Map of Louisville Kentucky Area
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When you think of Louisville, Kentucky, your mind probably drifts to baseball bats, horses, and dark whiskey. This mid-size American town has a lot of history and tradition, but it’s also a vibrant, bustling city full of hidden surprises.
Where is Louisville, Kentucky located?
The city of Louisville is located along the Ohio River on Kentucky’s northern border with Indiana. This means that Louisville is right on the Mason-Dixon line. So, while much of its culture is similar to that of Deep South neighbors like Tennessee, it also resembles Midwestern towns like Chicago and St. Louis.
Louisville rests in the Ohio River valley. Because of this altitudinal position, its climate is temperate, with cold winters and hot summers.
How big is Louisville?
Louisville is the largest city in Kentucky, both by population and geographic size. At roughly 325 square miles, it is the 20th largest US city by land area. Its current population is 615,366, making it the 30th largest US city by population.
Before 2003, the city of Louisville only comprised the northern part of Jefferson County. It was the 65th largest city in the nation. However, a 2003 referendum incorporated the remainder of the county into the city.
Downtown Louisville sits on the south bank of the Ohio River, surrounded by many older, historic neighborhoods. Rings of increasingly suburban, then rural, residential neighborhoods extend outward.
What is the history of Louisville?
Revolutionary War officer George Rogers Clark founded Louisville in 1778. He named it after King Louis XVI because of France’s assistance in the war. Consequently, the Bourbon fleur de lis remains a symbol of the city to this day.
Louisville’s placement at the falls of the Ohio River (a tributary of the Mississippi) made it an ideal trading point during the age of steamboats. During the Civil War, while Kentucky remained neutral and many of its sons fought for the Confederacy, Louisville was a major Union outpost.
Throughout the end of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth. Louisville became a trading and manufacturing hub. It burnished a reputation for the fine horses, tobacco, and whiskey produced in its neighboring counties. In the latter half of the twentieth century, the city became central to the medical and insurance sectors. The first successful hand transplant occurred in 1999 at Louisville’s Jewish Hospital.
What famous people come from Louisville?
Louis Brandeis, the first Jewish Justice of the Supreme Court, was born in Louisville. The twelfth President, Zachary Taylor, grew up in the city. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Col. Harland Sanders is a native. So, too, are mystery novelist Sue Grafton and gonzo firebrand Hunter S. Thompson.
Muhammad Ali is no doubt the most celebrated athlete to come from Louisville, and his final resting place is Louisville’s Cave Hill Cemetery. Other famous Louisvillian athletes include Jackie Robinson teammate Pee Wee Reese and football great Johnny Unitas.
Famous entertainers from Louisville include actors Jennifer Lawrence and Ned Beatty, directors D.W. Griffith and Gus Van Sant, Diane Sawyer, and the band My Morning Jacket.
Is Louisville a good place to live?
Louisville is one of the most affordable cities in the country, with lower-than-average-cost healthcare, utility, and food. Its job environment is also remarkably stable. When combined with a vibrant art and dining scene, as well as plenty of green space, Louisville is a fine place to live.
It’s also worth noting that Louisville has some of the highest-quality water in the United States.
One factor that prospective residents should consider is that Louisville doesn’t have a robust public transit system. In a recent study for the thirty largest US cities, it ranked near the bottom for public ridership.
What are the best areas to live in Louisville?
Here are some of the most desirable neighborhoods in Louisville:
- Perhaps the most famous of Louisville’s historic neighborhoods is the Highlands. With lovely blocks of Victorian homes, it’s adjacent to the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed Cherokee Park and the bohemian Bardstown Road area. The Highlands are referenced in The Great Gatsby. Daisy Buchanan is Louisville’s most esteemed fictional native.
- A recent boom neighborhood is the Butchertown area, now dubbed NuLu. A cavalcade of hip eateries, art galleries, and night-time hot spots, it’s a stone’s throw from the beautiful, rejuvenated waterfront.
- Old Louisville features lovely stonework facades and Victorian architecture. It’s the site of the annual St. James Art Fair, one of the premier craft festivals in the country. It’s also home to some historic Louisville establishments like Ollie’s Trolley, a pilgrimage spot for burger lovers.
What is Louisville known for?
Certainly, the highest-profile event on Louisville’s calendar is the Kentucky Derby. Held at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May going back to 1875, this is the most famous horse race in the world. It’s the first leg of the Triple Crown and an excuse for a weeklong festival with parades, fireworks, hot air balloon races, and a lot of mint juleps.
Even though it has no major league baseball club, Louisville is inseparable from the national pastime. The ubiquitous Louisville Slugger baseball bat has its own downtown Museum with a gigantic bat statue out front. Down the road, the Louisville Bats, a feeder team for Cincinnati Reds, play.
College sports are king in Louisville. The University of Louisville Cardinals basketball program has seen some dramatic ups and downs in recent years. Still, both the men’s and women’s teams are perennial NCAA competitors. The rivalry game between the Cards and the University of Kentucky Wildcats is a major event.
Louisville has made many culinary contributions, including the cheese-covered Hot Brown sandwich and Henry Bains steak sauce. But if there’s one consumable export associated with the city, it’s Bourbon. The 51% corn mash, charred-oak-aged whiskey originates from smaller towns near the city. However, Bourbon-lovers from around the world flock to Louisville to sip rare, excellent bottles.
Louisville is also home to one of America’s most revered regional theatres: Actors Theatre of Louisville. Founded in the later 1960s, Actors Theatre gave early castings to American legends like Kathy Bates and Kevin Bacon. Its annual Humana Festival of New American Plays has premiered as two Pulitzer Prize-winners.
Furthermore, visitors and residents alike enjoy Louisville cultural icons like the Speed Art Museum, the Muhamad Ali Center, the Louisville Science Center, and historic sites like the eighteenth-century Locust Grove.
If you’re planning a visit to Louisville, Kentucky, a world of excitement, inspiration, and just-plain-fun awaits you. With world-class sports, cultural, historical, and culinary attractions, Louisville is one of the country’s hidden gems.
See Also
5 Interesting things to know about Louisville Kentucky
