When I visit cities, I'm not there to judge, but to find whatever beauty and fun the city has to offer. I relish that moment of arrival when I get out of my rental vehicle and am about to take photos - oh, so many photos - of a new place. In Louisville, having driven from the airport at Cincinnati, I stepped out of my car at about 5:00 pm on a hot Saturday and said out loud to myself "what have I done?". Louisville, more than any other city that I have visited recently, consistently under-delivered on pleasure. I'm not sure if it was the giant golden Statue of David, the frequently just-plain-weird architecture, or the sense that the city's strategy is to cling too fiercely to the few things that distinguish Louisville from any other unpleasant USA town, but I found this city offputting.
Photo List (Total 292 Photos)
Click bolded headers below to view, or click "just the best" for quick tour
-
Central Louisville (154 photos) - The Central Louisville gallery starts along the north end of downtown, along the Ohio River. Central Louisville is almost entirely cut off from the water by expressways, but there are a few places that one can get close to the river, including a park just east of downtown, an area called the Riverwalk, a belvedere overlooking the river, and a waterfront walk under the expressways. The gallery then moves to Main Street, on which are a number of museums and the restaurant where I had a lovely drink and dinner. The next bunch of photos are the city's skyscrapers, which are mostly just south of Main Street. After that, this gallery includes everything else that is downtown, moving in an ever southward direction.
-
Indiana Side (39 photos) - Across the Ohio river from Louisville lies the state of Indiana. I booked my hotel here not realizing that getting across the two downtown bridges would be weirdly complicated, and ended up taking some long detours. That worked out, however, as I got to see several parks that allowed me to approach the river. The Kentucky side of the Ohio river is almost entirely inaccessible, despite best efforts. So this includes a few photos in Riverstage Park, Ashland Park, Falls of the Ohio State Park, and the Lewis and Clark Centennial Park. Some nice views of downtown skyscrapers from different vantage points. Also the bridges across the river, including my morning walk on the Big Four Bridge. It also includes a few other sights on the north side, and my hotel and the many antique cars that I found parked there on Saturday evening.
-
Eastern Louisville (44 photos) - This starts with supper in the East Market area at a Mayan restaurant, includes visits to two cemeteries east of downtown and a few photos along Baxter Avenue, and then the interesting Water Tower Park with its associated museum, and Caperton Swamp.
-
South Louisville and Miscellaneous (55 photos) - The area south of downtown is known as "Old Louisville" and has the art gallery, big houses, and the University of Louisville. This gallery also includes a few random things, like a stopover in La Grange on my way back to the airport.
