LOUISVILLE – JEFFERSON COUNTY, KY
City/County Offices
Louisville Metro Hall
527 W. Jefferson
Louisville 502-574-2003
www.louisvilleky.gov
Chamber of Commerce
614 W. Main Street
Louisville 502-625-0000
www.greaterlouisville.com
Major Highways
Interstates 64, 65, 71, 264, 265;
U.S. Highways 22, 42, 60, 31, 15
Within a day’s drive from nearly half the population of the nation, Jefferson County and Louisville City have formed a highly successful joint government that effectively leads one of most dynamic and fastest growing metropolitan regions. Outstanding transportation facilities serve the area, combining major interstate, federal, and state highways with commercial and cargo services. Louisville International Airport ensures convenient air travel to U.S. and global destinations. At the same time, the metro area is home to first-rate resources from cultural venues and recreational venues to beautiful libraries, lush parks, elegant homes, and welcoming neighborhoods.
Services
Advanced healthcare services and facilities are available across the region in state-of-the-art hospitals that are close to home, anchored by respected healthcare systems like Alliant Health System, Baptist Healthcare System, Caritas Health Services, Jewish Hospital Health Networks, and the University of Louisville Hospital. Skilled professionals in every major specialty and subspecialty serve the region, supported by family and emergency clinics, rehabilitation centers, skilled nursing service, home health care, and long-term care facilities. Major hospitals and medical centers are dedicated to public education and health screenings, offering support groups, guest speakers, and seminars designed to promote a fuller and healthier lifestyle.
Efficiently served by the Jefferson County Public School System, area youth receive a quality education in schools that emphasize individual attention with pupil-teacher ratios as low as 18 to 1. Strong public support for education is evidenced in the high per-pupil expenditure. Financial support provides for modern classrooms, up-to-date laboratories, and well-stocked libraries that can provide public access to more than 17,000 computers. Throughout the metro area, opportunities for higher education range from vocational and career institutes and community colleges to leading colleges and universities.
The innovative Kentuckiana Metroversity represents a consortium of seven institutions of higher education that offer area students unique advantages. Tuition and fees paid to one of these schools provides full access to resources at any of the others. State-level agreements between Indiana and Kentucky states have resulted in tuition reciprocity programs for select state-supported schools. These programs are available to students in Clark, Crawford, Floyd, Harrison, and Scott counties in Indiana and Bullitt, Jefferson, and Oldham counties in Kentucky.
Lifestyle
Long known for the Kentucky Derby and the “greatest two minutes in sports,” the Louisville Metropolitan region offers more than the excitement of thoroughbred racing. The region’s brisk tourism industry has also encouraged the development of world-class attractions that appeal to people across a wide spectrum of interests and age groups, including the Louisville Zoo, the Louisville Science Center, Louisville Slugger Museum, and the elegant Kentucky Center for the Arts. Opera, ballet, orchestra, Broadway hits, dinner theatre, a Shakespeare Festival, repertory theatre, and children’s theatre are just a few of the cultural jewels that shine in Jefferson County. Residents and visitors alike enjoy riverboat cruises, fine museums, a floating casino resort, colorful festivals and celebrations, more than 100 public parks, 50 golf courses, tennis courts, swimming pools, fishing lakes, four-star restaurants, and wonderful shopping districts or malls with entertainment attractions.
Revitalization within the core of Louisville complements a number of exciting projects including the spectacular Ali Center, the Frazier Historical Arms Museum, and the spectacular $20 million Kentucky Center for African-American Heritage. Throughout Jefferson County, newcomers will discover a peerless quality of life and an enviable cost of living. “More home for the dollar” describes the attractive and diverse selection of housing, from modest bungalows to manors that command breathtaking views of landscapes or golf-course fairways. Few locales in the nation can rival Kentuckiana for sheer livability and natural beauty.
City of Louisville
Municipal Offices
Louisville Metro Hall
502-574-2003
www.louisvilleky.gov
Chamber of Commerce
502-625-0000
www.greaterlouisville.com
New residents to Louisville will discover a city along the banks of the rolling Ohio River where the best of the North and South mingle in style and grace. Elegant Victorian mansions contrast with a modern skyline of gleaming skyscrapers while a corporate jet flies over a vintage paddlewheel steamboat. Upscale boutiques surround sidewalk cafes along cobblestone streets, and horse-drawn carriages and trolleys offer a relaxing retreat from bustling traffic. The Kentucky Center for the Arts showcases theatre, symphony, ballet, opera, and a variety of other national and regional productions in three theaters. History springs to life in treasured homes and historic sites, while modern recreational facilities support healthy, active lifestyles. Revitalization in the downtown district has encouraged fine new residential development in the heart of Louisville’s finest cultural and sports attractions. Adding to the reputation of long-established areas as idyllic places to play, work, and live, many developers have invested millions of dollars on handsome new condominiums in the city’s center.
LOUISVILLE NEIGHBORHOODS
Cherokee Triangle
The neighborhood known today as Cherokee Triangle was first planned in the 1870s by two visionary business leaders who foresaw “growing pains” for the city of Louisville. James Henning and Joshua Speed laid out an expanse of land bounded by Bardstown Road, Highland Avenue, Slaughter Avenue (today’s Patterson) and a wooded area near Cave Hill Cemetery. Created as an address for the affluent, the enclave was soon filled with spacious, luxurious homes designed to reflect the prestige of their owners. After World War II, many of the residents of Cherokee Triangle left the neighborhood for suburban developments. Many of the large, well-built homes and properties fell into disrepair until the 1960s. At that time, an energetic group of residents formed the Cherokee Triangle Association. The group halted the region’s decline and supports ongoing efforts at revitalization. The group’s efforts received a real boost with the $16 million condominium development that now overlooks Cherokee Park. Adaptations to homes are monitored by the association, and multi-family dwellings are not always allowed. Stately brick homes embellished by fancy ironwork and oversized windows showcasing lush landscaping, lovely trees, and mature greenery are commonplace.
The Highlands, Cherokee Park
Distinguished as one of Louisville’s first suburbs, the Highlands were so named because an early 1900s flood sent local residents looking for “higher ground” where their homes would be safe from the rising waters. Reflecting the affluence of estates in neighboring Cherokee Triangle, the housing in this established neighborhood was designed from the beginning to offer a haven for the wealthy. Many early homes preserve the charm of yesterday and the prestige of their former owners in quality construction and fine finishes. Over time, the demographic mix of The Highlands and the Cherokee Park area has diversified. Today’s residents enjoy access to the four-star restaurants located off the Bardstown Road corridor as well as blocks of antique, consignment, and specialty shops. Located in this area is Cherokee Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, the legendary landscape architect who designed Central Park in New York City. The Highlands is home to popular attractions including the Louisville Zoo and Cave Hill Cemetery.
Fern Creek
This thriving suburb of approximately 20,000 residents is located less than 10 miles southeast of Louisville. General Electric created a milestone in the area’s development when it opened an Appliance Park here in the mid 1900s, creating an immediate need for housing. Fern Creek’s growth has continued in recent decades, accelerated by development near the Gene Snyder Freeway corridor. At the same time, Fern Creek is one of the few communities in Jefferson County that still preserves a patchwork of small farms and pastures for horses. From its genesis as a stagecoach stop between Louisville and Bardstown, the area matured into a bustling center of population and later a booming suburb. Fern Creek’s boundaries traditionally included land on both sides of Bardstown Road from Watterson Trail south to the Bullitt County Line. The 1970s saw a proliferation of residential subdivisions with single-family homes as well as apartment buildings. Developments with idyllic names like Spanish Cove, Idlewood Estates, and Piccadilly Square offer an abundance of attractive homes — many graced by gabled roofs and well-trimmed landscaping.
Old Louisville
One of the city’s oldest suburbs and most exciting historical neighborhoods, Old Louisville boasts a collection of elegant, turn-of-the-century Victorian manors. The neighborhood is bordered by Broadway, Eastern Parkway, Interstate 65, and Ninth Street. As the name indicates, the area’s evolution coincides with the growth and development of the city itself. Along the fashionable St. James and Belgravia courts of Old Louisville, the impressive towering Victorian mansions continue to attract new attention to their architectural wonders. Tree-canopied lanes lined with mansions that reflect the “gilded age” of Louisville’s original gentry often showcase brick-paved courtyards with vintage statues and hybrid tea roses. Cast-iron lamps that were once a necessity still cast an evening glow over this vintage area. More than 10,000 residents of diverse ages, backgrounds, and lifestyles call Old Louisville their home.
SUBURBAN JEFFERSON COUNTY
Jeffersontown
The attractive and family-oriented city of Jeffersontown is home to a rapidly growing population. Named for then-Vice President Thomas Jefferson, the town harmonizes a rich history with a progressive government and booming local economy. Interstate 64 runs through the city for excellent transportation connections, and Bluegrass Industrial Park has welcomed more than 900 companies. Fine hotels, restaurants, cozy cafes, and shopping centers welcome more than 200,000 visitors each year to the week-long Gaslight Festival in September. Known locally as “J-town,” the city also proudly hosts regional baseball and softball tournaments at the award-winning Skyview Park complex. This long-established area proudly celebrated its Bicentennial in 1997. As you might expect, yesterday’s treasures can still be seen in the many well-preserved vintage homes, historic sites, and museums. Other nearby attractions include Blackacre Nature Preserve, the Floyds Fork Soccer Complex, and the University of Louisville Shelby Campus.
