By Elanor Luken
While Louisville is a continually growing city, there are few elements it lacks that make it still look small to the rest of the country. We have no professional sports team, and only lesser known universities, museums and landmarks. Louisville is often largely ignored, but this city does have one major point of recognition that our very own citizens often forget: our Olmstead parks system.
Everyone has heard of the famous Central Park in New York City. Louisville has not one but three parks designed by that very same landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmstead, in the late 19th century. Many readers of the Cardinal have probably visited or live near one of these parks – Cherokee, Iroquois and Shawnee – but few people realize that they were designed in coordination with one another. A park system is a collection of parks within a region; in Louisville’s case they are connected by “parkways.” Olmstead designed only five park systems in the United States, and Louisville’s, the final park plan he designed, is considered nationwide to be his greatest achievement.
Olmstead’s plan is evident in the differences between each of our parks. Cherokee was designed to invite people into the woodlands and was left looking quite rustic. Iroquois Park features a small forest that is over 10,000 years old and was meant to be easily navigable with many pedestrian paths and bridle trails. Shawnee was to be the park that invited large groups of people. It houses a Great Lawn for special events and the only formally planned garden in the entire park system. As well as the parks, Olmstead designed six parkways – Algonquin, Southern, Northwestern, Cherokee, Eastern and Southwestern – that enhanced the driver’s experience when traveling through Louisville by making these major roads convenient and beautifully designed to integrate with nature.
If you haven’t visited all three or even one of the parks, take the pleasant weather as an opportunity to explore them. Not only do they provide beautiful settings for a quick drive or an afternoon with friends, there are also plenty of things to do. Hiking and mountain biking trails, as well as various pools, fountains and ponds are scattered across the grounds of these parks. Picnic spaces with grills, horseshoe pits and archery ranges are also available.
Part of the Louisville Metro Government’s “Healthy Hometown” project is meant to encourage general physical fitness in citizens by getting them into the parks. Jogging paths, golf courses and tennis courts provide such opportunities; more detailed information about these amenities can be accessed at the MetroPark Web site (http://www.loukymetro.org/Department/MetroParks/).
Ideally, appreciation should also be bolstered by support. Along with fully using Louisville’s park resources, locals can volunteer with the Louisville Olmstead Parks Conservatory, an organization that was formed to maintain and enhance our parks system. Volunteers, called Park Champions, can work with a specialist from the conservatory to maintain the parks, enjoying an expert’s knowledge as well as meeting others with the similar interests. If you would like to learn more about the Conservatory or the history of our Olmstead parks, visit http://www.olmsteadparks.org.
Eleanor Luken is an Art major, a member of the McConnell Scholars Program, and a staff writer for The Louisville Cardinal. Contact her at opinion@louisvillecardinal.com
