Louisville (usually pronounced ; see Pronunciation below) is Kentucky's largest city and one of the largest cities in the United States (see Official naming and population statistics below). The settlement that became the City of Louisville was founded in 1778 by George Rogers Clark and is named after King Louis XVI. Louisville is most famous as the home of "The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports": the Kentucky Derby, the most widely-watched event in American horse racing.
Louisville is situated on the Kentucky-Indiana border at the only natural obstacle in the Ohio River, the Falls of the Ohio. Because of its proximity to Indiana, the metropolitan area around Louisville is regularly referred to as Kentuckiana.
A resident of Louisville is referred to as a Louisvillian.
Louisville is located at 38°13'44"N, 85°44'58"W (38.228870, -85.749534).
(Note: The Census 2000 figures apply to the former City of Louisville as it existed prior to the creation of Louisville Metro on 2003-01-06.) According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total area of 172.6 km2 (66.7 mi2). 160.9 km2 (62.1 mi2) of it was land and 11.7 km2 (4.5 mi2) of it was water. The total area was 6.80% water.
The city is located at the northwestern edge of the Bluegrass region of Kentucky, which also includes the cities of Lexington, Richmond, and the urban areas of Kentucky south of the Ohio River from Cincinnati, Ohio. The region is characterized by a rolling plateau that becomes more rugged near the edges. The underlying limestone is often visible at the surface in road cuts and where eroded by streams, most dramatically in the Kentucky River palisades. The region is named for Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), which has been extensively used in pastures here.
The Louisville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), the 43rd largest in the United States, includes the Kentucky counties of Jefferson (contiguous with Louisville Metro), Bullitt, Henry, Meade, Nelson, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer and Trimble. The southern Indiana counties Clark, Floyd, Harrison and Washington are also included in the Louisville MSA. The Louisville Combined Statistical Area (CSA) also includes the Elizabethtown Metro Area (composed of Hardin and Larue Counties) as well as the non metropolitian Scott County, Indiana. The Louisville CSA ranks 31st in the USA in population.
1790 - 2001800 - 3591810 - 1,3571820 - 4,0121830 - 10,3411840 - 21,2101850 - 43,1941860 - 68,0331870 - 100,7531880 - 123,7581890 - 161,1291900 - 204,7311910 - 223,9281920 - 234,8911930 - 307,7451940 - 319,0771950 - 369,1291960 - 390,6391970 - 361,4721980 - 298,4511990 - 269,0632000 - 256,231
Note: All demographics are the same as that of Jefferson County, Kentucky, which merged with the former City of Louisville on January 6, 2003.
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 693,604 people, 287,012 households, and 183,113 families residing in the city/county. The population density is 695/km2 (1,801/mi2). There are 305,835 housing units at an average density of 307/km2 (794/mi2). The racial makeup of the city/county is 77.38% White, 18.88% Black or African American, 0.22% Native American, 1.39% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.68% from other races, and 1.42% from two or more races. 1.78% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 287,012 households out of which 29.60% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.20% are married couples living together, 14.70% have a female householder with no husband present, and 36.20% are non-families. 30.50% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.30% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.37 and the average family size is 2.97.
The age distribution is 24.30% under the age of 18, 8.90% from 18 to 24, 30.40% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 13.50% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 91.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 87.60 males.
The median income for a household is $39,457, and the median income for a family is $49,161. Males have a median income of $36,484 versus $26,255 for females. The per capita income for the county is $22,352. 12.40% of the population and 9.50% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 18.10% of those under the age of 18 and 8.80% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
There are 135,421 Catholic Louisvillians who attend 163 Catholic churches in the city. The Cathedral of the Assumption located in downtown Louisville is the seat of the Archdiocese of Louisville. Our Lady of Gethsemani Abbey, the monastic home of Catholic writer Thomas Merton, is in nearby Bardstown, Kentucky and also located in the archdiocese. There is also a noticeably large Jewish population of around 10,000 in the city. Most Jewish families came from Russia at the turn of the 20th century with a sizable number (around 1,000) of Soviet Jews having moved to Louisville since 1991. A sizable number of Louisvillians belong to a Protestant faith. Southeast Christian Church, one of the largest Christian churches in the United States, is located in Louisville.
Louisville's early economy first developed through the shipping and cargo industries. Its strategic location at the Falls of the Ohio, as well as its unique position in the central United States (within one day's travel to 60% of the cities in the continental U.S.) make it an ideal location for the transfer of cargo along its route to other destinations. In the early days, the Louisville and Portland Canal (the McAlpine Locks and Dam is built in this canal) was a crucial link in water traffic on its route from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (and other origins) to the mouth of the Mississippi River, the Gulf of Mexico, and beyond. The Louisville & Nashville Railroad was also an important link between the industrialized northern cities and the South. Louisville's importance to the shipping industry continues today with the presence of the world air hub for UPS. Louisville's location at the crossroads of three major Interstate highways (I-64, I-65 and I-71) also contributes to its modern-day strategic importance to the shipping and cargo industry.
Additionally, Louisville is home to several major corporations and organizations:
Louisville for a long time was also home to Brown & Williamson, one of the subjects of the tobacco industry scandals of the 1990s. Also located in Louisville are two major Ford plants, and a major General Electric appliance factory.
Additionally, one third of all of the bourbon whiskey comes from Louisville. The Brown-Forman Corporation is one of the major makers of bourbon, which is headquartered in Louisville. Other major distilleries of bourbon can be found both in the city of Louisville, or in neighboring cities in Kentucky, such as Heaven Hill (Bardstown, Kentucky), Woodford Reserve (Woodford County), or Maker's Mark (Loretto, Kentucky, with a restaurant/lounge in Louisville).
Louisville also prides itself in its large assortment of small, independent businesses and restaurants. Some of these local businesses have become known for their ingenuity and creativity. For example, in 1934, Kaelin's Restaurant served the first hamburger with a slice of cheese on top, becoming known as the first cheeseburger. In 1926 the Brown Hotel became the home of the Louisville Hot brown "sandwich". In 1880, John Colgan also invented a way to make chewing gum taste better for a longer period of time.
The Highlands area of Louisville on Bardstown Road also contains many independent businesses, including but not limited to the popular Ear X-tacy music store, Baxter Avenue Theater, Carmichael's book store, the Wild and Woolly Video store, Heine Brothers' Coffee, Conti Coffee, Wick's Pizza, O'Shea's Irish Pub, among others. Several local brewpubs such as Rich O's Public House of New Albany Indiana, Browning's Restaurant and Brewery, Cumberland Brewing Company, and the Bluegrass Brewing Company offer an assortment of local brewing talent in the area.
Louisville also has connections to the entertainment industry. For example, 90% of the United States' disco balls are made in Louisville at National Products, Inc. Several major motion pictures have also been filmed in or near Louisville, including Goldfinger, Stripes, The Insider and Elizabethtown.
The history of Louisville spans hundreds of years, and has been influenced by the area's unique geography and location. The city attributes its growth to the fact that boats had to be unloaded and moved downriver before reaching the falls. In 1769, explorer Daniel Boone created a trail from North Carolina to Tennessee, and then spent the next two years exploring Kentucky. The first settlement was made in the vicinity of modern-day Louisville in 1778 by Col. George Rogers Clark. Thirteen families were left behind and established Fort Nelson, the first permanent settlement at the site of Louisville. Today, Col. Clark is now recognized as the founder of Louisville, and several landmarks are named after him.
Two years later, in 1780, the Virginia General Assembly and then-Governor Thomas Jefferson approved the town charter of Louisville. The city was named in honor of King Louis XVI of France, whose soldiers at the time were aiding Americans in the Revolutionary War. In 1803, explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark organized their expedition across America at the Falls of the Ohio in Louisville.
In 1828, the population swelled to 7,000; and Louisville became an incorporated city. The city grew rapidly in its formative years. In 1839, a precursor to the modern Kentucky Derby was held at Old Louisville's Oakland Race Course.
During the Civil War, Louisville was spared active fighting by the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky's bloodiest battle of the war. Years later, on 1891-09-07, train service arrived to the city with the completion of the Union station train hub.
In January 1937, a month of heavy rain throughout the Ohio River Valley prompted what became remembered as the "Great Flood of '37." The flood submerged about 70% of the city and forced the evacuation of 175,000 residents.
Throughout the 20th century, the arts flourished in Louisville. The Speed Art Museum was opened in 1927 and is now the oldest and largest museum of art in Kentucky. The Louisville Orchestra was founded in 1937. In 1949 the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival was begun, and today it is the oldest free and independently-operating Shakespeare festival in the United States.
For a variety of reasons, Louisville began to decline as an important city in the 1960s and 1970s. Highways that had been built in the 1950s facilitated a flight to the suburbs, and the downtown area began to die out. In 1974 a major (F4) tornado hit Louisville as part of the Super Outbreak of tornados that struck 13 states. It covered 21 miles (34 km) and destroyed several hundred homes in the Louisville area but was only responsible for two deaths.
After two decades of population loss, Jefferson County started gaining population again in the 1990s, in large part because of fast growing Vietnamese and Hispanic communities. Louisville has also experienced a regrowth in popularity and prosperity. This can be seen in the many changes in this period, including significant downtown infrastructure improvements such as the conversion of the waterfront into parkland and the emergance of ecclectic shopping districts and young professional residential areas along Bardstown Road & Frankfort Avenue.
Many cultural showcases were founded or expanded in this period. The Kentucky Center was officially dedicated in 1983. The Louisville Eccentric Observer (LEO), a popular alternative newspaper, was founded in 1990, and Snitch was established in the 1990s, although Snitch ceased publication in 2005. Velocity was later released by the Courier-Journal as well in 2003. The city's growth continues to the present day.
Several important projects in the city are slated for completions in the late 2000s or early 2010s; including the three tower Louisville Museum Plaza, whose tallest tower will replace the AEGON Center as Kentucky's tallest building and will feature a one acre public "park" 22 stories off the ground. There are several other important projects relating to the city's parks, including the creation of a "ring of parks", which will connect the waterfront, Levee Bike Trail, Jefferson Memorial Forest, and E.P. Sawyer State Park; and also the conversion of the former Big Four Railroad bridge over the Ohio River into the longest pedestrian only bridge in the world.
Source:
LouisvilleKentucky.com
HOTELS • REAL ESTATE • JOBS