DEL.ICIO.USFROM ATLANTA TO ... LOUISVILLE
Louisville: A river city full of surprises
Baseball bats are born here, and so was Muhammad Ali
For the Journal-Constitution
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Had Lewis and Clark rendezvoused at Louisville’s 21C Museum Hotel rather than across the Ohio River in Indiana, the 19th-century explorers might never have set off toward the Northwest.
21C has enough within its own walls to spoil a visitor from bothering to venture outside — and not just because it’s a swank boutique hotel. On the evening of our arrival, we found ourselves happily waylaid by the hotel’s Proof on Main restaurant, where contemporary regional cuisine is served surrounded by modern photography and sculpture. The next morning, we wandered through the 9,000-square-foot contemporary art museum just off the hotel lobby.
BRIAN KELLER / Louisville Visitors Bureau
Louisville, a 6 1/2-hour drive from Atlanta, is an avant-garde city bridging the industrial Midwest and the Old South.
JONATHAN ROBERTS / Greater Louisville Convention & Visitors Center
The Muhammad Ali Center honors a son of Louisville who is generally considered the greatest boxer of all time – so much so that ‘the Greatest’ is his nickname.
SILVIA MEDRANO / Special
The Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory is a hit with every tourist who loves baseball.
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The brainchild of Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson, an art-loving couple with ties to the Brown-Forman whiskey empire (brands include Jack Daniels and Southern Comfort), 21C has a touch of eccentricity — in a good way. Playful, occasionally challenging artwork graces the lobby, with curated shows flowing into adjacent galleries that are freely accessible 24 hours a day. Along with up-and-coming local and national artists, such prominent contemporary artists as Chuck Close, David Leventhal and Andres Serrano have displayed work at the 21C Museum.
The avant-garde atmosphere inside the nondescript four-story building is a nifty symbol for what’s appealing about this city on the seam between the industrial Midwest and the Old South.
The phrase “Louisville, Kentucky” most likely evokes images of horse racing, bourbon and Colonel Sanders. All that is part of the city’s true identity. But so is a concentration of small attractions and cultural surprises that make for an entertaining stopover or a getaway destination six and a half hours’ drive from Atlanta.
Eight other attractions sprinkled along Main Street’s “Museum Row” are a bit less highbrow than the 21C Museum. The most popular is the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, a working temple to baseball’s most famous bat maker. Visitors get to see ash and maple dowels being machine-turned into home-run swatters, some of which are bound for the major leagues. While the exhibit space is undergoing a renovation (to be completed in April), many artifacts still can be viewed, and the admission fee has been cut in half.
But we were particularly impressed by another Main Street temple to sports glory. “The Greatest,” Muhammad Ali, was born and raised in Louisville. Through films, memorabilia and interactive displays, the three-year-old Muhammad Ali Center does an artful job of telling the heavyweight champion’s dramatic life story and of exploring the values that helped transform him into a charismatic ambassador to the world. Visitors can rush through the center in an hour and a half, but you won’t be bored if you take in all the exhibits in three hours.
Other Museum Row attractions are more quickly digestible but offer a smorgasbord of diversions from which the whole family can pick and choose. Among them:
• The Frazier International History Museum, which boasts an extensive collection of military artifacts;
• Glassworks, where visitors can watch glasswork being made, can view glass art and can take glass workshops;
• The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, which exhibits art and offers workshops;
• The Louisville Science Center, which includes interactive exhibits and the obligatory IMAX theater.
A nice break from the formal Main Street attractions lies about 10 minutes away by car, along Bardstown Road, a hip strip of tiny shops, restaurants and nightclubs. Envision Virginia-Highland, Little Five Points and East Atlanta strung along one long avenue — the neighborhood is even called the Highlands.
Lynn’s Paradise Café, just off Bardstown Road in the Highlands, is worth checking out if just for the everything-goes interior decoration. Lynn’s serves a version of the Hot Brown sandwich (an opened-faced sandwich and a decadent Louisville standard) along with its own hearty, hippie-ish creations.
On Bardstown Road itself, you’ll find an eclectic mix of homegrown shops, including an excellent CD shop, Ear X-tacy records, and a store for locally themed items, WHY Louisville.
Check out www.keeplouisvilleweird.com for a guide to other interesting stores. Much like 21C’s avant-garde appeal, Bardstown Road’s urban-village charm helps to define Louisville as a place with unexpected diversions in a part of the country not known for hanging on to visitors.
Back in 1803, there wasn’t much reason for Lewis and Clark to stick around what was then a frontier outpost. Today, there’s plenty more to keep you from looking any further for adventure.
IF YOU GO
Getting there
Louisville, Ky., is 422 miles north of Atlanta. Louisville International Airport is served by multiple airlines, including nonstop service by Delta Air Lines.
What to see
• Muhammad Ali Center. Extensive exhibits on the former world heavyweight boxing champion. 144 N. Sixth St., Louisville. 502-584-9254. www.alicenter.org
• Louisville Slugger Factory & Museum. Exhibits, demonstrations and interactive displays. 800 W. Main St. 877-775-8443. www.sluggermuseum.org/
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