76. The Playhouse
City: Louisville, KY
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (502) 852-7926
Address: 1911 South Third St.
Description: The white Victorian structure on the traffic island between Second and Third at Cardinal Avenue was built in 1874 as a small, interdenominational chapel for a local orphanage. The University of Louisville acquired the chapel in 1923 and converted the structure for use as a temporary theater, until a permanent theater could be erected. In 1977, the university dismantled the playhouse to make room for the construction of the William F. Ekstrom Library and put it away in storage. Rebuilt in 1980 at its current location, the Playhouse was expanded to include a basement and fully working scene shop; today it is one of two spaces where the University of Louisville Department of Theatre Arts holds its productions. The other is at the Thrust Theatre at 2314 South Floyd Street.
78. Walden Theatre
City: Louisville, KY
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (502) 589-0084
Address: 1123 Payne St.
Description: Started in an old log cabin in eastern Jefferson County in 1976 as a way to provide young people with the opportunity to grow and develop through the comprehensive study of theater, the Walden Theatre has since taken up headquarters in the former St. Aloysius School in the Irish Hill neighborhood. The theater also operates a conservatory program, and those young actors regularly appear in the season’s productions. Adult tickets for evening performances generally cost $15. In addition to works by Shakespeare, productions during a typical season will also include plays such as The Crucible and Of Mice and Men.