Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky

People and culture

Demographics

Note: All demographics are the same as that of Jefferson County, Kentucky, which merged with the former City of Louisville on January 6, 2003.

Related Topics:
Jefferson County, Kentucky - January 6 - 2003

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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.

Related Topics:
Census - ² - Population density - White - Hispanic

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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.

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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.

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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.

Related Topics:
Per capita income - Poverty line

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Louisville has more Roman Catholics than any nearby city. There are 135,421 Catholic Louisvillians who attend 163 Catholic churches in the city.{{mn|Catholic|3}} 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 in the city. Most Jewish families came from Germany in the 1830s and 1840s. But the majority of Louisvillians belong to a Protestant faith. Southeast Christian Church, one of the largest Christian churches in the United States, is located in Louisville.

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The median income for a household in the city is $28,843, and the median income for a family is $36,696. Males have a median income of $30,608 versus $24,439 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,193. 21.6% of the population and 17.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 33.5% of those under the age of 18 and 13.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Related Topics:
Per capita income - Poverty line

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Annual cultural events and fairs

Louisville is home to a number of annual cultural events. Perhaps most well-known is the Kentucky Derby, held annually during the first Saturday of May. The Derby is preceded by a two-week long Kentucky Derby Festival, which starts with the annual Thunder Over Louisville, the largest annual fireworks display in the nation. The Kentucky Derby Festival also features notable events such as the Pegasus Parade, Great Balloon Race, a marathon, and about seventy events in total.

Related Topics:
Kentucky Derby - Saturday - May - Kentucky Derby Festival - Thunder Over Louisville - Marathon

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Usually beginning in late February is the Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville, an internationally acclaimed new-play festival that lasts approximately six weeks.

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The summer season in Louisville also features a series of cultural events such as the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, held in July of every year and features free Shakespeare plays in Central Park in Old Louisville. Also taking place during the month of July is the Lebowski Fest, held at the city's Waterfront Park near downtown. The Lebowski Fest is a weekend festival for fans of the popular movie, The Big Lebowski.

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The Kentucky State Fair is held every August at the Kentucky Fair & Exposition Center in Louisville as well, featuring an array of culture from all areas of Kentucky.

Related Topics:
Kentucky State Fair - August - Kentucky

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In September is the Adam Matthews Balloon Festival, the fifth largest hot air balloon festival in the nation. The festival features early morning balloon races, as well as balloon glows in the evening. Also in September, in nearby Bardstown, is the annual Kentucky Bourbon Festival, which features some of the finest bourbon in the world. The suburb of Jeffersontown is also the home of the annual Gaslight Festival, a series of events spread over a week. Attendance is approximately 200,000 for the week.

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The month of October features the St. James Court Art Show in Old Louisville. Thousands of artists gather on the streets and in the courtyard to exhibit and sell their wares, and the event is attended by many art collectors and enthusiasts.

Related Topics:
October - St. James Court Art Show

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Museums and art collections

The Speed Art Museum opened in 1927 and is the oldest and largest art museum in the state of Kentucky. Located adjacent to the University of Louisville, the museum features over 1,200 pieces of art in its permanent collection.

Related Topics:
Speed Art Museum - Art - Museum - Kentucky - University of Louisville

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There are several museums located in the downtown hotel and shopping districts. The Frazier Historical Arms Museum, opened in 2004, features a collection of arms, armor, and related historical artifacts spanning 1,000 years, concentrating on U.S. and UK arms. The building features three stories of exhibits, two re-enactment arenas, a 120 seat auditorium, and a 48-seat movie theater. Also downtown is the Louisville Science Center, which is Kentucky's largest hands-on science center and features interactive exhibits, IMAX films, educational programs and technology networks.

Related Topics:
Museums - Frazier Historical Arms Museum - UK - Louisville Science Center - Kentucky - IMAX

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The Muhammad Ali Center will be opening in the downtown area in the Fall of 2005 and will feature Muhammad Ali's boxing memorabilia, as well as information on the core themes that he has taken to heart: peace, social responsibility, respect and personal growth.

Related Topics:
Muhammad Ali Center - Muhammad Ali - Boxing

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Louisville is also home to the Callahan Museum of the American Printing House for the Blind, which features exhibits on the history of the education of the blind, as well as information on the printing process.

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There are also several historical properties and items of interest in the area, including the Belle of Louisville, the oldest Mississippi-style steamboat in operation in the United States. Fort Knox, in nearby Hardin County, is home to the Fort Knox Bullion Depository and the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor. The Historic Locust Grove farm, former home of Louisville Founder George Rogers Clark, portrays life in the early days of the city. The Louisville area is also home to the Waverly Hills Sanatorium a turn-of-the-century (20th) hospital that was originally built to accommodate tuberculosis patients, and is now listed as one of the nation's most haunted houses.

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Media

The local daily newspaper in Louisville is The Courier-Journal. Local weekly newspapers include Snitch Newsweekly, Louisville Eccentric Observer (LEO) and Velocity (owned by The Courier-Journal).

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Louisville is also well served by television and radio. Louisville's major network television affiliates include WAVE 3 (NBC), WHAS 11 (ABC), WKPC 15 (PBS), WLKY 32 (CBS), WBKI 34 (WB), WDRB 41 (FOX) and WFTE 58 (UPN).

Related Topics:
WAVE - NBC - WHAS - ABC - WKPC - PBS - WLKY - CBS - WBKI - WB - WDRB - FOX - WFTE - UPN

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The only cable service available in Louisville is from Insight. They provide standard and premium cable TV service, high-speed Internet access and digital telephone service.

Related Topics:
Insight - Cable TV - High-speed Internet access - Telephone

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Louisville's radio airwaves cater to a wide variety of musical and other interests. Some of the popular rock stations include WSFR (FM) 107.7, WQMF (FM) 95.7, WXNU (FM) 105.9, WTFX (FM) 93.1 (commonly called the FOX) and 101.3, WLRS (FM) 105.1 and WDJX (FM) 99.7. Urban contemporary stations include WGZB (FM) 96.5, WLSY (FM) 101.7 and WLOU (AM) 1350. WRKA (FM) 103.1 features the oldies, and WFPK (FM) 91.9 features jazz and adult alternative. Country music can be found on WQLL (FM) 103.9. For those with more classical tastes, WUOL (FM) 90.5 is a highly-acclaimed classical music station. Formerly owned and operated by the University of Louisville, it recently was spun off and is now run by the Public Radio Partnership.

Related Topics:
Rock - Urban contemporary - Oldies - Jazz - Adult alternative - Country music - Classical - University of Louisville

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NPR also has a major presence in the area, with a total of five radio stations. These include WFPL (FM) 89.3 (Louisville's NPR News Station), WKUE (FM) 90.9 (Western's Public Radio - musical programming), WUKY (FM) 91.3 (NPR @ 91.3 FM), WFPK (FM) 91.9 (WFPK Radio Louisville), and WILL (AM) 580.0. WUKY's signal can only be heard in the Eastern parts of the city, while WKUE can mostly be heard in the Southern and Western parts of town.

Related Topics:
NPR

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There are also two primarily talk radio stations, WHAS (AM) 840.0 and WGTK (AM) 970.0.

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Parks and outdoor attractions

The Louisville area is home to 122 spacious city parks covering more than 14,000 acres (57 km²), located throughout the city. Several of these parks were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed New York City's Central Park as well as parks, parkways, college campuses and public facilities in many U.S. locations. The Louisville Waterfront Park is prominently located on the banks of the Ohio River near downtown, and features large open areas, which often feature free concerts and other festivals. Cherokee Park is also one of the larger parks in the city, covering 409 acres (1.7 km²), and features many bicycle and nature trails, basketball courts, baseball fields, and picnic pavilions.

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Going a bit further out from the downtown area is the Jefferson Memorial Forest which, at 5,500 acres (22 km²), is the largest urban forest in the United States. The forest is designated as a National Audubon Society wildlife refuge, and offers over 30 miles (50 km) of various hiking trails. Camping and fishing are both permitted.

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Otter Creek Park is another large park nearby. While actually located in Brandenburg, Kentucky, Otter Creek Park is technically owned and operated by Louisville Metro government. The park's namesake, Otter Creek, winds along the eastern side of the park. A scenic bend in the Ohio River, which divides Kentucky from Indiana, can be seen from northern overlooks within the park. The park is a popular mountain biking destination, with trails maintained by a local mountain bike organization.

Related Topics:
Otter Creek Park - Brandenburg, Kentucky - Ohio River - Kentucky - Indiana

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Other outdoor points of interest in the Louisville area include Cave Hill Cemetery and Arboretum (the burial location of Col. Harland Sanders), Zachary Taylor National Cemetery (the burial location of President Zachary Taylor), the Louisville Zoo, and the Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area (in southern Indiana).

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Performing arts

The performing arts community in Louisville is currently undergoing a bit of a renaissance. The Kentucky Center, dedicated in 1983, located in the downtown hotel and entertainment district, features a variety of plays and concerts. This is also the home of the Louisville Ballet, Louisville Orchestra, and the Kentucky Opera, which is the twelfth oldest opera in the United States.

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Actors Theatre of Louisville is another performing arts center that has become the cornerstone of the revitalization of Louisville's Main Street. As the centerpiece of the city's urban cultural district, Actors Theatre has significant economic impact on a vital downtown life. Highly acclaimed for its artistic programming and business acumen, Actors Theatre hosts the Humana Festival of New American Plays each Spring. It also presents approximately six hundred performances of about thirty productions during its year-round season, composed of a diverse array of contemporary and classical fare. It also boasts one of the largest per capita subscription audiences in the country and logs an annual attendance of over 200,000.

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The Louisville Palace is a theatre in downtown Louisville located on the east side of Fourth Street between Broadway and Chestnut. Beautifully decorated, the Spanish Baroque motif begins its development. Cobalt blue, bursts of red and gold indirectly light all of the niches, coves and entrances. Above the Spanish treasures there is a curved, vaulted ceiling with 139 carvings of the eternal greats. Today, the theatre features an array of popular movies, old and new, as well as popular artists ranging from Jewel to Queensryche to Lee Greenwood. Located nearby is the Kentucky Theater, which was built in 1921 and operated for 60 years as a movie house. The movie house closed in 1986, and was almost scheduled for demolition until a local entrepreneur bought it at auction to save it from the wrecking ball and then turned it over to two arts advocates who created a non-profit arts organization, called the Kentucky Theater Project, Inc. The newly renovated Kentucky Theater opened its doors in 2000 and is now a vibrant community arts center and art film house.

Related Topics:
Spanish - Baroque - Movie - Jewel - Queensryche - Lee Greenwood - Kentucky Theater

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Also on Fourth Street is the brand new Fourth Street Live! outdoor entertainment complex, which features a wide variety of restaurants, stores, and nightclubs. The complex sponsors many free concerts, as does the popular Waterfront Park.

Related Topics:
Fourth Street Live! - Restaurant - Store - Nightclub - Concert - Waterfront Park

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Sports

College basketball is very popular in greater Louisville. The city is home to the University of Louisville Cardinals. Their archrival, the University of Kentucky Wildcats, is in Lexington, but plays one home game per season in Louisville. Additionally, four of the twenty-five winningest NCAA Division I teams are located in or near the city.

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Horse racing is also very popular. Churchill Downs is home to the Kentucky Derby, the largest sports event in the state, as well as the Kentucky Oaks which together cap the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. Churchill Downs has also hosted the renowned Breeders' Cup on five occasions, and will host that event again in 2006.

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While there are currently no major league professional sports in the city, Louisville is home to four minor-league professional and semi-professional sports teams. The Louisville Bats are a baseball team playing in the International League as the Class AAA affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. The team plays at Louisville Slugger Field at the edge of the city's downtown. The Louisville Fire play in af2, the minor league of the Arena Football League. The Louisville Bulls are a semi-pro football team in the Mid Continental Football League. The Kentucky Colonels currently play in the present incarnation of the American Basketball Association.

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The city was home to two professional hockey teams in the East Coast Hockey League, from 1990 to 1994 the Louisville Icehawks, followed by the Louisville Riverfrogs from 1995 to 1998. The city also had an American Hockey League team from 1999 to 2001, the Louisville Panthers.

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Louisville is also the home of Valhalla Golf Club which hosted the 1996 and 2000 PGA Championships, and will host the 2008 Ryder Cup. It is also home to one of the top skateparks in the U.S., Louisville Extreme Park.

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High school sports are also very popular in the city. While basketball is popular, as it is in the rest of the state, Louisville area high schools have been dominant in football in recent years. Schools such as Trinity, St. Xavier and Male have won every 4A football title except one since 1992 and have been 13 of the 15 finalists since 1997. Some fierce rivalries have developed over the years. The annual game between Trinity and St. Xavier draws over 35,000 fans. The annual game between Male and Manual high schools is also one of the oldest, dating back to the 1890s.

Related Topics:
Basketball - Football - Trinity - St. Xavier - Male - Manual

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◄ Louisville, Kentucky: Pronunciation

Louisville, Kentucky: Economy ►

~ Table of Content ~

►	Introduction
►	History
►	Geography and climate
►	Pronunciation
►	People and culture
►	Economy
►	Infrastructure
►	Sister cities
►	See also
►	Notes
►	References
►	External links

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