Have you ever walked past a building or location in your city and thought, “I wonder what that used to be?” Well, if you live in Louisville, you’re about to get some answers to that question in This Used to Be Louisville. From “the old Sears building” that continues to be used as a directional touchpoint to a downtown theater that has been frozen in time, you’ll get a tour of these places paired with stories that will inform and sometimes surprise. In the process, it may just get you wondering about the many people a hundred years ago that traversed those places in a completely different context. Local author Kevin Gibson turned his natural interest in comparing present to past into a book that looks into a wide variety of locales that contribute to the city’s legacy. And when it’s all said and done, you’ll walk away with a better understanding of Louisville’s history and culture, from major historical landmarks to neighborhood businesses to the Louisvillians who made these places important.

A forty-five-square-block neighborhood in the heart of Kentucky’s largest city, Old Louisville is among the largest and most significant historic preservation districts in America. Comprising some 1,400 structures built primarily between 1885 and 1905, it is a veritable time capsule of late-Victorian and early twentieth-century architecture. The broad avenues and quiet courts of this beautifully embowered space are lined with notable examples of Gothic Revival, Richardsonian Romanesque, Queen Anne, Italianate, Châteauesque, Second Empire, and Beaux Arts dwellings typifying the style and elegance of the Gilded Age. Located just south of Louisville’s business district, Old Louisville arose from the expansive grounds where the great Southern Exposition amazed and inspired visitors from 1883 to 1887. Coinciding with the economic growth of this expanding river city, the development of Old Louisville reflected the exuberance of its patrons and their architects as many of the designs combined various elements of diverse styles with sometimes whimsical and often strikingly delightful results. Old Louisville: Exuberant, Elegant, and Alive takes an intimate tour of fifty residential designs, from grand mansions to cozy cottages, from familiar house museums and boutique hotel adaptations to private homes of charm and sophistication. Many of these residences havenever been opened to the curious eyes of readers who are fascinated with old homes and interior design and intrigued by the skill and imagination necessary to rescue endangered buildings and convert them to the needs and comforts of modern living. Old Louisville is alive today with the busy activities of commerce and creativity. It is abuzz with people heading off to work at an office downtown or to a studio downstairs, while next door or down the block new neighbors are hunkering down to restore an old gem from a bygone era. Street fairs and art festivals roll with the vitality of contemporary life in a historic setting, and the pleasant sounds of Derby party celebrants mingle with the echoes of those now past. Old Louisville celebrates the architectural context of this remarkable neighborhood and commemorates the passion and the dedication of those who have recognized the value of its past and have sacrificed to preserve the certainty of its future.

Historic photos of Louisville captures the remarkable journey of this city and her people, with still photography from the finest archives of city, state and private collections. From the Civil War through the end of the nineteenth centrury, the rise of industry, two world wars and into the modern era, Louisville has remained a unique and prosperous city. With hundreds of archival photos reproduced in stunning black and white on heavy art paper, this book is the perfect addition to any historian's collection.

To document the amazing transformation of Louisville from a sleepy river town to a dynamic modern city, Greater Louisville Inc. - The Metro Chamber of Commerce - has partnered with Butler Books and the University of Louisville Photographic Archives to present this 240-page collection of vintage and contemporary photographs that convey the fascinating story of Louisville's growth and evolution.As the hundreds of comparative photographs attest, Louisville has changed dramatically since the turn of the century but has managed to retain much of its architectural charm and sense of place. The book is a pleasing blend of history and progress, portraying the changing landscape of Louisville's downtown and its landmark buildings, neighborhoods, parks and points of interest. Through side-by-side images, the reader sees the city transform through the lens of time.Captions compiled by an all-star cast of local historians accompany the photographs. Introductions by GLI President and CEO Joe Reagan, University of Louisville President James Ramsey, and U of L Archivist/Louisville Metro Council Member Tom Owen set the stage for the reader's photographic journey through Louisville's evolving landscape.

Louisville and baseball share a long and strong bond that also happens to be one rollicking tale. From scandals and superstars, to Louisville Slugger® bats and beyond, Baseball in Louisville explores the ups, downs, eccentricities, and historic elements that define America's great pastime in Louisville. With names like Honus Wagner, Fred Clarke, Earle Combs, Pee Wee Reese, Adam Dunn, and Chris Burke in the line-up, this volume delivers a substantial and entertaining overview of baseball's past and present.

A photographic essay that chronicles life in Louisville, Kentucky in the 1920s. This book is about people who passed through the First War on their way to the Great Depression. During the war, they had experienced government intervention and regulation of their food, their labor, and their thoughts more severe than their grandparents had experienced during the Civil War.