Louisville South of Broadway Street to Central Park

Entries on This Tour

1. Kentucky Street School (Old Engelhard School)

This school was built in the late 1880s during a period when numerous Louisville residents, especially the wealthy and emerging middle class, moved southward away from downtown into what is now known as Old Louisville. The school served the community until 1965 when a new school was built a few blocks away. In 1919, the school took the name, Engelhard School, honoring former Louisville Board of Education President, Victor H. Engelhard.

2. D.H. Ewing & Sons Creamery

As the nation grew increasingly urban around the turn of the twentieth century, the desire for pasteurized milk arose as people no longer lived near the source of their milk. D.H. Ewing started his milk operation in the late nineteenth century, and by 1917 his sons and he built the new plant that could process 5,000 gallons a day. The plant contained numerous machinery capable of cleaning bottles, keeping milk cold, and providing for the pasteurization of the milk.

3. Central Presbyterian Church

The congregation dates back to 1816, with the establishment of Louisville's First Presbyterian Church. This original congregation gave birth to several different congregations over the years, and also absorbed the members of area churches. For example, a third of the Second Presbyterian Church chose to merge with this congregation when their church joined the Southern Assembly following the Civil War. This church was constructed in several phases beginning in 1909, and replaced a previous structure that was constructed at this location by a smaller congregation that merged with the congregation that became Central Presbyterian. Perhaps the highlight of the facility is the church's fully-restored 1930 E. M. Skinner Pipe Organ, which was made specifically for the Louisville congregation by Boston's Skinner Organ Company.

4. Fourth Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church (Fourth Avenue United Methodist Church)

The Gothic Revival style Fourth Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church opened in 1888, with the rest of the facility completed in 1902. The church served a congregation that organized in 1878, just as Old Louisville, or Southern Extension as it was known then, grew increasingly popular with people of wealth looking to move away from downtown Louisville. The neighborhood is abounding in elaborate architecture William Dodd, Louisville's acclaimed architect, designed a host of buildings and churches, including the historic Fourth Avenue Church.

5. Asia Institute Crane House

Founded in 1987 as a cultural institution focusses on China, the Crane House now offers programs related to the history and culture of peoples throughout Asia. The center is part of the Kentucky Arts Council's efforts to bring educational opportunities to the city and region. Scholars and students work through the Crane House to reach nearby Asian communities and offer resources that help them share and preserve their history and cultural heritage.

6. Filson Historical Society

Established in 1884, the FilsonHistorical Society is the oldest and largest privately-supported organization dedicated to Kentucky history. The Filson has been located in the historic Ferguson Mansion since 1986, where it offers one of the most extensive research libraries in the region with nearly two million documents and a collection of 50,000 books. The organization also maintains a gallery space that preserves and shares the history of Kentucky and the Border South region with interpretive exhibits drawn from their collection of historic artifacts, portraits, manuscripts, and rare books. Of special interest to historians, the Filson's Special Collections Department preserves thousands of archival collections that include one-of-a-kind and original historic letters, maps, portraits, diaries, and photographs.

7. Landward House

Built for Reverend Stuart Robinson of Louisville's Second Presbyterian Church, this brick Italianate mansion includes twenty rooms and six bathrooms. The home is located next to Central Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted who became the nation's most famous landscape architect. His son, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., also designed the garden for this home. The historic home was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

8. The Conrad-Caldwell House Museum

Also known as "Conrad's Castle," the Conrad-Caldwell House is one of the most stunning of Old Louisville's Victorian residences. The Richarsonian Romanesque design is considered the masterpiece of Arthur Loomis, a renowned local architect who worked at the firm of Clarke & Loomis. The house was built for Theophilus Conrad, a Frenchman (Alsace) who made his fortune in the tanning business, bought by the Caldwell family in 1907, and converted into the Rose Anna Hughes Presbyterian Home for forty years. Since 1897, the house has been a museum, under the care of the St. James Court Historic Foundation. In addition to offering tours five days a week, the Conrad-Caldwell House Museum hosts events, lectures, musical performances, and special exhibits.

9. Louisville Gas and Electric Company Service Station Complex

The Louisville Gas & Electric Company Service Station existed as part of a large complex of buildings that served Louisville Gas & Electric from the 1920s to the 1980s. Although the company formally incorporated in 1914, its roots date back to the 1830s as Louisville Gas & Water. For more than 145 years, the company provided gas to Louisville and helped the city in 1839 become only the fifth U.S. city to enjoy gas lights on its streets. By World War I, the company owned and operated its own mines to help obtain coal for its gas production. The company added electricity production around the turn of the century, inspired in part by Thomas Edison's display at the Louisville's Southern Exposition during the 1880s, held in today's Old Louisville. The Service Station is located near the recently-renovated Edison Center. Together, they stand as monuments to the company and its place within Louisville's urban history and the role gas and electricity played in that story.

10. Simmons College of Kentucky Main Building

Founded in 1879 by African Americans, including former slaves, Simmons College is the oldest African American College in the state of Kentucky. Theis building once again serves as the heart of the small campus following the university's reacquisition of their former campus. The college was created through the efforts of the Colored Baptist Church in Kentucky for the purpose of training ministers. The college was shaped in its early years by the Reverend Dr. William J. Simmons, and its name was changed from Kentucky Normal Theological Institute to Simmons Univesity in 1918. The college grew and offered a variety of degrees and even offered programs in medicine thanks to a partnership with area colleges. In 1930, the college was known as Louisville Municipal College. The institution struggled in the Great Depression and lost students following the desegregation of Kentucky colleges and universities. The college discontinued many of its non-religious courses and degree programs and in 1982, the institution changed its name to Simmons Bible College to reflect its status as a small school that only provided training for future ministers. The institution has experienced a regrowth in recent years as it expanded its liberal arts and general education courses. Today, Simmons College of Kentucky offers the Associate of Arts, Bachelor of Arts, and Bachelor of Theology Degrees.

11. The Harig, Koop, and Company - Columbia Mantel Company Building

The Harig, Koop, and Company (and Columbia Mantel Company) opened in 1871 and served the neighborhood as a furniture factory until 1986. Louisville's furniture industry dates back to the 1830s when local artisans worked out of their homes and small workplaces providing handmade items to locals. By the 1870s, mechanization, Louisville's river location, and nearby wood resources enticed investors and entrepreneurs to develop furniture firms, which evolved into one of the city's leading industries for decades. The historic building serves as a reminder of the flourishing furniture industry as well as the two companies that served as its only two occupants for more than a century.

12. Louisville Steam Engine Company No. 7 Fire Station

Constructed in 1871, this Louisville fire station demonstrates the growth of the city and the importance of fire protection in the 19th century, as well as the city's effort to expand and update its alarm systems. The firehouse remained in operation for 138 continuous years until budget cuts during the "Great Recession" forced its closure in 2009. The two stylish windows and Victorian design speak to the building's place within Old Louisville, a neighborhood that featured elegantly designed homes and businesses. The residents of Old Louisville had wealth and political power in the late 19th century, and the public buildings and services constructed in that era reflected this dynamic.

13. Murray Atkins Walls Historical Marker, Louisville

Erected in 2004, this marker honors the achievements of civil rights pioneer, Murray Atkins Walls. Walls challenged segregation in many public settings, including the city's libraries and schools. She also fought for equality and racial understanding within the Girl Scouts. Walls ended the practice of segregation at the local camp in 1956 and became the first woman of color on the Kentucky State Board of Education. The monument was dedicated by the Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana and reflect her leadership as the first woman of color to join the local board of the Girl Scouts.

14. Louisville Free Public Library

The Louisville Free Public Library (LFPL) is an example of public services and innovation that started in the beginning of the 20th century. Opened in 1908, it is the largest public library system in Kentucky. Its main and original building sits at 301 York Street, though other historically significant branches include the "Western Colored Branch" at 604 South Tenth Street--the first Carnegie-housed library built entirely for African-Americans. Today the library includes 17 branches aside from the main library, and tours can be set up at the main site or any of the other branches upon request.

15. Calvary Episcopal Church,

Built in two stages, from 1872-1876 and 1885-1889, the Calvary Church emerged at a time when numerous wealthy Louisville residents moved southward away from downtown Louisville into what is now Old Louisville. The abundance of historic Victorian-style buildings speak to the affluence, and the Calvary Church is no exception. Among its many fine features, the church possesses one of the country's only two cut stone spires caps, which soars 250 feet, which would have towered above most structures in the neighborhood at that time.

16. Tompkins-Buchanan House (Spalding University)

Constructed in 1871 by acclaimed Louisville architect Henry Whitestone, this historic mansion represents the move by some of the city's wealthiest residents away from downtown Louisville in the late 19th century. The arrival of wealthy families and the grand homes they constructed spurred the development of what is now known as Old Louisville. Whitestone built the mansion for Joseph T. Tompkins, a successful dry goods merchant who lived in the home with his wife for six years before his death. George Buchanan, a Kentucky distiller, bought the mansion in 1880 and subsequently redecorated it with exceptionally lavish furniture. The distiller went bankrupt four years later. In 1918, the Sisters of the Nazarene purchased the mansion and used it as the home of Nazarene College, later known as Spalding University. The historic mansion remains in use on the Spalding University campus.

17. First Christian Church (Immanuel Baptist Church)

The imposing, historic church enjoys a Beaux Arts design, drawing on classical structures, which resembles the architectural trend of the early twentieth century. The building differs from the many historic buildings in Old Louisville, most of which are Victorian-designed and emerged during the late nineteenth century. However, the congregation does date back to the Civil War era, having built its original church during the 1860s. As the area grew, its property value skyrocketed. The church sold its original land to developers who built the historic Stark building on the property. As a result, the First Christian Church could afford to build a new, impressive structure. Renovations during the 1970s and 1980s, along with recent work by its current occupant, Immanuel Baptist Church, has allowed the building to survive into the twenty-first century.

18. Presentation Academy

Presentation Academy, a college-preparatory school established for women in 1831, was created by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth and led by Mother Catherine Spalding during its formative years. The academy remains the longest continually-operating school in the city. In 2009, the school completed the construction of a new facility for the arts and athletics, a $5 million addition.

19. Thierman Apartments

Louisville's Thierman Apartments were constructed in 1913, a time when developers were dedicating more thought to the construction of units for middle-class city-dwellers that might be referred to as "luxury" apartments today. Progressives and housing reform advocates pushed for changes in multi-family dwellings including allowing for more natural light and air, from extra windows and courtyards to balconies. As well, the middle-class, including its most wealthy, began accepting apartment living as an acceptable form of living, partly because apartment complexes included features that satisfied their desires and matched their perceived social status. While the Thierman Apartments were not known to have a ton of amenities, its ornate designs coupled with the Progressive reforms speak to its purpose as apartment complex catering to those with financial means.

20. Temple Adath Israel (Greater Bethel Temple of the Apostolic Faith)

The Temple at 834 South 3rd Street, now a Pentecostal church, was home to Louisville's Adath Israel congregation from 1905-1980. Adath Israel, founded by German/Prussian Jews in 1843, is the oldest Jewish congregation in Kentucky and the five-state region surrounding it. It was also one of the earliest--and second largest--Jewish Reform congregations. The Greek Ionic style Temple was designed by the Louisville architectural firm McDonald and Sheblessy. The building served Adath Israel until 1980, when the Brith Sholom and Adath Israel congregations merged and moved to a new synagogue on the East End.

21. The Filson Club (The Filson Historical Society)

The Filson Club served as the original, permanent home of the Filson Club, now known as the Filson Historical Society, from the late 1920s until 1986 when the organization moved to its current location at the Ferguson Mansion on 3rd Street. The club started in 1884, but lost its first collection to the University of Chicago in 1912. A less than impressive fund drive during the 1920s forced its president, Roger Clark Ballard Thruston, to finance 75% of the buidling costs. He had already done the work of maintaining and adding to the collection after 1912 and hosting meetings at his house. Finally getting a building during the 1920s allowed the club to expand mightily.

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

Louisville South of Broadway Street to Central Park

Created by Joan Adkins on December 27th 2016, 2:53:25 pm.

Get a QR Code for this tour

Description

This tour picks up where the downtown Louisville tour ends and works its way south to Old Louisville and Central Park before returning near its starting point and making a making a loop through through the Limerick neighborhood. The tour includes several historic churches and homes, as well as important cultural institutions and Louisville landmarks. Highlights of the tour include several historic homes in Old Louisville. The tour concludes at the Filson Historical Society.

Entries on This Tour

Louisville South of Broadway Street to Central Park

Description

Share