Diamond Jubilee: Louisville, Kentucky

Arrival

AQ agreed to continue to Louisville after Frankfort - it was not far from Frankfort by highway and he appeared happy to be exploring a new state. Louisville was just a name for me, not part of the original itinerary. The trip was becoming extremely unplanned and random - and I liked it. I had done too much heavily-scripted travel in my lifetime.

The interstate to Louisville passed through farmland. My image of Kentucky as "mountainous" was shattered. It made sense though - we were in horse country heading toward the city that hosts the nation's premier equestrian event, the Kentucky Derby.

Churchill Downs

In fact, the hotel (on the outskirts of town) was a short drive from the famous race track so it was our first stop. Disappointingly, AQ knew almost zero about the Kentucky Derby and was surprised how excited I was to see it (considering I was not a horse-racing fan). When the Downs are dark, there isn't much going on except for one, overpriced museum. We had a short walk about, I took photos, and then we drove downtown.

One thing stood out - the amount of parking available was staggering.

Big check - Churchill Downs!

Riverside

We drove to Butchertown (outside of downtown) to a coffee house that A found online and wanted to try. I was always up for a cup of good coffee, and the shop, Quills, served excellent coffee in a very modern setting. The cafe is located in a post-industrial part of town near the popular area, NuLu, where some of the city's most trendy bars and restaurants are located - perhaps the area was a neighborhood on the upswing. I found it desolate (not scary, just empty).

After caffeination, we drove to the "Big Four Lawn", a riverside park with ample parking. We were going to see Louisville's famous railway bridge that had been pedestrianized.

The Big Four Bridge is a six-span truss bridge that crosses the Ohio River, connecting Louisville, Kentucky, and Jeffersonville, Indiana. It was completed in 1895 and rebuilt in 1929. It was taken out of rail service in 1968, and the original approaches that carried rail traffic onto the main spans were first removed in 1974–1975, earning the Big Four Bridge the nickname "Bridge That Goes Nowhere". It was converted to bicycle and pedestrian use in 2013. The largest single span is 547 feet; the entire bridge spans 2,525 feet. It took its name from the defunct Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, which was nicknamed the "Big Four Railroad".

(Wikipedia)

We walked along the river for views of the city's bridges and downtown Louisville, crossed the Big Four (quite busy with bikers and walkers) to the halfway point, and returned. We briefly considered walking into Jefferson, Indiana on the opposite shore, but the map indicated there wasn't too much to see and our time was limited.

As we moved north along the river, the bank became more urban and less park-like.

We caught a working paddle wheeler that was just getting ready to take passengers on a tour of the river. It was sold out - tickets only available online. That could have been fun. A was excited to see an old style boat on the river in use (we only had seen a de-commissioned boat in Marietta, Ohio).

At the edge of downtown along the water, we stumbled upon the Mohammed Ali Center. It was closed, but the architecture was stunning. I had no idea he was from Louisville. I thought it was great that he dedicated part of his wealth to create something positive for his hometown.

The Muhammad Ali Center is much more than a museum. As an athlete, a humanitarian, a global voice and man guided by faith, Muhammad Ali embodied a pursuit and belief in the greatness found in all people. Founded in 2005 by Lonnie and Muhammad Ali in his hometown of Louisville, the Center is dedicated to honoring Ali and continuing work based on his core principles.

Our Mission: Mobilize Muhammad Ali’s legacy to foster respect, inspire generations of changemakers, and advance social justice.

Our Vision: We envision a just and compassionate world where all people can reach their greatness.

https://alicenter.org/about-the-center/

Downtown

We turned into town and found West Main Street - part of the "Bourbon Trail". Unfortunately, COVID hit most of those businesses hard (plus it was early in the day), so there was little to see. I was doubly happy we had seen Buffalo Trace the day before. I made a mental note: one day return to Louisville to do the Bourbon Trail.

Unexpectedly, we walked by a huge copy of Michelangelo's David (in gold) along the street. A looked at me inquiringly. I just shrugged my shoulders.

David (inspired by Michelangelo) is a sculpture by Turkish conceptual artist Serkan Özkaya. It is a reproduction of Michelangelo's David made of gold-painted foam, twice the size of the original, and based on a computer model by Stanford University professor Marc Levoy.[1] It was originally created for the 9th International Istanbul Biennial in 2005, and took six people six months to build, but it collapsed during installation. The statue was restored and two copies were cast at a workshop in the Turkish city of Eskişehir. One of them will be displayed at a park in Eskişehir. The other was acquired by the 21c Museum Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, and was transported, lying on its side on a truck trailer, into New York City in March 2011 for a presentation at the Storefront for Art and Architecture before continuing on to its permanent location in Louisville.

(Wikipedia)

I remember the gold David more than anything else we saw in Louisville if only because of its "randomness".

I was most excited to see one place on Main Street, the Louisville Slugger Factory. Unfortunately, it was closed (even the gift shop). At least AQ knew about the importance of baseball in the US, so my desire to see that factory was not something strange for him. I was surprised to see the huge bat in front of it, but then again - I had never planned on visiting the city. I would have got the t-shirt.

As we wandered we passed a car covered in red rhinestones. We agreed that it looked more like something from the streets of Dubai. The effect was.... unique. How did the owner wash it? It was one of the most unusual things I encountered on the entire trip.

Was "bourbonism" even a word? I liked it, though. West Main Street had some good public art (not just the very out-of-place David). It made for a nice stroll.

July 2019

Back to the car and room

We had walked a LOT and still had to return to the parking lot. We crossed a far less interesting part of town and finally found the car again. We were both tired, but satisfied. It was some of the most we had walked on the whole trip.

We had just completed a blow-through of Louisville, Kentucky AND seen the site of the Kentucky Derby. The trip was turning into something I had not expected at all.

We discussed our plans and AQ was willing to drive to Indianapolis. He was taking the trip day by day and I was very grateful for use of his car as I knew that via train I would not have seen most of the places we had visited.

We returned to the room. The next day we would cross into Indiana.