And preservation is a widely held value. The city hasn t frozen itself architecturally. The most dramatic building planned since Humana, a swirling, tapering glass tower that Louisville-based healthcare corporation Vencor will build on the riverfront by the turn of the century, bears no visual resemblance to Humana but matches its architectural ambitions and capacity to intrigue from any angle. Louisville makes use of its historic homes and buildings. Actors Theatre is located inside what s considered to be the city s best surviving example of Greek Revival architecture.
Many historic homes are still residences or are used as office space.
In this chapter, with a single exception for which we got permission, we don t direct you to any addresses that are privately owned. Then we ll direct you to significant neighborhoods they won t exhaust the richness of Louisville architecture and history, but they will give you a good sense of how the city developed and what its chief qualities are. We ll also mention several churches and synagogues of historical or architectural note.