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Louisville is Kentucky's largest city and the 16th largest city of the United States. The City of Louisville was founded in 1778 by George Rogers Clark and is named after King Louis XVI of France. Louisville is most famous as the home of the Kentucky Derby, the most widely watched event in American horse racing.
Louisville is situated on the Kentucky-Indiana border at the only natural obstacle in the Ohio River, the Falls of the Ohio. Because of its proximity to Indiana, the metro area around Louisville is normally referred to as Kentuckiana.
As of the 2000 census, Louisville had a total population of 256,231. However, in 2003, the city and Jefferson County merged into a single government named Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government (official long form) and Louisville Metro (official short form), resulting in a city populated with approximately 700,000 residents. The Louisville metropolitan area (not to be confused with Louisville Metro), with a population of approximately 1.5 million, is the largest in Kentucky and also includes some southern Indiana counties (see Metropolitan area below).
Louisville downtown skyline, June 2002 Metropolitan area
The Louisville Metropolitan Statistical Area, the 49th largest in the United States, includes the Kentucky counties of:
and the southern Indiana counties of:
Pronunciation
Most long-time residents pronounce the city's name as Loo-uh-vul. Often this degrades further into Lu-vul, where the first "u" is close to a schwa "e". The name is often pronounced far back in the mouth, in the top of the throat. The standard English pronunciation, however, is Loo'ee-vil (referring to King Louis XVI), which is often utilized by political leaders and the media. No matter how Louisville is pronounced, the "s" is always silent.
The variability of the local pronunciation of Louisville's name can perhaps be laid at the feet of the city's location on the border between the North and South of the United States. Louisville's diverse population has traditionally represented elements of both Northern and Southern culture.
Regional migration patterns and the homogenization of dialect due to electronic media also may be responsible for the incidence of native-born Louisvillians adopting or affecting the standard English pronunciation Loo'ee-vil. Nevertheless, the Loo-uh-vul pronunciation is most popular among residents and is, with little exception, used by news and sports reporters.
History
The first settlement was made here in 1778 by 13 families under Col. George Rogers Clark. Two years later the place was incorporated by an act of the Virginia Legislature, and called Louisville in honor of Louis XVI of France, whose soldiers were then aiding the Americans in the Revolutionary War. During its early history it suffered greatly from Indian attacks. It was chartered as a city February 13, 1828. In 1890 it was visited by a tornado which destroyed $3 million worth of property and killed 100 persons.
Government
 The official logo of Metro Louisville Louisville is governed by a mayor and Metro Council. The current mayor is Jerry E. Abramson. The Metro Council consists of 26 seats corresponding to 26 districts apportioned by population throughout the area of Louisville Metro. Half (13) of the seats come up for re-election every two years.
The Official Seal of the City of Louisville, no longer used following the formation of a consolidated city-county government in 2003, reflected its history and heritage in the fleur-de-lis representing French aid given during the Revolutionary War, and the thirteen stars signify the original colonies. It was designed by legendary Austrian typographer Victor Hammer. The new seal of the consolidated government retains the fleur-de-lis, but has only two stars, one representing the city and the other the county.
Economy
Louisville is home to Louisville International Airport as well as several major corporations and organizations:
Louisville for a long time was also home to Brown & Williamson, one of the subjects of the tobacco industry scandals of the 1990s.
Also located in Louisville are two major Ford plants, a major R. J. Reynolds cigarette factory, a major General Electric appliance factory and UPS's domestic air hub.
The local daily newspaper is The Courier-Journal. Local weekly newspapers include Snitch Newsweekly, Louisville Eccentric Observer (LEO) and Velocity (run by The Courier-Journal).
Education
Louisville is home to the University of Louisville, Spalding University, Sullivan University, Bellarmine University and Jefferson Community College (part of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System).
The public school system includes the distinctive Ballard High School, duPont Manual Magnet High School and Louisville Male High School. There are also a variety of special schools in the system, including:
- the Brown School, a small, centrally-located K-12 school
- the Youth Performing Arts School (YPAS)
Louisville has 27 Catholic schools and two Catholic universities (the aforementioned Bellarmine and Spalding). Some of the high schools include:
- Assumption High School (all girls)
- Sacred Heart Academy (all girls)
- Trinity High School (all boys)
- Saint Xavier High School (all boys)
Also located in Louisville is the Christian Academy of Louisville (CAL), the largest Protestant school system in the country in terms of student population.
Sports
College basketball is very popular in greater Louisville; Louisville and the nearby University of Kentucky in Lexington have won a combined nine national titles (two at U of L and seven at UK), and four of the 25 winningest NCAA Division I teams are located in or near the city. Loyalties in the immediate Louisville area are fairly evenly divided between U of L and UK, with substantial numbers of Indiana and Purdue fans on the Indiana side of the river.
High school sports are also very popular in the city. While basketball is not as popular as in the rest of the state, Louisville area high schools have been dominant in football in recent years. Trinity (1994, 2001, 2002, 2003), Male (1993, 1998, 2000) and St. Xavier (1992, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2004) High Schools have won every 4A football title except one (Nelson County 1996) since 1992 and have been 13 of the 15 finalists since 1997.
Horse racing is also very popular. Churchill Downs is home to the Kentucky Derby, the largest sports event in the state, which caps the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. Churchill Downs has also hosted the renowned Breeders' Cup on five occasions.
Louisville is home of Valhalla Golf Club which will host the 2008 Ryder Cup.
Louisville has several professional sports teams. In the ABA there is the Kentucky Colonels. Also, in the Arena Football League 2 there is the Louisville Fire. Minor League Baseball's Louisville Bats, the AAA team affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds, play at Louisville Slugger Field.
Attractions
 Statues of fancifully painted horses can be seen around Louisville. A part of the Gallopalooza art exhibition, these horses honor past winners of the Kentucky Derby. Attractions in Louisville Metro include:
- Churchill Downs thoroughbred racetrack
- Louisville Slugger Museum
- Muhammad Ali Center (opening Fall, 2005)
- Speed Art Museum
- Premier venues for the arts, such as The Kentucky Center, The Louisville Palace and Actors Theatre
- Myriad spacious city parks, several designed by Frederick Law Olmsted; distinctive examples include:
- Cherokee Park
- Iroquois Park (features a locally popular ampitheatre)
- Louisville Waterfront Park and Belvedere (features annual Thunder Over Louisville fireworks and air show during the Kentucky Derby Festival)
- Seelbach Hotel and Camberley-Brown Hotel
- Old Louisville (a historic homes district; features annual St. James Court Art Show on the first weekend of October)
- Highlands area along Bardstown Road, which features small, distinctive shops and restaurants
- Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom
- Louisville Science Center
- Louisville Zoo
- Belle of Louisville, the oldest Mississippi-style steamboat in operation on the inland waterways of the U.S. (Built 1914-1915 in Pittsburgh for service in Memphis as the Idlewild, renamed Avalon in 1948, purchased by Jefferson County and renamed Belle of Louisville in 1962.)
- Louisville Extreme Park
- Jefferson Memorial Forest, in southwest Louisville, the largest municipal urban forest in the United States
- Fourth Street Live, a downtown entertainment and shopping complex
- Frazier Historical Arms Museum
- Valhalla Golf Club, designed by professional golfer Jack Nicklaus
- Historic Locust Grove farm, home of George Rogers Clark
- Farmington Historic Home
- Cave Hill Cemetery
- Zachery Taylor National Cemetery
Louisville also has several important genealogical collections at the Filson Club, the Sons of the American Revolution national library and the Louisville Free Public Library.
Nearby, in Southern Indiana, attractions include:
Other attractions in the Louisville metropolitan area include:
Famous Louisvillians
Famous Louisvillians include:
Geography and maps
Louisville is located at 38°13'44" North, 85°44'58" West (38.228870, -85.749534)1.
Note: All geographic data applies to the former City of Louisville as it existed prior to the creation of Louisville Metro on January 6, 2003.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 172.6 km² (66.7 mi²). 160.9 km² (62.1 mi²) of it is land and 11.7 km² (4.5 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 6.80% water.
Demographics
Note: All demographics apply to the former City of Louisville as it existed prior to the creation of Louisville Metro on January 6, 2003. For demographics of Louisville Metro, see Jefferson County, Kentucky.
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 256,231 people, 111,414 households, and 61,389 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,592.6/km² (4,124.9/mi²). There are 121,275 housing units at an average density of 753.8/km² (1,952.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 62.94% White, 33.01% African American, 0.23% Native American, 1.45% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.67% from other races, and 1.67% from two or more races. 1.86% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 111,414 households out of which 25.7% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.6% are married couples living together, 19.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 44.9% are non-families. 37.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 12.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.22 and the average family size is 2.97.
The age distribution is: 23.7% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 85.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $28,843, and the median income for a family is $36,696. Males have a median income of $30,608 versus $24,439 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,193. 21.6% of the population and 17.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 33.5% of those under the age of 18 and 13.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Sister Cities
Louisville is twinned with the following cities:
Trivia
- One third of the bourbon in the U.S. comes from Louisville.
- Both the lyrics and the melody of Happy Birthday to You are reported to have been written by Louisvillians in the late 19th century.
- Louisville is the only city in the United States to have two consecutively-numbered three-digit highways: I-264 and I-265.
- 90% of the United States' disco balls are made in Louisville at National Products, Inc.
- Louisville is perhaps the most Catholic city in the South. There is a city cathedral (Cathedral of the Assumption) downtown as well as 27 Catholic schools and two Catholic universities.
- Movies filmed in Louisville include Stripes and The Insider.
- The very first cheeseburger was made in 1934 at Kaelin's Restaurant.
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