Parkways of Louisville, Kentucky
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Olmsted Park System | |
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| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | Louisville, Kentucky |
| Built/Founded: | 1891 |
| Architect: | Frederick Law Olmsted |
| Added to NRHP: | May 17, 1982 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 82002715 |
| Governing body: | Local |
The parkway system of Louisville, Kentucky was designed by the firm of preeminent 19th century landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. The 26-mile system was built from the early 1890s through the 1930s, and initially owned by a state-level parks commission, which passed control to the city of Louisville in 1942.[2]
The system was intended to form a circuit around what was then the fringes of the city of Louisville. However, there is a disconnect of several blocks between Eastern and Southern Parkways, and most glaringly, a planned parkway running from the terminus of Western (today's Northwestern) Parkway along the Ohio River and around to Eastern Parkway was never built.[3]
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[edit] Development
The system was first proposed in 1887 by businessman Andrew Cowan, an enthusiastic early supporter of Louisville's park system. He proposed a series of parkways that would cross every turnpike near the city as the parkways connected the three proposed parks at the eastern, western and southern fringes of the city. Although Cowan proposed a slow and deliberate development, mayor Charles D. Jacob purchased what became Iroquois Park a year later and quickly began acquiring through donations the land to build 150-foot-wide "Grand Boulevard" (later renamed Southern Parkway) connecting that southern property to the city. Jacobs claimed the boulevard would rival Champs-Élysées in Paris.[2]
A parks commission was created in 1890, and soon hired Olmsted's firm to design the entire system. The firm delivered a report in September 1891 calling for three large parks and parkways connecting them. The parkways were intended to carry light pleasure vehicles between the parks, with no access to heavier commercial vehicles. It was not until 1958 that the city opened up the parkways to all commercial and passenger traffic.[2]
[edit] Parkways
[edit] Algonquin Parkway
Algonquin Parkway connects the Western parkways to Southern and Eastern Parkways via Third Street, cutting east-to-west across the city.
[edit] Eastern Parkway
Eastern Parkway begins at an intersection with Third Street in the Belknap (main) campus of the University of Louisville. It passes over much of the campus via a viaduct, then takes on a more residential feel for the rest of the route, with houses and apartment buildings on either side, except for near major intersections. From Barrett to Baxter Avenue, the parkway is divided by a grassy median with mature trees. The final stretch of the parkway, past Bardstown Road, is the only portion of it that is 2-lane, although it is very wide, to allow for on-street parking. Eastern Parkway ends in a roundabout at the entrance to Cherokee Park, at the center of which is a 1906 statue of Daniel Boone made by Enid Yandell. Eastern Parkway is signed as US 60 from Third Street to Willow Avenue, nearly the entire length of the parkway.
The right-of-way for Eastern Parkway is 100 feet wide, and initial development of it was completed in late 1913. A long portion of the route was donated by John Breckinridge Castleman, accounting for the sharp jog at the Baxter Avenue intersection.[2]
[edit] Northwestern/Southwestern Parkway
Northwestern and Southwestern Parkways were initially called just Western Parkway. A large amount of the right-of-way was donated by Democratic Party boss John Henry Whallen, who made his residence near what is now Chickasaw Park.[2]
[edit] Southern Parkway
First called Grand Boulevard, Southern Parkway runs from near Churchill Downs to the entrance to Iroquois Park. It begins at third street, near the Eastern Parkway intersection, and the two parkways can easily be combined to connect Iroquois to Cherokee Park.
It was renamed Southern Parkway on June 6, 1893 and opened to the public eight days later.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
- ^ a b c d e f Kramer, Karl E. (2001). "Parkways". Encyclopedia of Louisville (2). Ed. Kleber, John E..
- ^ (1982-05-17). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory". . National Register of Historic Places
