns, especially in theWestern Theater. Ethnic tensions rose, and on August 6, 1855, known as "Bloody Monday", Protestant mobs attacked German and Irish Catholic neighborhoods on election day, resulting in 22 deaths and widespread property damage.[33] Then by 1861, the civil war had broken out.During the Civil War, Louisville was a major stronghold ofUnion forces, which kept Kentucky firmly in the Union. By the end of the war, the city of Louisville itself had not been attacked, although skirmishes and battles, including the battles ofPerryville andCorydon, took place nearby. After the war, returningConfederate veterans largely took political control of the city, leading to the jibe that Louisville joined theConfederacy after the war was over.[34]
The firstKentucky Derby was held on May 17, 1875, at the Louisville Jockey Club track (later renamedChurchill Downs).[35] The Derby was originally shepherded byMeriwether Lewis Clark Jr., the grandson of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and grandnephew of the city's founder George Rogers Clark. Horse racing had a strong tradition in Kentucky, whoseInner Bluegrass Region had been a center of breeding high-quality livestock throughout the 19th century. Ten thousand spectators watched the first Derby, whichAristides won.[36]
On March 27, 1890, the city was devastated and its downtown nearly destroyed when what scientists now estimate was anF4tornado tore through as part of themiddle Mississippi Valley tornado outbreak. It is estimated that between 74 and 120 people were killed and 200 were injured. The damage cost the city $2.5 million[37] (equivalent to $69 million in 2019).[38] Established in 1896,Neighborhood House Louisville was the firstsettlement movement house in the state.[39]
Following the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation, freed slaves settled in a neighborhood of Louisville called Little Africa, nicknamed "the gateway to the South", near the present neighborhood ofPark DuValle.[40] The neighborhood was described as a "thriving community" by the 1920s, and declined between the 1940s and 1950s.[40]
In 1914, the city of Louisville passed a racially based residential zoning code, following Baltimore, Atlanta, and a handful of cities in the Carolinas.[41] TheNAACP challenged the ordinance in two cases. Two weeks after the ordinance was enacted, an African-American named Arthur Harris moved into a house on a block designated for whites. He was prosecuted and found guilty. The second case was planned to create a test case.William Warley, the president of the local chapter of the NAACP, tendered a purchase offer on a white block from Charles Buchanan, a white real estate agent. Warley also wrote a letter declaring his intention to build a house on that lot and reside there. With the understanding that the Louisville ordinance made it illegal for him to live there, Warley withheld payment, setting in motion a breach of contract suit by Buchanan.[42] By 1917 the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case ofBuchanan v. Warley. The court struck down the Louisville residential segregation ordinance, ruling that it violated theFourteenth Amendment'sdue process clause.[43]
In 1917, shortly after the United States' entry intoWorld War I, Louisville was selected as the site of Camp Zachary Taylor. Camp Taylor was one of the country's largest World War I training camps. It was home of the 84th Infantry Division and trained over 150,000 men by the end of war, includingF. Scott Fitzgerald. The camp was closed in 1921. Many of the buildings and infrastructure in the Camp Taylor neighborhood of Louisville are there as a result of the training camp.
In 1929, Louisville completed thelock and dam in theFalls of the Ohio and the city began referring to itself as "where Northern enterprise andSouthern hospitality meet". Between the industrial boom of that year and through theGreat Depression, Louisville gained 15,000 new residents, about 3% of them black, most fleeing poverty in rural areas.[44]
Throughout January 1937, 19.17 inches (48.7 cm) of rain fell in Louisville, and by January 27, the Ohio River crested at a record 57.15 feet (17.42 m), almost 30 feet (9.1 m) above flood stage. These events triggered the"Great Flood of 1937", which lasted into early February. Theflood submerged 60–70 percent of the city, caused complete loss of power for four days, and forced the evacuation of 175,000 or 230,000 residents, depending on sources. 90 people died as a result of the flood.[45][46] This led to dramatic changes in where residents lived. After the flood, the areas of high elevation in the eastern part of the city had decades of residential growth. Today, the city is protected by numerousflood walls.
Louisville was a center for factory war production during World War II. In May 1942, the U.S. government assigned theCurtiss-Wright Aircraft Company, a war plant located at Louisville's air field, for wartime aircraft production. The factory produced theC-46 Commando cargo plane, among other aircraft. In 1946, the factory was sold toInternational Harvester, which began large-scale production of tractors and agricultural equipment. In 1950, the Census Bureau reported Louisville's population as 84.3% white and 15.6% black.[47]
Throughout the 1940s, Louisville had more blackpolice officers than any other Southern city, though they were allowed to patrol only black districts. This, in part, made Louisville seem like a more racially progressive city than other Southern cities, although only when black citizens accepted a lower status than white citizens. Many historians have referred to this "veil" of segregation as a"polite" racism. Historian George Wright stated that polite racism "often deluded both blacks and well-meaning whites into believing that real progress was being made in their city". For example, in the cityJim Crow practices were not maintained by law so much as by custom.[44]
Similar to many other older American cities, Louisville began to experience a movement of people and businesses to the suburbs in the 1960s and 1970s. Middle class residents used newly built freeways and interstate highways to commute to work, moving into more distant but newer housing. Because of tax laws, businesses found it cheaper to build new rather than renovate older buildings. Economic changes included a decline in local manufacturing. The West End and older areas of the South End, in particular, began to decline economically as many local factories closed.
In 1974, a major (F4) tornado hit Louisville as part of the1974 Super Outbreak of tornadoes that struck 13 states. It covered 21 miles (34 km) and destroyed several hundred homes in the Louisville area, causing two deaths.[48]
Since the 1980s, many of the city's urban neighborhoods have beenrevitalized into areas popular with young professionals and college students. The greatest change has occurred along theBardstown Road/Baxter Avenue andFrankfort Avenue corridors as well as theOld Louisville neighborhood. In recent years, such change has also occurred in theEast Market District (NuLu).[49]
On April 10, 2023, amass shooting occurred at theOld National Bank, killing five people, and injuring nine others. The suspect, who was a bank employee and who officials said was livestreaming the rampage, was killed by the police after exchanging fire with them.[55]
Hilly terrain blankets the southwest part of the city.
Louisville and Jefferson County have a combined area of 397.68 square miles (1,030.0 km2), of which 380.46 square miles (985.4 km2) is land and 17.23 square miles (44.6 km2) (4.33%) is covered by water.[56]
Louisville is southeasterly situated along the border between Kentucky andIndiana, theOhio River, in north-central Kentucky at theFalls of the Ohio. Louisville is anUpper South city located in aSouthern state that is influenced by bothSouthern andMidwestern culture. It is sometimes referred to as either one of the northernmost Southern cities or as one of the southernmost Northern cities in the United States.[57][58]
Louisville is located in Kentucky's outerBluegrass region.[59] Its development has been influenced by its location on the Ohio River, which spurred Louisville's growth from an isolated camp site into a major shipping port. Much of the city is located on a very wide and flatfloodplain surrounded by hill country on all sides. Much of the area was swampland that had to be drained as the city grew. In the 1840s, most creeks were rerouted or placed in canals to prevent flooding and disease outbreaks.
Areas generally east ofI-65 are above the flood plain, and are composed of gently rolling hills. The southernmost parts of Jefferson County are in the scenic and largely undevelopedKnobs region, which is home toJefferson Memorial Forest.
Thedowntown business district of Louisville is located immediately south of the Ohio River and southeast of the Falls of the Ohio. Major roads extend outwards from the downtown area in all directions. Theairport is about 6.75 miles (10.86 km) south of the downtown area. The industrial sections of town are to the south and west of the airport, while most of theresidential areas of the city are to the southwest, south, and east of downtown. In 2010, the 22,000-seatKFC Yum! Center was completed.[61][62] Twelve of the 15 buildings in Kentucky over 300 feet (91 m) are located in downtown Louisville.
Another primary business andindustrial district is located in the suburban area east of the city on Hurstbourne Parkway.[63]
Louisville's late 19th- and early 20th-century development was spurred by three large suburban parks built at the edges of the city in 1890.
The city'sarchitecture is a blend of old and new. TheOld Louisville neighborhood is the largesthistoric preservation district solely featuringVictorian homes and buildings in the United States;[64][65] it is also the third-largest district containing such architectural distinctions in the United States. Many modern skyscrapers are located downtown, as well as older preserved structures, such as theSouthern National Bank building. The buildings of West Main Street in downtown Louisville have the largest collection ofcast iron facades of anywhere outside of New York'sSoHo neighborhood.[66]
Since the mid-20th century, Louisville has in some ways been divided into three sides of town: the West End, the South End, and the East End. In 2003, Bill Dakan, aUniversity of Louisville geography professor, said that the West End, west of 7th Street and north of Algonquin Parkway, is "aeuphemism for the African American part of town" although he points out that this belief is not entirely true, and most African Americans no longer live in areas where more than 80% of residents are black. Nevertheless, he says the perception is still strong.[67] The South End has long had a reputation as a white,working-class part of town, while the East End has been seen as middle andupper class.[68]
According to the Greater Louisville Association of Realtors, the area with the lowest median home sales price is west of Interstate 65, in the West and South Ends. The middle range of home sales prices are between Interstates 64 and 65 in the South and East Ends, and the highest median home sales price are north of Interstate 64 in the East End.[69]Immigrants fromSoutheast Asia tend to settle in the South End, while immigrants fromEastern Europe settle in the East End.[70]
Louisville has ahumid subtropical climate (KöppenCfa), typical of theUpper South, and is located inUSDA plant hardiness zone 7a.[71] Springlike conditions typically begin in mid-to-late March, summer from mid-to-late-May to late September, with fall in the October–November period. Seasonal extremes in both temperature and precipitation are not uncommon during early spring and late fall;severe weather is not uncommon, with occasionaltornado outbreaks in the region. Winter typically brings a mix of rain, sleet, and snow, with occasional heavy snowfall and icing. Louisville averages 4.5 days with low temperatures dipping to 10 °F (−12 °C);[72] the first and last freezes of the season on average fall on November2 and April5, respectively.[73] Summer is typically hazy, hot, and humid with long periods of 90–100 °F (32–38 °C) temperatures and drought conditions at times. Louisville averages 38 days a year with high temperatures at or above 90 °F (32 °C). The mean annual temperature is 58.2 °F (14.6 °C), with an average annual snowfall of 12.7 inches (32 cm) and an average annual rainfall of 44.9 inches (1,140 mm).
The wettest seasons are spring and summer, although rainfall is fairly constant year round. During the winter, particularly in January and February, several days of snow can be expected. January is the coldest month, with a mean temperature of 34.9 °F (1.6 °C). July is the average hottest month with a mean of 79.3 °F (26.3 °C).[74] The highest recorded temperature was 107 °F (42 °C), which last occurred on July 14, 1936, and thelowest recorded temperature was −22 °F (−30 °C) on January 19, 1994.[75] In 2012, Louisville had the fourth-hottest summer on record, with the temperature rising up to 106 °F (41 °C) in July and the June all-time monthly record high temperature being broken on two consecutive days.[73] As the city exemplifies theurban heat island effect, temperatures in commercial areas and in the industrialized areas along interstates are often higher than in the suburbs, often as much as 5 °F (2.8 °C).
Between 1970 and 2000, Louisville lost population each decade. As of the2000 census, Louisville had a population of 256,231, down from the 1990 census population of 269,063.[11] Due to the city-county merger that occurred in 2003, which expanded the city limits, the city's population increased to 597,337 at the 2010 census count.
Louisville city, Kentucky – racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Louisville is the largest city in Kentucky, with 17.1% of the state's total population as of 2010; the balance's percentage was 13.8%.[84]
Map of racial distribution in Louisville, 2010 U.S. Census. Each dot is 25 people:⬤ White⬤ African American⬤ Asian⬤ Hispanic⬤ Other
The 2007 demographic breakdown for the entireLouisville Metro area was 74.8% White (71.7% non-Hispanic), 22.2% African American, 0.6% Native American, 2.0% Asian, 0.1% Hawaiian or Pacific islander, 1.4% other, and 1.6% multiracial. About 2.9% of the total population was identified as Hispanic of any race. During the same year, the area of premerger Louisville consisted 60.1% White, 35.2% African American, 1.9% Asian, 0.2% Native American, and 3.0% other, with 2.4% identified as Hispanic of any race.
Of the 287,012 households, 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.2% weremarried couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were not families. About 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.97.
The age distribution is 24.3% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.60 males.
Themedian income for a household in 2017 was $51,960. For non-family households the median income was $32,446, and for family households was $67,965. In 2017, males had a median income of $36,326 while females had a median income of $30,464.[85] The latest available data forper capita income comes from 2006, and was $23,304 for the county.[86] About 9.5% of families and 15.1% of the population were below thepoverty line in 2017, including 23.5% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those ages 65 or over.[87]
The 135,421Roman Catholic Louisvillians are part of theArchdiocese of Louisville, covering 24 counties in central Kentucky, and consisting of 121 parishes and missions spread over 8,124 square miles (21,040 km2).[89] TheCathedral of the Assumption in downtown Louisville is the seat of the Archdiocese of Louisville.Our Lady of Gethsemani Abbey, the monastic home of Catholic writerThomas Merton, is in nearbyBardstown, Kentucky, and also in the archdiocese. Most of Louisville's Roman Catholic population is of German descent, the result of large-scale 19th-century immigration.
One in three Louisvillians isSouthern Baptist, belonging to one of 147 local congregations.[90] This denomination increased in number when large numbers of people moved into Louisville in the early 20th century from rural Kentucky andTennessee to work in the city's factories; some of these migrants also formedHoliness andPentecostal churches andChurches of Christ.
The largestMethodist Church inKentucky, Christ Church United Methodist, is located in Louisville, and the city has boasted a large Methodist population since the cities founding.[91]
The city is home to twomegachurches.Southeast Christian Church, with its main campus inMiddletown and three others in the surrounding region, is, as of 2023[update], the eighth-largest church in the US by average weekend attendance.[92] St. Stephen Church[93] has the largest African American congregation in Kentucky.[94]
TheJewish population of around 18,300 in the metro area (as of 2022[update])[96] is served by fivesynagogues. Most Jewish families emigrated fromEastern Europe at the start of the 20th century; around 800Soviet Jews have moved to Louisville since 1991.[97] Jewish immigrants founded Jewish Hospital in what was once the center of the city's Jewish district. From 2005 to 2012, Jewish Hospital merged with two Kentucky-based Catholichealthcare systems to formKentuckyOne Health, which later in 2012 announced a partnership with theUniversity of Louisville Hospital. A significant focal point for Louisville's Jewish community is located nearBowman Field, where there are two Orthodox synagogues (includingAnshei Sfard, founded in 1893), the Jewish Community Center, Jewish Family and Career Services, and an affordable housing complex.
Muslims in Louisville number around 10,000, both indigenous and immigrants who arrived in the early 1960s from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, and Turkey. Immigrants from Afghanistan arrived in the early 1980s. Those from Iraq, Somalia, and Bosnia arrived in the 1990s, and the 2010s saw the arrival of immigrants from Kosovo. Manymosques andIslamic organizations exist in the metro area.[98]
Since 1996, every May, the Festival of Faiths,[99] a five-day nationalinterfaith gathering, is held featuring music, poetry, film, art, and dialogue. The festival is organized by the Center for Interfaith Relations[100] and is held atActors Theatre of Louisville.[101][102]
Louisville first welcomed theBaháʼí Faith in 1920. TheSpiritual Assembly of the Baháʼí of Louisville was formed in 1944 when their community reached the required amount of nine adult Baháʼís. The first Baháʼí center opened in Louisville in 1967 inCrescent Hill. When the community outgrew the space in 1985, it was sold and another center opened inBuechel in 1998.[103]
In a 2005 survey,Morgan Quitno Press ranked Louisville as the seventh safest large city in the United States.[104] The 2006 edition of the survey ranked Louisville eighth.[105]
In 2004, Louisville recorded 70 murders. The numbers for 2005 ranged from 55 to 59 (FBI says 55, LMPD says 59), which was down 16 percent from 2004.[106] In 2006, Louisville-Jefferson County recorded 50 murders, which was significantly lower than previous years. In 2008, Louisville recorded 79 murders.[107]
The Louisville Metro Area's overallviolent crime rate was 412.6 per 100,000 residents in 2005.[108] The Elizabethtown, Kentucky Metro Area, which is part of Louisville's Combined Statistical Area, was the 17th safest Metro in the U.S.[109] Kentucky has the 5th lowest violent crime rate out of the 50 states.[110]
In 2020, Louisville recorded 173 murders;[111] and, in 2021, Louisville recorded 188 murders amidst an ongoing violent crime wave in the city.[112]
The city has also been one of the hardest hit by the opioid epidemic. In 2021, Louisville broke the record for overdoses in the city. Heroin, fentanyl and other opioids have also attributed to an overall increase in violent crime, property crime and homelessness in the past decade.[113]
Violent crime is most concentrated west of downtown, especially in theRussell neighborhood. The West End, located north of Algonquin Parkway and West of 9th Street, had 32 of the city's 79 murders in 2007.[114]
Louisville today is home todozens of companies and organizations across severalindustrial classifications. However, the underpinning of the city's economy since its earliest days has been the shipping and cargo industries. Its strategic location at the Falls of the Ohio, as well as its unique position in the central United States (within one day's road travel to 60 percent of the cities in the continental U.S.) make it a practical location for the transfer of cargo along its route to other destinations.[115] TheLouisville and Portland Canal and theLouisville and Nashville Railroad were important links in water and rail transportation.
Louisville is a significant center of manufacturing, with two majorFord Motor Company plants, and the headquarters and majorhome appliance factory ofGE Appliances (a subsidiary ofHaier). The city is also a major center of theAmerican whiskey industry, with about one-third of allbourbon whiskey coming from Louisville.[118][119][120][121]Brown-Forman, one of the major makers of American whiskey, is headquartered in Louisville and operates a distillery in the Louisville suburb ofShively. The current primary distillery site operated byHeaven Hill, called theBernheim distillery, is also located in Louisville near Brown-Forman's distillery. Other distilleries and related businesses can also be found in neighboring cities in Kentucky, such asBardstown,Clermont,Lawrenceburg, andLoretto. Similar to theKentucky Bourbon Trail that links these central Kentucky locations, Louisville offers tourists its own "Urban Bourbon Trail",[122] where people can stop at nearly 20 "area bars and restaurants, all offering at least 50 labels of America's only native spirit".[120]
TheKentucky State Fair is held every August at theKentucky Exposition Center in Louisville as well, featuring an array of culture from all areas of Kentucky. In places, the African American community celebratesJuneteenth commemorating June 19, 1865, when enslaved African Americans in the western territories learned of their freedom.[130][131][132]
The month of October features theSt. James Court Art Show inOld Louisville. Thousands of artists gather on the streets and in the courtyard to exhibit and sell their wares, and the event is attended by many art collectors and enthusiasts. The show typically brings in a crowd of over 150,000 people and $3 million in sales.[134]
A Louisville locale that highlights the city's indie scene isBardstown Road, an area located in the heart of theHighlands. Bardstown Road is known[by whom?] for its cultural diversity and local trade. Though it is only about a mile (1.6 km) long, this strip of Bardstown Road constitutes much of the city's culture and diverse lifestyle, contributing to the unofficial "Keep Louisville Weird" slogan.
In downtown Louisville,21c Museum Hotel, a hotel that showcases contemporary art installations and exhibitions throughout its public spaces, and features a red penguin on its roof, is, according toThe New York Times, "an innovative concept with strong execution and prompt and enthusiastic service".[citation needed]
TheWest Main District indowntown Louisville features what is locally known as "Museum Row". In this area is theFrazier History Museum, which opened in 2004 as an armaments museum but since has expanded its focus. It originally featured the only collection ofRoyal Armouries artifacts outside of the United Kingdom until remaining display items were returned in 2015.
TheSpeed Art Museum opened in 1927 and is the oldest and largestart museum in Kentucky. The museum was closed for three years, re-opening in 2016 with 220,000 sq. ft. of renovations.[136] Located adjacent to theUniversity of Louisville, the museum features over 12,000 pieces of art in its permanent collection and hosts traveling exhibitions. Multiple art galleries are located in the city, but they are especially concentrated in theEast Market District (NuLu), immediately to the east of downtown.[citation needed] This row of galleries, plus others in the West Main District, are prominently featured in the monthly First Friday Hop.[citation needed]
Actors Theatre of Louisville presents approximately 600 performances of about 30 productions annually. From 1976 to 2021, it hosted theHumana Festival of New American Plays, a month-long festival of plays in the spring; the last festival took place virtually due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. The event was discontinued after the festival's chief sponsor, the Humana Foundation, refocused its philanthropic endeavors to support health-based initiatives.[138]
The Louisville Orchestra was founded in 1937 by conductorRobert Whitney. The orchestra today performs more than 125 concerts per year. The orchestra won the2024 Grammy Award for "Best Classical Instrumental Solo".[139]
College basketball is particularly popular. TheLouisville Cardinals'sFreedom Hall averaged sellouts for 10 straight years and the DowntownKFC Yum! Center following suit with regular sellouts. The Cardinals ranked third nationally in attendance in2012–13,[140] the most recent of the program's three[g] national championship seasons (1980, 1986, 2013[g]). The Cardinals also hold the Big East conference women's basketball paid attendance record with nearly 17,000 attending the game against theKentucky Wildcats in 2008.The Louisville market has ranked first in ratings for the NCAA men's basketball tournament every year since 1999.[141] TheKentucky Wildcats used to play an annual game in Freedom Hall.
Between 1967 and 1976, Louisville was home to theKentucky Colonels of theAmerican Basketball Association. The Colonels was one of the ABA's most successful teams during its existence, winning four division titles and the 1975 ABA Championship, but was not invited to join theNBA when the two leaguesmerged in 1976, and subsequently folded.
Louisville Metro has 122 cityparks covering more than 13,000 acres (53 km2). Several of these parks were designed byFrederick Law Olmsted, who also designed New York City'sCentral Park as well as parks, parkways, college campuses and public facilities in many U.S. locations. TheLouisville Waterfront Park is prominently located on the banks of theOhio River near downtown and features large open areas, which often hold freeconcerts and otherfestivals. TheBig Four Bridge, a former railroad bridge spanning 547 feet (167 m) but is now a pedestrian bridge connecting Waterfront Park with Jeffersonville, Indiana's waterfront park, fully opened in May 2014 with the completion of Jeffersonville's ramp.[148][149]Cherokee Park, one of the most visited parks in the nation,[150] features a 2.6-mile (4.2 km) mixed-use loop and many well-known landscaping and architectural features including theHogan's Fountain Pavilion. Other notable parks in the system includeIroquois Park,Shawnee Park,Seneca Park andCentral Park.
In development is theCity of Parks, a project to create a 110-mile (180 km) continuous paved pedestrian and biking trail called theLouisville Loop around Louisville Metro while also adding a large amount of park land. Current plans call for making approximately 4,000 acres (16 km2) of theFloyds Fork flood plain in easternJefferson County into a new park system calledThe Parklands of Floyds Fork, expanding area in the Jefferson Memorial Forest, and adding riverfront land and wharfs along the Riverwalk and the Levee Trail, both completed segments of the Louisville Loop.
Until 2015, Louisville was one of two cities in Kentucky designated by the state asfirst-class (along withLexington, the state's second-largest).[h] Since January 6, 2003, Louisville hasmerged its government with that of Jefferson County, formingcoterminous borders.[13] Louisville was the second and only other city in the state to merge with its county. (Lexington had merged withFayette County in 1974.)
Before merger, under theKentucky Constitution and statutory law Louisville was designated as afirst-class city in regard to local laws affecting public safety, alcohol beverage control, revenue options, and various other matters; as of 2014, it is the only such designated city in the state.[157]
The Official Seal of the City of Louisville, no longer used following the merger, reflected its history and heritage in thefleur-de-lis representing French aid given during theRevolutionary War and the thirteen stars signifying the original colonies. The newSeal of Louisville Metro retains the fleur-de-lis, but has only two stars, one representing the city and the other the county.
The public school system,Jefferson County Public Schools, consists of more than 100,000 students in 173 schools.[160] Dupont Manual High School ranks 30th in the nation overall for best high schools, and 13th in best magnet high schools.[161] Due to Louisville's largeCatholic population, there are 27Catholic schools in the city. TheKentucky School for the Blind, for all of Kentucky's blind andvisually impaired students, is located on Frankfort Avenue in theClifton neighborhood.
The University of Louisville has had notable achievements including several hand transplants[162] and the world's first self-containedartificial heart transplant.[163]
Two major graduate-professional schools of religion are also located in Louisville. TheSouthern Baptist Theological Seminary, with more than 5,300 students, is the flagship institution of theSouthern Baptist Convention. It was founded in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1859 and moved to Louisville in 1877, occupying its present campus on Lexington Road in 1926.Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, product of a 1901 merger of two predecessor schools founded atDanville, Kentucky in 1853 and in Louisville in 1893, occupied its present campus on Alta Vista Road in 1963.
According to theU.S. census, of Louisville's population over 25, 21.3% (the national average is 24%) hold abachelor's degree or higher and 76.1% (80% nationally) have ahigh school diploma or equivalent.
In 1908, Louisville was home to the country's first public library in the South for African Americans housed in a Carnegie-funded facility. This public library still stands today as the Western Colored Branch Public Library known today as theLouisville Free Public Library, Western Branch. It took its place in history as the first in the nation to provide library services exclusively for the African American community, using only African American staff. African Americans in Louisville were among the leaders in a national struggle to address the injustices this system imposed.[164]Albert Meyzeek, a black educator who over the years served as principal at several local schools was one of the leaders in the effort to build positive community infrastructures for purposes of racial uplift. During his three-year tenure as principal at the segregatedCentral High School, Meyzeek led the campaign to establish a black library, that being the Western Colors Branch Public Library.
In addition to establishing the first public library for African Americans in the South, two other members of Louisville's black middle class, Rev.Thomas Fountain Blue, the administrative head of the Western and Eastern Colored Branches, andRachel Davis Harris, a children's library specialist and the chief assistant in charge of school and extensive work, worked to establish both branches as community social centers. In 1917, 498 meetings were held at both branches, with close to 12,000 in attendance. In 1912, Blue organized an apprenticeship librarian class, the only opportunity for formal training for prospective black librarians in the South at the time.[165]
Louisville has inner and outerinterstate beltways,I‑264 andI‑265 respectively. InterstatesI‑64 andI‑65 pass through Louisville, andI-71 has its southern terminus in Louisville. Since all three of these highways intersect at virtually the same location on the east side ofdowntown, this spot has become known as "Spaghetti Junction". Three bridges carry I‑64 and I‑65 over the Ohio River, and afourth automobile bridge carries non-interstate traffic, including bicyclists and pedestrians. Immediately east of downtown is theBig Four Bridge, a former railroad bridge that has been renovated into as a pedestrian bridge.
TheOhio River Bridges Project, a plan under consideration for decades to construct two new interstate bridges over the Ohio River to connect Louisville to Indiana, including a reconfiguration of Spaghetti Junction, began construction in 2012.[167] One bridge, theAbraham Lincoln Bridge, is located downtown beside the existingKennedy Bridge for relief of I‑65 traffic. The other, named theLewis and Clark Bridge, connects I‑265 between the portions located in southeastClark County, Indiana and northeastJefferson County, Kentucky (Louisville Metro).[168] Both bridges and corresponding construction were finished in 2016.[169][170]
Louisville's main airport is the centrally locatedLouisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, whoseIATA Airport code (SDF) reflects its former name of Standiford Field. The airport is also home toUPS'sWorldport global air hub. UPS operates its largest package-handling hub at Louisville International Airport and bases itsUPS Airlines division there. Over 4.2 million passengers and over 4.7 billion pounds (2,350,000 t) of cargo pass through the airport each year.[171] It is also the second busiest airport in the United States in terms of cargo traffic, and fourth busiest for such in the world.[172] Only about 35 minutes fromFort Knox, the airport is also a major hub for armed services personnel. The historic but smallerBowman Field is used mainly forgeneral aviation while nearbyClark Regional Airport is used mostly by private jets.
TheMcAlpine Locks and Dam is located on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River, near the downtown area. The locks were constructed to allow shipping past theFalls of the Ohio.
Public transportation consists mainly of buses run by theTransit Authority of River City (TARC). The city buses serve all parts of downtown Louisville andJefferson County, as well as Kentucky suburbs inOldham County,Bullitt County, and theIndiana suburbs of Jeffersonville,Clarksville andNew Albany. In addition to regular city buses, transit throughout the downtown hotel and shopping districts is served by a fleet ofzero-emissions buses called LouLift. In late 2014, these vehicles replaced the series of motorized trolleys known as theToonerville II Trolley.[173] Alight rail system has been studied and proposed for the city, but no plan was in development as of 2007.[174]
Louisville has historically been a major center forrailway traffic. TheLouisville and Nashville Railroad was once headquartered here, before it was purchased byCSX Transportation. Today the city is served by two major freight railroads, CSX (with a majorclassification yard in the southern part of the metro area) andNorfolk Southern. Five major main lines connect Louisville to the rest of the region. Two regional railroads, thePaducah and Louisville Railway and theLouisville and Indiana Railroad, also serve the city. With the discontinuance of the stop in Louisville in 2003 for a more northerly route betweenNew York and Chicago, theKentucky Cardinal no longer serves the city; it is thus the fifth largest city in the country with no passenger rail service.[175]
In 2016Walk Score ranked Louisville 43rd "most walkable" of 141 U.S. cities with a population greater than 200,000.[176]
Electricity is provided to the Louisville Metro area byLouisville Gas & Electric.Water is provided by theLouisville Water Company, which provides water to more than 800,000 residents in Louisville as well as parts ofOldham andBullitt counties. Additionally, they provide wholesale water to the outlying counties ofShelby,Spencer andNelson.[177]
TheOhio River provides for most of the city's source ofdrinking water. Water is drawn from the river at two points: theraw waterpump station at Zorn Avenue and River Road, and the B.E. Payne Pump Station northeast ofHarrods Creek. Water is also obtained from a riverbank infiltration well at the Payne Plant. There are also twowater treatment plants serving the Louisville Metro area: The Crescent Hill Treatment Plant and the B.E. Payne Treatment Plant. In June 2008, the Louisville Water Company received the "Best of the Best" award from the American Water Works Association, citing it as the best-tasting drinking water in the country.[178]
Fire protection is provided by 16 independentfire departments working in concert throughmutual aid agreements. The only fire department operated by Metro Government isLouisville Fire & Rescue, the successor to the pre-merger Louisville Division of Fire. The city ofShively in westernJefferson County possesses an independent fire department that uses the same dispatch and radio channels as Louisville Fire and Rescue.[179]
In addition, Louisville has been recognized as a "friendship city". The two cities[clarification needed] have engaged in many cultural exchange programs, particularly in the fields of nursing and law, and cooperated in several private business developments, including theFrazier History Museum.[184]
Although not a sister city, Louisville has friendly and cooperative relations withChengdu, China.[185]
^Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.
^Official records for Louisville were kept at the Weather Bureau Office from August 1872 to June 1945,Bowman Field from July 1945 to November 1947, Louisville Int'l from December 1947 to October 1995, the Weather Forecast Office (38°06′54″N85°38′42″W / 38.1150°N 85.6450°W /38.1150; -85.6450) from November 1995 to December 2005, and again at Louisville Int'l since January 2006. For more information, seeThreadex
^Under Kentucky's current classification scheme, which went into effect on January 1, 2015, cities with a mayor–alderman form of government are first-class, with the "home rule class" covering all other forms. This replaced a system in which cities were divided into six classes, nominally by population.[155]
^Yater, George H. (1987).Two Hundred Years at the Fall of the Ohio: A History of Louisville and Jefferson County (2nd ed.). Louisville, Kentucky:Filson Club, Incorporated. pp. 9–10.ISBN978-0-9601072-3-0.
^Rice, Roger L. (May 1968). "Residential Segregation by Law, 1910–1917".The Journal of Southern History.34 (2):181–183.doi:10.2307/2204656.JSTOR2204656.
^abAdams, Luther J. (Autumn 2001). "African American Migration to Louisville in the Mid-Twentieth Century".The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society.99 (4):363–384.JSTOR23384797.
^Meyer, David R. (December 1989). "Midwestern Industrialization and the American Manufacturing Belt in the Nineteenth Century".The Journal of Economic History.49 (4):921–937.doi:10.1017/S0022050700009505.JSTOR2122744.S2CID154436086.
^Biesel, David B. (1993).Can You Name that Team?: A Guide to Professional Baseball, Football, Soccer, Hockey, and Basketball Teams and Leagues.Scarecrow Press. p. 38.
Yater, George H. (1987).Two Hundred Years at the Fall of the Ohio: A History of Louisville and Jefferson County (2nd ed.). Louisville, Kentucky:Filson Club, Incorporated.ISBN978-0-9601072-3-0.
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