Colonial Gardens Update

See 8/23/13 post. Colonial Gardens and the area around it have been revitalized. Took several years but turned out great!

Kentucky International Convention Center, Post-Renovation Photos

I recently attended a conference at the newly expanded and renovated Kentucky International Convention Center (2nd to 4th Sts. E to W, Market to Jefferson N to S). Check it out. Very impressive!

Muhammad Ali!

The whole world knows "The Greatest" Muhammad Ali. He was born and raised in Louisville and got his boxing start here. Ali loved his hometown, and the city loved him; one of its favorite sons. He passed away on 6/3/16 at the age of 74 after a decades long battle with Parkinson's. His funeral was one of the biggest spectacles the city has ever seen. Here are a few photos. Make sure to read the captions. Rest in peace Ali...

Muhammad Ali. Born Cassius Clay in Louisville, KY 1/17/42.

Ali's boyhood home at 3302 Grand Ave. It's been fully restored to the way it looked in his youth.

Where Ali got his start: The Louisville Service Club, Columbia Gym. He initially wanted to learn to fight to go after a kid who stole his bike!

The gym today, now part of Spalding University.

Walnut St. was renamed in honor of Ali in 1978.

The Ali Center in downtown Louisville. Opened 2005.

Ali's funeral procession downtown. An estimated 100,000 people showed up.

Ali's final resting place, Cave Hill Cemetery.

 

Louisville Gardens Just Can't Win

As I've mentioned before, Louisville Gardens, opened in 1905 and one of the city's oldest and most notable event venues, currently serves no purpose other than storage space for city government. And the structure is deteriorating. There have been several attempts to get it redeveloped, breathe new life into it, but no success. On Wed. 5/11, the Gardens took another hit: big storms rolled through and tore the roof off; a nearby vehicle was crushed by debris. The building's future isn't dead yet though. The city is redoing the roof. Hopefully, someone will come along and save the place soon!

http://www.wdrb.com/story/31952596/high-winds-cause-part-of-louisville-gardens-roof-to-blow-off-and-hit-a-car

Thanksgiving in Louisville 100 Years Ago

Interesting article...

http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2015/11/19/thanksgiving-100-years-ago-strange-doings/75988296/

Found Another Photo of Hotel Henry Watterson

I'd say '20s/early '30s. For further reference, see 10/16/11 and 1/6/14 posts...

The Binghams

For almost the entire 20th century, the Bingham family was Louisville's version of the Kennedys. They were rich, good looking, well-bred, and educated at the finest prep schools and Harvard; had connections all over the country and internationally; served in the armed forces, delved into politics, pushed liberal causes; traveled extensively; and were deeply involved in the arts and philanthropy. The root of their power was owning an almost monopolistic media empire: The Courier-Journal and Louisville Times newspapers, WHAS radio and TV, and Standard Gravure, a printing company. However, also like the Kennedys, the Binghams had their fair share of intrigue, secrets, internal strife, and tragic, untimely deaths. In the mid-'80s, Barry Bingham Sr. sold off the family business. The move was stirred by controversy and produced even more - people in Louisville still talk about it today. Even though their name is somewhat diminished now, the Binghams' influence cannot be denied. A lot of books have been written about them. I think the most informative, unbiased account is Patriarch: The Rise and Fall of the Bingham Dynasty by Susan E. Tifft and Alex S. Jones, 1991. If you can find a copy, grab it.

I recently took some photos of the family's graves at Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville. Section 13, Lots 101 and 102...

https://plus.google.com/photos/109696896928848305229/albums/6064329573126398721

The Binghams are also tied to some noteworthy Louisville architecture. First, there's the Courier-Journal Building on 6th and Broadway, opened in 1948 - wonderful late art deco.

Then there's the Binghams' estate, Melcombe, at 4309 Glenview Ave. on the east side of Louisville. Built between 1909 and 1911, it features 11,800 sq, ft. on four levels, a beautiful entry, tennis courts, about 10 acres of neatly manicured property, and views of the Ohio River. The family refers to it as the "Big House" because there's another wonderful but less massive home on the estate called the "Little House." Interestingly, at the time of this post, the "Big House" is for sale. It can be yours for a cool 4 million dollars :)

UPDATE 10/18/14
Melcolmbe ("The Big House") has been sold. Reports say Molly Bingham, daughter of Barry Bingham Jr., the last Bingham to run the empire, is the buyer. So the home is staying in the family for now - great news.

Marble Hill and Indiana Army Ammunition Plant (INAAP)

My wife and I drove from Madison, IN to Jeffersonville, IN today via Hwy. 62. It's a nice route and showcases classic rural S. Indiana. However, it also takes drivers by two very interesting, abandoned industrial sites. "Interesting" and "industrial site" don't usually go hand in hand, but let me explain.

First, on Hwy. 62 south of Hanover, near the tiny communities of Saluda and Paynesville, there's Marble Hill Rd. Head east on it and it will eventually lead you to the abandoned Marble Hill Nuclear Power Plant. Construction began in 1977, but build problems, finances, and the Three Mile Island incident in 1979 - which scared the American public and led to more government regulation and oversight of all things nuclear - led to the project being killed in 1984 at a cost of billions and before the plant ever produced a single megawatt of electricity. That said, a lot of assembly was completed at the site, and even though demolition efforts have been ongoing for the last thirty years, much of it is still there and has the unmistakable look of a nuclear power facility. I'll warn you though, don't try to drive right up to the old reactors. The property's locked up pretty tight and has a security force. Here's a few good links about it, a map of its location, and photos...

http://www.abandonedonline.net/locations/industry/marble-hill-nuclear-power-plant/

http://youtu.be/Kuheu8CXiqw

This photo is fairly old. Much of it has been dismantled. I believe the concrete reactor cores are still upright though.

This view is looking north up the Ohio R. toward Hanover and Madison.

The second intriguing site on Hwy. 62 is just a few miles south of Marble Hill near Charlestown, IN: the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant (INAAP). I won't get into a full history of the place - that's really a blog in itself - but basically, from WWII to 1992, INAAP produced all sorts of gunpowder, ammo, and ordnance for the military. To call the complex massive is an understatement. I've never personally seen a single industrial property this large. In it's prime, it covered 20,000 acres - due to production and storage processes - and employed tens of thousands of people. Currently, much of it is intact but deteriorating, being slowly reclaimed by trees, vegetation, Mother Earth. Parts have been demolished, new industry has come in here and there, and a portion of the site is now an Indiana state park. It really is a fascinating, almost surreal site.

http://www.abandonedonline.net/locations/industry/indiana-ammunitions-depot/

http://www.formermilitarysites.com/overview/indiana/inaap/

And for some really beautiful photography of the plant, check out this guy's work...
http://zfein.com/photography/inaap/index.html

Update: Hotel Henry Watterson

A couple years ago, I posted about the Hotel Henry Watterson, which sat on the north side of Muhammad Ali between 4th and 5th Streets, 1911 - 1981. I also stated that while I'd found lots of drawings, advertisements, and vintage postcards featuring the building, I'd never run across a good photo of it, especially a front shot. Why so elusive, who knows. It may because it was in a dense area and there were several other large hotels, stores, and office buildings nearby that overshadowed it. I finally found one though, taken in 1928. Also, to understand exactly how it sat, I've included a photo courtesy of Broken Sidewalk. The park is basically the old hotel's footprint. You can also see the outlines where the Watterson touched the building next door (Molee Building).

Molee Building

St. James Court/St. James Court Art Show

Around the turn of the 20th century, one of Louisville's most prestigious places to live was St. James Court. It borders: Magnolia Ave. to the north, Hill St. to the south, 4th and 6th Sts. to the east and west respectively. It's story is simple. The closure of the Southern Exposition in 1887 (see post dated 8/11/13) opened up a giant chunk of land - prime real estate - in the heart of the city. William Slaughter and his company bought up a great deal of it and developed a magnificent Victorian neighborhood with stately homes, ample trees, a long esplanade with fountain, and stone lions guarding its entrances. In 1904, Frederick Law Olmsted's Central Park opened immediately to its north, adding to the environment. It was architectural and urban planning gold then and remains so today. In 1957, the St. James Court community held its first art show. The event has grown and grown over the years and now welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors annually from across the city, state, nation, and globe. Here are some pictures from this year's show (10/4-6)...

 

This year's St. James Court Art Show poster.