Louisville Waterfront Park
Encyclopedia
Louisville Waterfront Park is a 72 acres (291,373.9 m²) municipal park
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
adjacent to the downtown area
Downtown Louisville
Downtown Louisville is the largest central business district in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the urban hub of the Louisville, Kentucky Metropolitan Area. Its boundaries are the Ohio River to the north, Hancock Street to the east, York and Jacob Streets to the south, and 9th Street to the west...
of Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
and the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
. Specifically, it is adjacent to Louisville's wharf and Riverfront Plaza/Belvedere
Riverfront Plaza/Belvedere
Riverfront Plaza/Belvedere is a public area on the Ohio River in Downtown Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Although proposed as early as 1930, the project did not get off the ground until $13.5 million in funding was secured in 1969 to revitalize the downtown area . On April 27, 1973 the Riverfront...
, which are situated to the west of the park.
Development
Phase I of Waterfront Park consists of approximately 55 acres (222,577.3 m²) and was dedicated on July 4, 1999. Louisville architects Bravura Corporation, together with Hargreaves Associates, were the designers of the park. Much of the park, such as the Great Lawn, had opened to the public by the fall of 1998. The initial development cost was about $58 million, a combination of public and private money. The site of the park was previously used for industrial purposes: scrap yards, sand pits and other industrial sites.The park hosted hundreds of events in its first full season of use, including outdoor concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s and other festival
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
s, with an estimated total attendance of more than a million people. There were problems early-on with the grass being too easily worn down by visitors.
Phase II of the park opened on June 10, 2004, and added approximately 17 acres (69,000 m²), including the Adventure Playground, which opened in July 2003. Included is an esplanade along the river's edge and a cafe plaza where the Tumbleweed
Tumbleweed Southwest Grill
Tumbleweed Southwest Grill is a chain restaurant based in Louisville, Kentucky, having originated in New Albany, Indiana.-History:Tumbleweed Southwest Grill serves Southwest-style foods. The original restaurant opened in 1975 in New Albany, Indiana, just across the Ohio River from Louisville....
cafe opened in Spring 2005. The park also contains the Brown-Forman
Brown-Forman Corporation
The Brown-Forman Corporation is one of the largest American-owned companies in the spirits and wine business.Some well-known brands of the corporation include Jack Daniel's, Southern Comfort, Finlandia Vodka, Woodford Reserve Bourbon, Canadian Mist, Early Times, Old Forester, and Korbel champagne.-...
amphitheater
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
, docks for transient boaters, and an area for a new rowing facility. The latter is used for the University of Louisville
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
Women's Rowing Team, school and community rowing groups.
Construction on part of Phase III began in late Spring 2005, to add 13 acres (53,000 m²) and include the conversion of the former Big Four Railroad bridge
Big Four Bridge (Louisville)
The Big Four Bridge is an abandoned six-span railroad truss bridge that crosses the Ohio River, connecting Louisville, Kentucky, and Jeffersonville, Indiana, United States. It was completed in 1895, and updated in 1929. It has its largest span at , for in total. It gets its name from the defunct...
into the longest pedestrian-only bridge in the world. The bridge will connect to Jeffersonville
Jeffersonville, Indiana
Jeffersonville is a city in Clark County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It is directly across the Ohio River to the north of Louisville, Kentucky along I-65. The population was 44,953 at the 2010 census...
, Indiana's waterfront park. Several more lawn areas, tree groves, walking paths, and picnic areas will also be added. As of May 2007 it is not clear when the long-planned conversion will begin, as funding has not yet been found.
In 2006, David Karem, executive director of the Waterfront Development Corporation, a public agency that operates Waterfront Park, wished to deter visitors from bathing in the large public fountain. Karem initiated a plan that was dependant on the average park visitor's "lack of understanding about water's chemical makeup", and arranged for signs that read: "DANGER! – WATER CONTAINS HIGH LEVELS OF HYDROGEN – KEEP OUT". The signs were posted on the fountain at public expense. As it is true that ordinary water molecules each contain two atoms of hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
, and thus posed no danger, it is considered one of many water-related hoaxes
Dihydrogen monoxide hoax
In the dihydrogen monoxide hoax, water is called by an unfamiliar name, "dihydrogen monoxide", followed by a listing of real negative effects of this chemical, in an attempt to convince people that it should be carefully regulated, labeled as hazardous, or banned...
.
In February 2011, The Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels announced that the two states, along with the City of Jeffersonville, will allocate $22 million in funding to complete the Big Four Bridge project– creating a pedestrian and bicycle path to link Louisville and Jeffersonville. Indiana will spend up to $8 million and the City of Jeffersonville will provide $2 million in matching dollars to pay for construction of a ramp to the Big Four Bridge. Kentucky is pledging $12 million to replace the deck on the bridge and connect it to the spiral ramp that has been completed in Waterfront Park. The Big Four Bridge could reopen to pedestrians and cyclists in early 2013.
Features
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
access. Currently, this is the largest public park in the nation to offer such access. The park is packed each year during Thunder over Louisville
Thunder Over Louisville
Thunder Over Louisville, the annual kickoff event of the Kentucky Derby Festival, is an airshow and fireworks display held in mid April in Louisville, Kentucky...
, a major fireworks exhibition which occurs on the Ohio right in front of the park.
The western half of the park features linear fountains, not officially intended for swimming but nevertheless quite popular for that purpose. Further east, there are two expansive lawns, bisected by the interstate, and a small series of docks for boats. Nearby are the Children's Play Area and the Adventure Playground. If completed, the pedestrian walkway and ramp will be on the far western end of the park.
The park is heavily used on a daily basis, and averages more than 1.5 million visitors per year. It is a popular home to free and pay concerts and festivals, especially in the summer.
Waterfront Park connects to the Riverwalk via the Belvedere, and may eventually be part of an effort to create a long mixed use trail around the entire city of Louisville.
Interstate issue
Controversially, I-64 runs through the park, and portions of the park exist under it. 8664.org8664.org
8664 is a grassroots campaign located in Louisville, Kentucky. Its stated mission is "to advocate for the revitalization of Louisville through the removal of Interstate 64 along the riverfront and the adoption of a transportation plan that will provide long-term benefits to the region's...
, a grassroots campaign with popular support but little apparent political momentum, aims to re-route I-64 to enhance Louisville's waterfront. I-64 will be widened over the park as a part of the Ohio River Bridges Project
Ohio River Bridges Project
The Ohio River Bridges Project is a controversial Louisville metropolitan area transportation project involving the reconstruction of the Kennedy Interchange , the completion of two new Ohio River bridges and the reconstruction of ramps on Interstate 65 between I-264 and downtown.One bridge will be...
, supported by the Mayor and most involved in city and interstate planning.
In May 2007 designs for the span over the great lawn were released, causing some controversy. The two proposed designs called for either 40 or 58 pillars, at a cost of $48 or $36 million, respectively. The Waterfront Development Corporation favored a $160 million proposal which could have as few as 10 pillars, and an aesthetically pleasing span design. This more expensive proposal was left out of the options presented. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet later apologized for omitting the design and said it could still be considered, but additional funding would have to be found.
See also
- List of attractions and events in Louisville, Kentucky
- List of parks in Louisville, Kentucky
- City of ParksCity of ParksCity of Parks is a municipal project to create a continuous paved pedestrian and biking trail around the city of Louisville, Kentucky while also adding a large amount of park land. The project was announced on February 22, 2005...