Story: Louisville Kentucky - Not just for horse races.

When you tell people you live in Kentucky they always seem to give you a sideways head tilt. I've been noticing this for years. I always have to back that up with Kentucky...Louisville, Kentucky. Then they say, "Ohhhh yeah, the Kentucky Derby", but thats all they have to say. A select few might say, oh is that where the Louisville slugger bat came from? You nod accordingly as always, sometimes with a roll of the eye. This next part is great, you take it upon yourself to devote your next 4 hours of life explaining to that person what your city has to offer them. Without them asking of course, its just your duty as a citizen to do so.

What does Louisville have to offer? What does it have that other cities don't? Are the people there really that friendly? Well the license plates say so. Why hasn't anyone ever visited here on a vacation for crying out loud!!!

I just once in my life want to be traveling and have someone I've met say, "OH Louisville! I absolutely love it there, I vacationed there last spring!" Is that too much to ask? I think not. I've already took it upon myself to recruit friends from past places I've lived. It doesn't matter where i live in my life, I always seem to end back where I started. Why? you ask?, It's because Louisville Kentucky is a fantastic city to live in. And this is where I take it upon myself to tell you why.

Louisville hosts the most exciting two minutes in sports. That, everyone has heard of my friends, so let me just get it out of the way. What people don't know about, is most of the events leading up to the Derby. There's an entire two weeks of activities just for the event. Starting everything off is Thunder Over Louisville, the largest annual fireworks display in the nation. Yes, the largest, so I don't want to hear about how great your towns 4th of July party is, because it wont surpass this. There's also the Pegasus Parade, The Great Steamboat Race, Great Balloon Race, a marathon, Balloon Glows and about seventy events in total for the two weeks.

To get to know what Louisville has to offer you must know about Louisville's past and its achievements. It was the original Gateway to the West, so Lewis and Clark said long ago. We might have kept that title if we wouldn't have dropped the ball so to speak. I'm sure if we had built a gigantic silvery arch in the sky that might have helped as well. Louisville was founded by Lewis and Clark and named after King Louis XVI of France. The Official Seal of Louisville reflects its history and heritage, the fleur-de-lis represents French aid given during the Revolutionary War, and the thirteen stars signify the original colonies. You will see the fleur-de-lis EVERYWHERE, so if you're a fan, this is the place to come. It's in fact on my business card as well, i just couldn't help it. Our 12th President of this United States grew up in Louisville and is buried here. The Louisville Slugger baseball bat was made in a woodworking shop in Louisville in 1884. The Belle of Louisville is the oldest operating Mississippi-style steamboat in existence today. The University of Louisville, founded in 1798, is the oldest city-supported college in the United States. Our nationally-acclaimed parks system includes parks and parkways designed by architect Frederick Law Olmsted. The Cheeseburger originated in Louisville for christ sakes, and so was the Happy Birthday song, who knew! Great events occurring in the city include the first public viewing place of Edison's light bulb (he lived here for a short time), the first library in the U.S. open to African Americans, and medical advances including the first human hand transplant, the first self-contained artificial heart transplant, and the development site of the first cervical cancer vaccine. Louisville was also the first city to racially mix its schools successfully. Some famous Louisvillians are Muhammad Ali, Derek Anderson, Ned Beatty, Allan Houston, Tom Cruise, Diane Sawyer, U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, Joan Osborne, Sean Young, Pee Wee Reese, Colonel Sanders, "Papa" John Schnatter, Zachary Taylor, oh the list goes on and on. Old Louisville, is the second largest historic preservation district in the U.S next to NYC. Lets not forget about the Colgate Clock, it is the second largest clock in the world after all. Louisville International Airport, the third-busiest cargo airport in North America and the ninth-busiest in the world, due to the global air hub for United Parcel Service, doesn't actually have international passenger flights leaving the city.

Louisville is on sort of a border of northern living and southern hospitality. We can live in million dollar lofts and still smile and wave at you on the street. Honking your horn while in our city will get you dirty looks from passer byers. We have a downtown entertainment area that closes down the street on the weekends so if you drink too much we wont run you over with our vehicles. We really are that friendly.

We have an arts district to die for. If you want to be an up and coming artist, Louisville is the place to live. We have Gallery Trolley Hops on the last and first Fridays of every month in different parts of the city. St. James Court Art Show is one of the largest art shows in the country. We have great museums, including Louisville Slugger, Frazier International History, Science Center, Speed Art, Kentucky Derby, Muhammad Ali Center, Thomas Edison House, 21C, Kentucky Aviation, Howard Steamboat, Actors Theatre, Glassworks, etc. And most important, almost all bourbon, 95% is produced in Kentucky, so there are 7 distilleries in Kentucky open to the public to tour. Louisville's attractions include the Kentucky center for the Arts, Louisville Extreme Park, Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, Valhalla Golf Club, Slugger Field, Churchill Downs, Fort Knox, Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area, Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, The Louisville Palace, Six Flags, Caesars Indiana, Louisville Zoo, Belle of Louisville, Cherokee Park, Iroquois Park, and more.

Moving on, the future is in Louisville. New developments are all around and on there way.

Metro Parks - With our 123 current parks, Mayor Jerry Abramson and Metro Parks announced a multi-million dollar, multi-year initiative to add thousands of acres of park land and protected green space to Louisville Metro's "green print." A 100-mile paved metro loop trail around Louisville Metro's perimeter that will tie together Louisville's diverse parks and neighborhoods. How many cities have you been to that have decided to inclose there entire city in parks?

Metro Safe - a $71 million dollar emergency communications system, allowing police, fire and emergency medical services in Louisville and the surrounding counties to communicate with one another. Also a map online where you can view all the crime in the Louisville area.

Museum Plaza - is a planned 62-story skyscraper downtown. The planned 703 foot tall skyscraper is projected to cost $490 million and contain a one-acre public plaza and park, condominiums, lofts, a hotel, retail shops and a museum.

Louisville arena - is a planned $252 million, 22,000-seat basketball and multipurpose arena slated to open in fall 2010.

Downtown Development - with $800 million in recent development and more than 65,000 workers every day, downtown is Louisville's economic hub. Mayor Abramson has set an aggressive agenda for continuing downtown's 20-year renaissance. Recent highlights include a proposed multi-purpose arena, $150 million in new development surrounding Louisville Slugger Field, the proposed Iron Quarter development, continued growth of the Fourth Street entertainment district, opening of the Muhammad Ali Center and exponential growth of downtown housing.

Ohio River Bridges Project - the completion of two new Ohio River bridges and the reconstruction of ramps on Interstate 65 between I-264 and downtown.

Here are some Louisville Links!
http://louisvilleky.gov/
http://www.sharelouisville.org/
http://www.lca-inc.org/living-downtown/
http://www.louisvillezoo.org/
http://www.louisvilleky.gov/MetroParks/cityofparks/
http://www.ironquarter.com/
http://www.arenaauthority.com
http://www.museumplaza.net/
http://www.actorstheatre.org/
http://www.fleurdelisonmain.com/
http://www.mercantilelofts.com
http://www.riverparkplace.net/
http://www.waterfrontparkplace.com/
http://www.alicenter.org
http://www.fraziermuseum.org/
http://www.speedmuseum.org/
http://www.firstfridaytrolleyhop.com/
http://www.sluggermuseum.org/
http://www.churchilldowns.com/
http://www.cavehillcemetery.com/
http://www.louisville-visitors.com/

In closing, as my fingertips are on fire and I can type no more. Louisville is a great city, the 16th largest, and the most underrated.

So come visit us on your next vacation, I promise you will have lots to do here. So look over here and you will fall in love with Louisville.