Butchertown, Louisville

	Butchertown Historic District
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	U.S. Historic district
	Washington Street in Butchertown
Location	Roughly bounded by Main, Hancock, Geiger, Quincy Sts., US 42, South Fork of Beargrass Creek, and Baxter Ave., Louisville, Kentucky
Coordinates	38°15′26.96″N 85°43′41.53″W / 38.2574889°N 85.7282028°W
Area	50 acres (20 ha)
Built	1873
Architect	Adolph Druiding; D.X. Murphy and Company
Architectural style	Greek Revival, Shingle Style, shot-gun
Website	louisvillebutchertown.com
NRHP reference No.	76000900 (original); 100004421 (increase)
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	August 11, 1976
Boundary increase	September 27, 2019

Butchertown is a neighborhood just east of downtown Louisville, Kentucky, United States, bounded by I-65, Main Street, I-71, Beargrass Creek and Mellwood Avenue.

The Butchertown Historic District is a 50 acres (20 ha) part which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.^[1]^[2] It includes the 1914-built Beaux Arts Stockyard Exchange Building designed by D.X. Murphy and Brother.^[3]

History

The first homes in the area were laid out in the 1820s along the newly completed Louisville to Lexington turnpike, referred to in that stretch as Story Avenue. Two of the first landowners in the area, Whig Party loyalist George Buchanan and Isaac Stewart, had the new community's streets named after major Whig Party members, such as John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster and Henry Clay. In the 1850s Beargrass Creek was rerouted away from what is now downtown Louisville and through the area, making it an ideal area for butchers and stockyards because the animal remains could be dumped in the creek and such businesses were banned in the downtown area for sanitation reasons. The population swelled as waves of German immigrants entered the area. Bourbon Stockyards, built in 1836, was the first stockyard to locate in Butchertown. A bank is in portions of the original building.^{[citation needed]}

Due to the high German population, and resentment of them by supporters of the Know Nothing party, Butchertown was where the "Bloody Monday" riots of August 1855 began as Know Nothings tried to prevent Germans and Irish from voting in an election. The riots killed 22 people.

For the first 100 years of its existence, Butchertown was a thriving residential and industrial area, though other Louisville neighborhoods regarded it as a haven for drunkards and brawlers. However, the area began declining after the great Ohio River flood of 1937 destroyed many of the homes there. Many other homes were demolished for the construction of the Ohio River flood wall, the construction of interstates and the Kennedy Interchange ("Spaghetti Junction") through the area, and the expansion of industrial land into formerly residential areas. Suburbanization continued to bring the residential areas into decline, until the few remaining residents began lobbying for rezoning (the entire area was zoned as industrial), and fixing up vacant and underrepaired houses.

Since the 1990s, the area has attracted many young professionals. In recent years, the east Market Street area of downtown Louisville has seen a great deal of revitalization, including the expansion of Waterfront Park, Louisville Slugger Field, and the conversion of empty store fronts into new condominiums. This has helped spur further improvements in Butchertown itself, as many new antique shops and art galleries have opened off the Market Street corridor.

In the 2000s, there were plans as part of the Ohio River Bridges Project to move the Kennedy Interchange further south when it was to be reconfigured by 2018, meaning that more buildings in Butchertown would be razed. However, these plans were scrapped in favor of reconfiguring the interchange in its existing location.^{[citation needed]} Furthermore, the project included a second interstate bridge just east of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge that opened as the Abraham Lincoln Bridge on December 6, 2015. The necessity of flyover ramps for the new bridge led to the demolishing of about one-third of Butchertown's David Armstrong Extreme Park, along with a rebuild of facilities on an adjacent property.^[4]

Demographics

As of 2000, the population of Butchertown was 975,^[5] of which Whites were 82.8%, Blacks were 7.2%, Hispanics were 5.3%, and other races were 4.7%. Males of all races were 60.1% of the population, while females were 39.9%.

Attractions

Butchertown contains several attractions, including the David Armstrong Extreme Park and Thomas Edison House, a shotgun house near where Thomas Edison lived in 1866 on Washington Street. It also contains the remaining front façade of the former early 19th century Heigold House, which features a detailed sketch of important early Whig Party leaders, displays the words "dedicated the greatest man in history, George Washington" etched across its front; the rest of the Fulton Street house has been razed. Lynn Family Stadium, a soccer stadium opened in 2020 home to Louisville City FC^[6] and Racing Louisville FC, is located in Butchertown.

Butchertown is also known for its emergence of more modern shops, restaurants, and destination spots. Located on E. Washington Street is Copper & Kings, a brandy and absinthe distillery that offers daily tours and various community events. It is also home to an LGBT night club and a variety of newer eateries.

References

^ ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ Walter E. Langsam (1976). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Butchertown Historic District / Butchertown". National Park Service. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023. With accompanying 54 photos from 1973–1975
^ Marty Poynter Hedgepeth (July 1982). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination". National Park Service. Retrieved February 24, 2018. With 45 photos from 1982.
^ Shafer, Sheldon (January 1, 2014). "Louisville Extreme Park rebuild getting under way". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
^ "Community Resource Network". Retrieved November 18, 2005.^{[dead link]}
^ "LouCity's Lynn Family Stadium to Officially Open on ESPN2, Deportes" (Press release). USL Championship. June 30, 2020. Archived from the original on July 10, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2020.

Williams, David (2001). "Butchertown". In Kleber, John E. (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Louisville. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. pp. 149–150. ISBN 0-8131-2100-0. OCLC 247857447.

External links

Official website (archived)
Street map of Butchertown
Images of Butchertown, University of Louisville Libraries Digital Collections

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.

[nrhpdoc-Butchertown-2] Walter E. Langsam (1976). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Butchertown Historic District / Butchertown". National Park Service. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023. With accompanying 54 photos from 1973–1975

[nrhpdoc-3] Marty Poynter Hedgepeth (July 1982). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination". National Park Service. Retrieved February 24, 2018. With 45 photos from 1982.

[4] Shafer, Sheldon (January 1, 2014). "Louisville Extreme Park rebuild getting under way". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. Retrieved February 17, 2016.

[5] "Community Resource Network". Retrieved November 18, 2005.^{[dead link]}

[6] "LouCity's Lynn Family Stadium to Officially Open on ESPN2, Deportes" (Press release). USL Championship. June 30, 2020. Archived from the original on July 10, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2020.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

v t e Neighborhoods, suburbs, districts and areas in Louisville Metro
East Side (Old City)	Audubon Avondale-Melbourne Heights Bashford Manor Bon Air Bradley Brownsboro-Zorn Butchertown Camp Taylor Cherokee Gardens Cherokee-Seneca Clifton Clifton Heights Crescent Hill East Market District (NuLu) Gardiner Lane Germantown Hawthorne Hayfield Dundee The Highlands Belknap Bonnycastle Cherokee Triangle Deer Park Highlands-Douglass Irish Hill Original Highlands Phoenix Hill (portion) Tyler Park Hikes Point Klondike Meriwether Phoenix Hill Poplar Level Prestonia Rockcreek-Lexington Road St. Joseph Schnitzelburg
East Side (Suburbs and rural hamlets)	Anchorage Ashville-Glenmary Audubon Park Avoca Bancroft Barbourmeade Beckley Station Beechwood Village Bellemeade Bellewood Berrytown Blue Ridge Manor Boston Buechel Briarwood Broeck Pointe Brownsboro Farm Brownsboro Village Cambridge Clark Station Coldstream Creekside Crossgate Douglass Hills Druid Hills Eastwood English Station Fairmount Fern Creek Fincastle Fisherville Forest Hills Freys Hill Glenview Glenview Hills Glenview Manor Goose Creek Griffytown Graymoor-Devondale Green Spring Harrods Creek Hickory Hill Highview Hills and Dales Houston Acres Hurstbourne Acres Hurstbourne Indian Hills Jeffersontown Kingsley Langdon Place Lake Louisvilla Lakeland Lincolnshire Long Run Longview Lyndon Keeneland Lynnview Manor Creek Maryhill Estates Meadow Vale Meadowview Estates Meadowbrook Farm Middletown Mockingbird Valley Moorland Murray Hill Newburg Norbourne Estates Northfield Norwood O'Bannon Old Brownsboro Place Parkway Village Plantation Plainview The Point Poplar Hills Prospect Richlawn Riverwood Rolling Fields Rolling Hills St. Matthews Broad Fields Cherrywood Village Fairmeade Plymouth Village Springlee Warwick Village St. Regis Park Seatonville Seneca Gardens Smyrna Springdale Springhurst Spring Mill Spring Valley Strathmoor Manor Strathmoor Village Sycamore Ten Broeck Thixton Thornhill Tucker Station Watterson Park Wellington West Buechel Westwood Whipps Millgate Whitner Wildwood Windy Hills Wolf Creek Woodland Hills Woodlawn Park Worthington Worthington Hills
South Side (Old City)	Auburndale Beechmont Cloverleaf Edgewood Hazelwood Highland Park Iroquois Jacobs Kenwood Hill Parkwood South Louisville Southland Park Southside Standiford Taylor-Berry Wilder Park Wyandotte
South Side (Suburbs and rural hamlets)	Bethany Fairdale Greenwood Heritage Creek Hollyvilla Hollow Creek Johnsontown Kosmosdale Lake Dreamland Lynnview Medora Okolona Orell Penile Pleasure Ridge Park Prairie Village Riverside Gardens St. Dennis Shively Sylvania Valley Downs Valley Gardens Valley Station Valley Village Waverly Hills
West Side	Algonquin California Chickasaw Hallmark Park DuValle Park Hill Parkland Portland Shawnee Rubbertown Russell
Downtown	Downtown West Main District Limerick Old Louisville Shelby Park Smoketown

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Topics	Architectural style categories Contributing property Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register National Park Service Property types
Lists by state	List of U.S. National Historic Landmarks by state: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Lists by insular areas	American Samoa Guam Minor Outlying Islands Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands
Lists by associated state	Federated States of Micronesia Marshall Islands Palau
Other areas	District of Columbia American Legation, Morocco
Related	National Historic Preservation Act Historic Preservation Fund List of jails and prisons on the National Register of Historic Places University and college buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places portal Category

Butchertown, Louisville

History

Demographics

Attractions

See also

References

Further reading

External links