page_title: History of Louisville, Kentucky
section_title: Revitalization efforts
hierarchical_section_title: History of Louisville, Kentucky / 20th century and beyond / Revitalization efforts
caption_attribution_description: English: en:Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky, image by user merfam on Flickr [1] using a compatible Creative Commons license. I reduced and cropped the image, and I release my changes under the same license.
context_page_description: The geology of the Ohio River, with a but a single series of rapids halfway in its length from the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers to its union with the Mississippi, made it inevitable that a town would grow on the site. Louisville, Kentucky was chartered in the late 18th century. From its early days on the frontier, it quickly grew to be a major trading and distribution center in the mid 19th century, important industrial city in the early 20th, declined in the mid 20th century, before revitalizing in the late 20th century as a culturally-focused mid-sized American city.
  The history of Louisville, Kentucky spans a bit over two centuries since the latter part of the 18th century. Prior to arrival of Europeans, the region was depopulated from the Beaver Wars of the 17th century, and no permanent Native American settlements existed in the area. It was used as hunting grounds by northern Shawnee and southern Cherokee. The area's geography and location on the Ohio River attracted people from the earliest times. The city is located at the Falls of the Ohio River, then a part of Kentucky County, Virginia.
context_section_description: Since the 1980s, Louisville has had a revival in popularity and prosperity. This can be seen in the many changes in this period, including a great deal of downtown infrastructure.
  The retail environment changed here and across the country. Woolworth went out of business in 1990. The building in Louisville, designed by architect Frederick W. Garber and completed in 1946, was demolished in 2004. The site was not redeveloped at the time, but paved for a parking lot.
  Many cultural showcases were founded or expanded in this period. The Kentucky Center for the Arts was officially dedicated in 1983. In 1984 the center hosted one of the U.S. presidential election debates between candidates Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale. Today the Center hosts many touring plays and performances by the Kentucky Opera and the Louisville Ballet. An IMAX theater was added to the Kentucky Science Center in 1988. Phase I of the Louisville Waterfront Park was completed in 1999, and Phase II was completed in 2004. Though originally built as a standard movie theater in 1921, the Kentucky Theater was reopened in 2000 as a performing arts venue.
  In 1988, the Louisville Falls Fountain, the tallest computerized fountain in the world, began operation on the Ohio River at Louisville. Its 420-foot (130 m) high spray (later reduced to 375 feet (114 m) due to energy costs) and fleur-de-lis patterns graced Louisville's waterfront until the fountain was shut down in 1998.
  The headquarters of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the largest Presbyterian denomination and a pillar of the religious "main line," moved to Louisville in 1988.  The move was the result of a concerted campaign, led by Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary president John Mulder, Louisville mayor Jerry Abramson, and with a gift of waterfront buildings from Humana founder David Jones.
  In communications, The Courier-Journal, Louisville's primary local newspaper, was purchased in 1987 by media giant Gannett. The Louisville Eccentric Observer (LEO), a popular alternative newspaper, was founded in 1990. Velocity was later released by the Courier-Journal to compete with the LEO in 2003.
  In 2003, the city of Louisville and Jefferson County merged into a single government named Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government. This merger made Louisville the 16th or 27th most populous city in the U.S., depending on how the population is calculated. The change enabled consolidation of some services and activities to provide better government for the region.
  New changes and growth continued in the city. The entertainment and retail district called Fourth Street Live! was opened in 2004, and the Muhammad Ali Center was opened in 2005. Between the 1990 Census and 2000 Census, Louisville's metro area population outgrew that of Lexington by 149,415, and Cincinnati's by 23,278.
caption: The Muhammad Ali Center, alongside Interstate 64 on Louisville's riverfront
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