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Built in 1781 by Richard Chenoweth, Fort Nelson was the second on-shore fort built along the Ohio River. The first fort, Fort-on-Shore, was built in 1778. Within three years, however, the military considered the fort insufficient and required a new fort, leading them to build Fort Nelson.The park includes a few other interesting pieces of history. In one corner is a plaque that commemorates the founding of the town Louisville. Elsewhere visitors may stumble upon the plaque above a buried time capsule. The capsule was buried in 1975 with instructions to open it in 100 years.

A time capsule, buried on September 1st, 1975 to be opened 100 years later.

Fort Nelson - Note on slide: Sketch by Col. Durrett Filson Club 1885, 1782

The area that is now home to Fort Nelson Park in 1907

This small urban park offers a pavilion and monument dedicated by the Colonial Dames in 1912 recognizing the site as the very first European settlement of modern-day Kentucky. The fort was built in 1781, when Kentucky was still a part of Virginia, the park was named after then-governor Thomas Nelson, Jr. The fort replaced a previous fortification that had been destroyed and served in defense against both Native American and British attacks. This land was later home to a bourbon warehouse and became an urban park sometime in the 1960s. The park was redesigned in the early 1990s to include cast iron light poles to recognize the former cast-iron building facades that graced the downtown area. 

Fort Nelson Park 

This short walking tour includes stops at several historic buildings and markers between Main Street and the Ohio River. The tour also includes many of the city's leading museums and cultural institutions such as the Muhammad Ali Center and the Frazier History Museum.

Louisville Main Street and Waterfront

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In 2014, Brown-Forman received significant tax incentives to restore two historic buildings and create a visitors center, tasting rooms, and a distillery that will produce Old Forrester bourbon. Evan Williams previously announced plans to create a similar distillery and visitor's center on Main Street. A total of five distilleries are expected to open along Main Street by 2018.&nbsp;

Whiskey Row refers to the stretch of Main Street that once built its reputation from the unique whiskey and bourbon it produced. Most of the buildings were built in the Revivalist and Chicago School style buildings with cast-iron storefronts between 1852 and 1905. Main Street was only a block from the waterfront, and distillers such as the Brown-Forman Company and John T. Barbee and Company maintained offices on this street. After a decline in production, bourbon distilleries moved to other locations and many of the buildings were demolished. In recent years, Main Street revitalization projects led to the restoration of some of the remaining buildings. Brown-Forman once again intends to distil whiskey at this location while a host of other bourbon producers and retailers are returning to Whiskey Row.

Whiskey Row 

The Actor's Theatre of Louisville was founded in 1964 and has been running shows ever since. The building is located within two buildings from the National Register of Historic Places: the Myers-Thompson Display Building and the Bank of Louisville. The Theatre is run as a non-profit organization that includes acting apprenticeships and an art gallery. The Actor's Gallery exhibits works from regional artists. These exhibits focus on the actors and artists who have done well throughout the country as well as little known actors who made cultural impacts. The Gallery is open to visitors.&nbsp; The Humana Festival of New&nbsp;American Plays Beginning in 1976, the theater's first producing director Jon Jory established the internationally renowned Human Festival of New American Plays. This festival stands as one of the preeminent showcases for new plays and playwrights to present their work, and it draws critics, producers, and playwrights from all over the world. The Actors Theatre of Louisville has produced over 300 Humana Festival plays, including full-length plays, monologues, T(ext) shirt and car plays, one-acts, and many others. Due to the Festival as well as the production of new plays and&nbsp;other activities, the Actors Theatre has received three of the most prestigious awards in the regional theatre scene, including the Margo Jones Award (1979), the Shubert Foundation's James N. Vaughan Memorial Award for Exceptional Achievement and Contribution to the Development of Professional Theatre (1979), and the Special Tony Award (1980).&nbsp;

The Actor's Theatre of Louisville is a non-profit theater that is located within the 1837 Old Bank of Lousiville and the Myers-Thompson Display Building. Both buildings were designed by James H. Dakin, a notable Greek Revival architect. The company was founded in 1964 and ran its first show "Under Milk Wood," written by the famous Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, soon after. In 1974 the Theatre was dubbed the "State Theatre of Kentucky". The Actor's Theatre Gallery holds rotating exhibits that inform visitors about outstanding actors from the area. 

Actors Theatre of Louisville 

<h3>History of the Old Bank</h3>In 1828, Lousiville became an incorporated city and it was home to around 7,000 inhabitants. The Old Bank of Lousiville was completed just eight years later, while the city was yet young and still forming. Because of its early construction date, there wasn't general accord regarding the building's architect for many years. For example, traditional records show that Gideon Shryock was the original architect, though research points to James H. Dakin, from New Orleans, as the leading architect while Shryock supervised construction. The Greek Revival detail found on the Old Bank may come from Minard Lafever's books, "The Modern Builders Guide" (1833) and "The Beauties of Modern Architecture" (1835).&nbsp; The building was most likely partially built based on Lafever's 1835 book, as the distyle-in-antis&nbsp;doorway is very similar to Plates 25 and 26 of the book. Therefore, the Old Bank superbly&nbsp;combines the Greek Revival architectural details with an unexpected, yet bold design adapted for its tight space on the narrow, city site.&nbsp;

The Old Bank of Louisville was chartered in 1832 by the Kentucky General Assembly. Designed by New Orleans architect, James H. Dakin, the narrow building (not reaching 40 feet wide) was completed in 1837 and features a combination of brick and limestone in a Greek Revival Style. 

With regards to small-scale, commercial architecture, many consider the Old Bank to among the most sophisticated. In short, the building is a Greek Revival distyle-in-antis doorway that the designers increased to the scale of an entire building. Once standing as the Headquarters of the Louisville Credit Mens Association, the Old Bank of Louisville currently serves as the headquarters for the renowned Actors Theatre of Louisville.

Old Bank of Louisville

The Kentucky Center was completed in 1983 and is home to several performance venues and organizatiosn such as the Kentucky Opera, Louisville Orchestra, and Louisville Ballet. The venue includes the 2400-seat Rebert S. Whtney Hall, the Mortiz von Bomhard Theatre, and the Boyd Martin Theatre. The Center's education department works to produce events for children and adults throughout the state. Some of these programs include ArtsReach, the Governor's School for the Arts, Gheens Great Expectations Project, and many other programs and services. 

Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts

The hotel was created to renovate and create a new purpose for several of&nbsp;the city's&nbsp;historic buildings. The hotels also work to promote&nbsp;local agriculture, with each&nbsp;restaurant using only local&nbsp;produce. The 21c Museum displays contemporary works from&nbsp;local and national artists. The museum also brings in&nbsp;special temporary&nbsp;exhibits that borrow&nbsp;from the collections of other galleries and museums, allowing residents to see the works of&nbsp;contemporary artists from around the world. The museum is decentralized, with galleries and works of art&nbsp;located within each of the&nbsp;five former warehouse. As one might imagine, significant renovation was necessary to re-purpose these structures to the needs of a hotel and art museum. However, great effort was taken to make sure that the&nbsp;exterior of each building&nbsp;remains true to the original designs of the buildings.&nbsp;Because of the hotel's mission to rebuild local economies, the chain is frequently found at the top of ratings lists for boutique hotels.

The 21c Museum Hotel is located within five formerly-separate warehouses that were built in the 19th century and placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The name "21c" is a reference to the hotel's leading attraction, the 21c Museum. This Louisville gem is dedicated to exhibiting art from the 21st century. The museum blends permanent exhibits and rotating displays from their own collection with special new exhibits of contemporary art from around the region and the world. 

21c Museum Hotel Louisville

In 1980, Phyllis George Brown fell in love with the crafts of Kentucky while on the campaign trail with her husband, John Y. Brown, Jr., who was making a bid for the governor's seat. She began first by creating her own quilt collection. Later, as First Lady of Kentucky, the former Miss America began promoting the unique Kentucky crafts, to retailers as far away as New York and Japan.Meanwhile, Mary Shands, head of the state's art commission, traveled with her husband, Alfred, to a craft fair in Berea, where they were inspired by "Coyote Get Lost" by Wayne Ferguson of Louisville. It began their first attempt to collect craft artwork on a large scale for Kentucky.In 1984, after local artisans expressed an interest in having a place of their own to both show and sell their work, the Kentucky Art and Craft Gallery opened its doors. Seven years later, the museum sent out its first mail order catalog for shoppers to purchase the unique crafts coming out of Louisville.In 2001, the museum moved to a new location in Louisville's West Main Street Historic District. The building, built in the 1880s, is a four-story cast iron structure with large windows and a pale facade.Over the years, the focus of the museum has shifted to a much greater educational emphasis.&nbsp;Unlike traditional art museums, the&nbsp;Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft does not exist just to display art; the museum also provides the opportunity to create.&nbsp;While exploring existing exhibitions may be the highlight for some, the chance to learn to create one's own unique craft will inspire many other visitors.

The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft (also referred to as KMAC [kay-mac]) is located in Louisville, Kentucky's "Museum Row" in the West Main District of downtown. Founded in 1981, the museum seeks to continue, promote, and educate the public on the rich Kentucky heritage of art and crafts.

Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft

J. Frederick Hillerich immigrated from Baden-Baden, Germany in 1842. By 1864, J.F. Hillerich's woodworking shop in Louisville, KY was in business.Two years later, a future important member of the business was born: John Andrew "Bud" Hillerich.J.F. Hillerich's business was successful, and by 1875, he was able to employ around 20 people in the workshop. In 1880, 14-year-old Bud Hillerich became an apprentice in his father's shop. With his own love of baseball, Bud began making his own bats along with bats for several of his teammates, with whom he played in an amateur team.Though history is unclear how exactly Bud's reputation for bats grew beyond his teammates and certainly how the first professional athlete first came to him, but legend has an interesting story, anyhow.The legend says Bud crafted first pro bat for Pete Browning in 1884. A seventeen-year-old Bud, watching his favorite game, witnessed Browning break one of his bats, during a slump of misses the player was suffering from. After the game, Bud offered to make the professional player one of his own bats, and Browning agreed. According to the story, using the new bat, Browning broke immediately out of his slump, getting three hits in the very next game. Word spread around about Bud's bat-making abilities. Soon Pete Browning was labelled the "Louisville Slugger," and it was only a matter of time before Hillerich trademarked the title and used it for his bats.Though Bud's father J.F. Hillerich was initially not so interested in baseball bats, slowly the father lost to the son, as the business soared under Bud's leadership.&nbsp;In 1911, the father and son business took on a new partner, Frank Bradsby, who had been a successful salesman for one of Hillerich's largest buyers. When Bradsby became a full partner in 1916, the company name changed to Hillerich &amp; Bradsby Co.&nbsp;In 1919 the company launched its first national campaign, which was apparently successful. Four years later, they were make one million bats per year.Today the Louisville Slugger Museum is housed alongside the company headquarters, which cannot be missed. The World's Largest Baseball Bat seemingly leans against the building (in actuality, the bat is free-standing), displaying for the world its very American industry.&nbsp;The museum includes both hands-on exhibits and old memorabilia, such an 1880s Pete Browning bat.

Nothing feels more American than baseball, and The Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory explores this piece of America through exploring the famous Louisville Slugger baseball bats still created by Hillerich & Bradsby. The museum showcases the story of Louisville Sluggers, from the original Hillerich woodworking business in 1864 to the famous baseball players that later used the bats produced by the business. Any baseball lover will enjoy this museum.

Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory	

The museum originally opened its doors in 2004 as the Frazier Historical Arms Museum. Since then, more than 700,000 people have visited the museum, and the institution&nbsp;has undergone two different name changes to reflect its expanding focus. Situated in Louisville's "Museum Row" in the late 19th-century "Dorhoefer Builing," the museum includes around 75,000 square feet of exhibits. In addition, there's a 120-seat auditorium and 48-set movie theater. Several other spaces offer various displays for the visitor, and a rooftop garden provides a pleasant "get-away." In addition, the Museum Store offers snacks, souvenirs, and a small eating area.

An affiliate of the Smithsonian, the Frazier History Museum offers exhibits that interpret both local and world history. The museum's collection spans over a thousand years of world history, with exhibits and that include armor and weapons from around the world, one of the largest collections of toy soldiers in America, exhibits that interpret the history of bourbon production, interactive family exhibitions that allow guests to experience the Lewis and Clark expedition, and local artifacts related to Kentucky history such as Daniel Boone's family Bible. 

Frazier History Museum

Getting its start as a collection of minerals and a single Egyptian mummy in 1871, the museum has expanded greatly since its early days! In 2002, the Louisville Science Center was designated the State Science Center of Kentucky by the Kentucky General Assembly. However, the science center did not change its name until 2012, when it officially became the Kentucky Science Center. Four permanent exhibitions include: <ol><li>"The World We Create" - The exhibit's focus on chemistry, physics, engineering, telecommunications, and manufacturing explores the impact these sciences have on everyday life.</li><li>"KidZone" - KidZone is an exhibit catering to children ages 7 and under. A particular favorite is the Splash Zone, where children are able to explore water dynamics through manipulating pipes and tubing.</li><li>"The World Within Us" - Showcasing the human body, the exhibit explores aspects of healthy living, medical careers, and current research.</li><li>"The World Around Us" - Exploring the natural and earth sciences, visitors have the chance to examine the ways their choices impact their ecological footprint. Additionally, as a wing connected to the exhibit, several teaching laboratories have been created for classrooms and other groups to experiment with the topics they learn about in the museum.</li></ol>

The Kentucky Science Center, formerly called the Louisville Museum of Natural History & Science and then Louisville Science Center, is the state science museum of Kentucky. Founded in 1871 as a mere cabinet within the Public Library System of Kentucky, the museum has grown to be the largest hands-on science museum in Kentucky, with three floors of exhibits to explore, a four-story theater, and its own teaching laboratories. 

Kentucky Science Center 

Built in 1781 by Richard Chenoweth, Fort Nelson was the second on-shore fort built along the Ohio River. The first fort, Fort-on-Shore, was built in 1778. Within three years, however, the military considered the fort insufficient and required a new fort, leading them to build Fort Nelson. The park includes a few other interesting pieces of history. In one corner is a plaque that commemorates the founding of the town Louisville. Elsewhere visitors may stumble upon the plaque above a buried time capsule. The capsule was buried in 1975 with instructions to open it in 100 years.

In Muhammad Ali's life he followed six core principals, confidence, conviction, dedication, giving, respect, spirituality. Confidence, belief in ones self, ones ability, and ones future. Conviction, a firm belief that gives one the courage to stand behind that belief, despite pressure to do otherwise. Dedication, the act of devoting all of one's energy, effort, and abilities to a certain task. Giving, to present voluntarily without expecting something in return. Respect, esteem for, or a sense of the worth or excellence of, oneself and others. And finally spirituality, a sense of awe, reverence, and inner peace inspired by a connection to all of creation and/or that which is greater than oneself. 	Throughout Muhammad Ali's life he dedicated himself to inspiring people. He did this by pushing himself to the limits in his training and in his fights. He also dedicated himself to helping others. He also stood up for what he believed in when he refused to go to the Vietnam war and sacrificed his career in doing so. In addition he dedicated so much time into being the greatest boxer in the world. All of these values and ideals are represented at The Muhammad Ali Center. Each six core principals has its own exhibit. 	In The Muhammad Ali Center you can find many intriguing exhibits that walk you through Muhammad Ali's life. There is an orientation theater that walks you through key moments of his life in a well representative manner. In addition to the theater there is a real life boxing ring the was recreated based off of Muhammad Ali's Deer Lake Training Camp. Another two storied room showcases Muhammad Ali memorabilia like boxing gloves that were used in his fights and shorts that were worn by him in his fights. There is a huge projector that plays the film "The Greatest" on to a life size boxing ring. And finally there are watching area's where you can view any of Muhammad Ali's greatest fights and his infamous post fight interviews. 	Muhammad Ali's great life was displayed all over sports pages and international newspapers. He was more than just a boxer. He was a role model for any and all people. He explored the whole world helping those in need. He delivered food for those who needed it most in struggling countries. All of this stems from his core values that are represented in the Memorial. People come from all around the world to see this memorial and it is a great historical land mark in the United States. 	Muhammad Ali was also a great civil rights leader. In 2020 The Muhammad Ali Center was added to the United States Civil Rights Trail. This trail has all of the significant Civil Rights sites that had an Impact on the civil rights movement. The actual location of the museum and the museum itself had no impact on the civil rights movement but the great Muhammad Ali did. From his refusal to join the army and fight in a war he didn't believe in, to his civil rights speech at Berkeley California. His great voice and incredible conviction helped make him one of the most influential civil rights leader and what put this Museum on the United States Civil Rights Trail. 	As a boxer Muhammad Ali brought tremendous skill, grace, and power. Winning the world heavy weight title 3 separate times. His personality and charm captivated the world and changed what people viewed a champion to be. His charisma and dedication to his practice is an inspiration to all. The leadership he displayed with his civil rights movements even when it affected his career are inspirational as well. Muhammad Ali is the greatest of all time.

The Muhammad Ali Center is a non-profit museum that is dedicated to the great Muhammad Ali. It is located in Louisville Kentucky. It was made in Louisville Kentucky because this is where Cassius Clay was born and where he grew up for most of his childhood. Louisville is where Muhammad Ali lived with his mother, Odessa Grady Clay, his Father, Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr, and his younger brother, Rudolph Valentino Clay who soon changed his name when Muhammad Ali changed his too Rahman Ali. In Louisville is also where Muhammad Ali met his trainer that introduced him to boxing, his name was Joe Elsby Martin Sr. The museum opened up on November 19, 2005, it cost $80 million to construct. Its founder is Lonnie Ali who is the widow of the late Muhammad Ali. The Muhammad Ali Center took around 9 months to construct. Just recently in 2020 it was added to the United States civil rights trail, which shows that Muhammad Ali was not only a boxer but a trail blazer in the Civil Rights Movement back in the 1960s. The United States Civil Rights Trail is a trail of different historical sites in the United States that were important to the civil rights movement. These important civil rights locations include sites like, Selma Alabama, School integration, Bloody Sunday, and the Supreme Court of The United States. The Muhammad Ali Center is apart of this historical list of civil rights sites. This shows the impact that Muhammad Ali had on the civil rights movement during his time. These impacts are displayed by exhibits in the Muhammad Ali Center from his advocation against the War in Vietnam which, caused him to serve jail time for standing up for what he believed in, to his civil rights speech at Berkley California. 

Muhammad Ali Memorial Center

The Idlewild, the Avalon, and the Belle

On October 18th, 1914, the steamboat known today as the Belle of Louisville was launched under
the name of Idlewild from Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, where she was built by the James Rees &amp; Sons Company. The Idlewild served as a 1600-passenger ferry
and day freight packet between Memphis, Tennessee and West Memphis, Arkansas. When
a bridge was built connecting the two cities, there was no longer any need for
a ferry, so the steamboat was sold in 1925 to the Tri-State Ferry Company of
Cairo, Illinois to take passengers to and from Cairo and Bird's Point,
Missouri, as well as for excursion trips down the river to New Orleans. Later,
she worked on the Illinois, Mississippi, and Ohio Rivers for the New St. Louis
and Calhoun Packet Company, traveling as far as Montana, Pennsylvania, Canada,
and the Gulf of Mexico regularly.

The Rose Island Company, which owned one of Louisville's two
major amusement parks of the time period (Rose Island and Fontaine Ferry
Parks), chartered the Idlewild as an
excursion boat during the summer of 1931, and in the first years of the Great
Depression she also ran produce deliveries and towed barges in the
"off" season. Louisville became the Idlewild's home port year-round in 1934. During the Second World
War, the steamboat took on towing to provide oil for the war effort at
Mississipi and Ohio River ports, and in her downtime, the Idlewild provided moonlight USO cruises accompanied by Big Band
jazz.

Sold to J. Herod Corsage of Peoria, Illinois in 1947, the Idlewild was renamed the Avalon at the request of long-time
captain of the steamboat, Ben Winters, who died in February 1948. Corsage put
the Avalon to excursion trip work
once again, to destinations in Minnesota, Illinois, Nebraska, West Virginia,
Tennessee, and New Orleans, selling the boat to E.A. Meyer of Cincinnati, who
made improvements to the Avalon
including the installation of a dance floor, reduction of topside weight by
shortening of the Texas and reinforcement of the hull, and modification to the
engines to allow the use of oil instead of coal as fuel. When the Steamer
Avalon Company went bankrupt in 1962, the steamboat was put up for auction and
purchased by Judge Marlo Cook on behalf of Jefferson County and the City of
Louisville. Reconditioned by the Jeffersonville Boat and Machine Company
(Jeffboat) across the river from Louisville, she was renamed the Belle of Louisville on October 14, 1962.

The Belle of Louisville

Since
the first Kentucky Derby season race between the Belle of Louisville and the Delta
Queen on April 30, 1963, The Great Steamboat Race has been an annual
celebration. The winner is rewarded each year with a trophy of golden elk
horns. At the first (1988) Tall Stacks steamboat era celebration in Cincinnati,
Ohio, the Belle of Louisville was
recognized as the oldest and most authentic river steamboat in the United
States. Though modifications have been made to her in the interest of safety,
stability, and changing uses, her historic integrity has been maintained and
she remains one of only two sternwheel river passenger steamboats and the only
intact Western Rivers day packet boat, a type of transportation which was vital
to Westward expansion.



Since 2005, the Belle
of Louisville has been operated by the Waterfront Development Corporation
on behalf of Louisville Metro, and is used for excursions, educational and
promotional tours, and heritage celebrations.

The Belle of Louisville was built by James Rees & Sons Company for the West Memphis Packet Company in 1914. Originally named the Idlewild, she was first put into service on the Allegheny River. Constructed with an all-steel superstructure and asphalt main deck, the steamboat is said to hold the record for miles traveled and years in operation for a steamboat of this size and displacement. On April 30, 1963, the Belle of Louisville made her first cruise in a race against the steamboat Delta Queen. That race was the beginning of an unparalleled river tradition. To this day, the Belle of Louisville and another competing steamboat, previously the Delta Queen, still square off every year on the Wednesday before the Kentucky Derby in the Kentucky Derby Festival event The Great Steamboat Race. Since 1914, the Belle of Louisville has taken over 7 million people for a cruise on America's inland waterways. The Belle is America's last true Mississippi river steamboat still in operation, and she celebrated her 100th birthday in October 2014.

Louisville Main Street and Waterfront

Fort Nelson Park

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources