Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Postponed our move to Lou this year. Came down for 2 weeks in Spring and looked at no less 3 dozen homes. A couple in our price range ( 150 to 200K ) in Old Lou but they all required to much work that we cant afford immediately. I liked the area but the wife thought it looked a little to seedy for her. Looked at a couple condos downtown but not much to choose from and downtown is still kind of dead if you ask me. 4th street live is only going to entertain us maybe once or twice a year and in our older ages ( Mid 50's ) we just are not to excited about hanging out to much with young people and tourists. Main street is beautiful but boring, again geared mostly towards the tourist trade and downtown has absolutely no shopping at all unless you want to buy a wig. Lou's retail sector is one of the worst of any central city in America, might as well be in downtown Gary Indiana. Would love to have a shotgun and saw several we loved in Highlands and Crescent Hill but all of them were either more than we could afford or at the extreme top of our price range . Clifton homes were affordable but much like Old Lou, all required much updating. And now for the big question...Saw several affordable shot guns in Germantown but the streets depressed us because they're void of greenery. We drove down at least a dozen streets and might find 1 large shade tree per street and none of the houses we liked had any trees at all on the properties. Now either people from there never have liked trees or they all succumbed to diseases but it reminded us of living in a spanking new housing development, the last thing we would consider...So what happened to all the trees ?
Postponed our move to Lou this year. Came down for 2 weeks in Spring and looked at no less 3 dozen homes. A couple in our price range ( 150 to 200K ) in Old Lou but they all required to much work that we cant afford immediately. I liked the area but the wife thought it looked a little to seedy for her. Looked at a couple condos downtown but not much to choose from and downtown is still kind of dead if you ask me. 4th street live is only going to entertain us maybe once or twice a year and in our older ages ( Mid 50's ) we just are not to excited about hanging out to much with young people and tourists. Main street is beautiful but boring, again geared mostly towards the tourist trade and downtown has absolutely no shopping at all unless you want to buy a wig. Lou's retail sector is one of the worst of any central city in America, might as well be in downtown Gary Indiana. Would love to have a shotgun and saw several we loved in Highlands and Crescent Hill but all of them were either more than we could afford or at the extreme top of our price range . Clifton homes were affordable but much like Old Lou, all required much updating. And now for the big question...Saw several affordable shot guns in Germantown but the streets depressed us because they're void of greenery. We drove down at least a dozen streets and might find 1 large shade tree per street and none of the houses we liked had any trees at all on the properties. Now either people from there never have liked trees or they all succumbed to diseases but it reminded us of living in a spanking new housing development, the last thing we would consider...So what happened to all the trees ?
Gary? Come on man.
And yes, there could be more retail but downtown Louisville is normally hopping. If it wasn't you were there on an off night. There are actually quite a few boutiques downtown, you just have to know where to find them. How come your post didn't mention the 7 tower crane sup downtown and the construction on nearly every other block?
Most the heavier duty retail is actually in Nulu. 3-4 small little retail boutiques recently opened.
When it comes to clothing retail, I agree downtown desperately needs a department store...something.
That said, if one can drive to Green Tree Mall and big box stores in 8 mins, or to Urban Outfitters or Highlands or, St Matts, Or Crescent Hill boutiques in 10 mins, is that retail really really needed?
The two best malls in the state are 15 mins away, and the best and only outlet mall in the state is less than 30 mins away.
As for greenery...Highlands and Crescent Hill have lots of trees. The immediate downtown and adjacent neighborhoods such as Russel, Portland, Old Louisville, Germantown, Paristown Pointe, Smoketown, Phoenix Hill, Shelby Park....all have far fewer trees because they are well, urban. Louisville was one of the largest cities in the USA in the 1800s. By 1940, it was still the second largest city in the southeast....Louisville was a BIG URBAN, INDUSTRIAL red brick and grit city....a Midwest and Southern hybrid.
There's no way you knew enough to explore even Germantown in a few days. It's a massive, exteremely dense neighborhood with criss crossed in retail and bars. 4 bars and restaurants have opened there in the last 6 months, hundreds of lofts in old mill buildings, and pretty much every block has a shotgun being rehabbed and flipped. You really need to look harder instead of making blanket stereotypes.
Oh, this is not to mention across the Big Four Bridge in downtown Jeffersonville, and Also downtown New Albany, IN. I really like Beechmont too.
Last edited by Oldhag1; 11-16-2016 at 10:36 AM..
Reason: Discuss topic only, not other posters please.
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
11,974 posts, read 25,476,450 times
Reputation: 12187
The city was not done a good job on infrastructure - sidewalks, streetlights, pavement - in the older neighborhoods. I'm not sure why, in general the city is not well run IMO. The Indiana side has done massive amounts on infrastructure improvement including new treed medians and old fashion street lights. You should look in New Albany, lots of shotgun houses and old bungalows for cheap in good areas.
And yes, there could be more retail but downtown Louisville is normally hopping. If it wasn't you were there on an off night. There are actually quite a few boutiques downtown, you just have to know where to find them. How come your post didn't mention the 7 tower crane sup downtown and the construction on nearly every other block?
Most the heavier duty retail is actually in Nulu. 3-4 small little retail boutiques recently opened.
When it comes to clothing retail, I agree downtown desperately needs a department store...something.
That said, if one can drive to Green Tree Mall and big box stores in 8 mins, or to Urban Outfitters or Highlands or, St Matts, Or Crescent Hill boutiques in 10 mins, is that retail really really needed?
The two best malls in the state are 15 mins away, and the best and only outlet mall in the state is less than 30 mins away.
As for greenery...Highlands and Crescent Hill have lots of trees. The immediate downtown and adjacent neighborhoods such as Russel, Portland, Old Louisville, Germantown, Paristown Pointe, Smoketown, Phoenix Hill, Shelby Park....all have far fewer trees because they are well, urban. Louisville was one of the largest cities in the USA in the 1800s. By 1940, it was still the second largest city in the southeast....Louisville was a BIG URBAN, INDUSTRIAL red brick and grit city....a Midwest and Southern hybrid.
There's no way you knew enough to explore even Germantown in a few days. It's a massive, exteremely dense neighborhood with criss crossed in retail and bars. 4 bars and restaurants have opened there in the last 6 months, hundreds of lofts in old mill buildings, and pretty much every block has a shotgun being rehabbed and flipped. You really need to look harder instead of making blanket stereotypes.
Oh, this is not to mention across the Big Four Bridge in downtown Jeffersonville, and Also downtown New Albany, IN. I really like Beechmont too.
We spent several hours downtown and walked up and down many streets and as I mentioned, shopping options are terrible, worst we have ever seen in any downtown ever. As far as hopping , why would there be ? We were there on a Saturday afternoon and yes there were lots of tourists at the Slugger museum but the rest of the streets were quiet. We also saw the construction going on at 3rd and Liberty for the new Omni hotel but there is nothing for us to move into now, maybe in a couple years but that doesn't help us now. From what we can tell, all downtown construction is for the tourist trade ( Whisky Row and all the boutique hotels ) nothing for permanent residents and we want to be able to walk to shops not drive out to malls which anyone can do in any metro area of the nation.
Old Lou was very tree lined with many old beautiful and big trees, saw nothing like that in Germantown . Age of the neighborhoods have nothing to do with that as there are old historical tree shaded neighborhoods through out the country but don't get me wrong, outside of the lack of greenery, we liked the Germantown neighborhood
The city was not done a good job on infrastructure - sidewalks, streetlights, pavement - in the older neighborhoods. I'm not sure why, in general the city is not well run IMO. The Indiana side has done massive amounts on infrastructure improvement including new treed medians and old fashion street lights. You should look in New Albany, lots of shotgun houses and old bungalows for cheap in good areas.
We did stop in New Albany for lunch one day and walked around downtown. Again like downtown Lou, no shopping but the neighborhoods were nicer greenery wise and definitely affordable, just not sure we want the longer commute for the wife who will probably will be working at one of Lou's universities
We did stop in New Albany for lunch one day and walked around downtown. Again like downtown Lou, no shopping but the neighborhoods were nicer greenery wise and definitely affordable, just not sure we want the longer commute for the wife who will probably will be working at one of Lou's universities
Not true at all. There is shopping in both, you just don't know where to look, thats all. You cannot view a metro area of 1.5 million in two days. There's simply no way.
Now if you mean the downtown's have no chain retail, then yes, I see what you mean. Could there be more retail? Absolutely...but you can say that about almost any downtown outside the top 10. Indianapolis is the only downtown in the upper south and midwest to have all the retail that would prevent someone from driving to get more, and even there the pickings are slimming. This is also because Indy has literally zero urban neighborhoods which are really walkable outside downtown...nothing like Highlands, Clifton, Crescent Hill, etc,
Downtown New Albany specifically has about a dozen or more very nice retail shops. Here is a great one:
Downtown Louisville is normally very active, you must have caught it on an off day. Normally multiple events, shows, concerts, you name it.
There's not just a FEW things getting built. Man, there is construction on almost every block! Over a billion in active construction as we speak and about 1 billion more proposed or getting ready to start!
Last edited by Peter1948; 11-17-2016 at 10:40 PM..
We spent several hours downtown and walked up and down many streets and as I mentioned, shopping options are terrible, worst we have ever seen in any downtown ever. As far as hopping , why would there be ? We were there on a Saturday afternoon and yes there were lots of tourists at the Slugger museum but the rest of the streets were quiet. We also saw the construction going on at 3rd and Liberty for the new Omni hotel but there is nothing for us to move into now, maybe in a couple years but that doesn't help us now. From what we can tell, all downtown construction is for the tourist trade ( Whisky Row and all the boutique hotels ) nothing for permanent residents and we want to be able to walk to shops not drive out to malls which anyone can do in any metro area of the nation.
Old Lou was very tree lined with many old beautiful and big trees, saw nothing like that in Germantown . Age of the neighborhoods have nothing to do with that as there are old historical tree shaded neighborhoods through out the country but don't get me wrong, outside of the lack of greenery, we liked the Germantown neighborhood
No, the "shopping is not the worst in any downtown ever." You just did not know where to go. I get it, there's no chain retail, but there are plenty of nice boutiques, most of which are centered in the Nulu section of downtown. Most Central Business Districts do not have much shopping. It is usually just outside the CBD that you'd find a shopping area. In the southeast, none of the TN, GA, or AL cities have any better downtown shopping.
In the Midwest, Indianapolis has the best downtown retail only because it has an actual enclosed mall (which has really gone downhill based on my recent visit with many vacancies).
Even Ohio's big cities like Cincinnati or Cleveland do not even have much downtown shopping save for a couple department stores, and watered down Brooks Bros, etc. The city of Cincinnati pays the Saks to stay open, they close really early, and have the worst selection and customer service of any Saks in the USA.
So, your argument that Louisville's downtown lacks retail and is not vibrant based on one weekend is questionable at best. In the southeast, the only truly viable urban shopping district is King St in Charleston or perhaps parts of Palm Beach and Miami Beach. Even downtown Miami has no retail, save for the periphery like Brickell. Even New Orleans, for all its tourists, doesnt have a massive chain retail center in its urban core but relies on corridors of boutiques like Magazine St in urban neighborhoods outside downtown ala Bardstown Rd and the Highlands in Louisville. I find it interesting you mention New Albany but zero mention of Bardstown Rd or Frankfort Ave, 7 mins from the CBD.
Heck, even in Chicago the loop is not chock full of retail...its office buildings. You have to go to the Mag Mile on Michigan Ave and Rush and parts of State for most of it.
No, the "shopping is not the worst in any downtown ever." You just did not know where to go. I get it, there's no chain retail, but there are plenty of nice boutiques, most of which are centered in the Nulu section of downtown. Most Central Business Districts do not have much shopping. It is usually just outside the CBD that you'd find a shopping area. In the southeast, none of the TN, GA, or AL cities have any better downtown shopping.
In the Midwest, Indianapolis has the best downtown retail only because it has an actual enclosed mall (which has really gone downhill based on my recent visit with many vacancies).
Even Ohio's big cities like Cincinnati or Cleveland do not even have much downtown shopping save for a couple department stores, and watered down Brooks Bros, etc. The city of Cincinnati pays the Saks to stay open, they close really early, and have the worst selection and customer service of any Saks in the USA.
So, your argument that Louisville's downtown lacks retail and is not vibrant based on one weekend is questionable at best. In the southeast, the only truly viable urban shopping district is King St in Charleston or perhaps parts of Palm Beach and Miami Beach. Even downtown Miami has no retail, save for the periphery like Brickell. Even New Orleans, for all its tourists, doesnt have a massive chain retail center in its urban core but relies on corridors of boutiques like Magazine St in urban neighborhoods outside downtown ala Bardstown Rd and the Highlands in Louisville. I find it interesting you mention New Albany but zero mention of Bardstown Rd or Frankfort Ave, 7 mins from the CBD.
Heck, even in Chicago the loop is not chock full of retail...its office buildings. You have to go to the Mag Mile on Michigan Ave and Rush and parts of State for most of it.
2 Days ??? We were there 2 weeks and the year before for 2 weeks and the year before that for 2 weeks, 6 weeks in a matter of 3 years is quite a bit of time to explore a city of 600 thousand people. As far as Nu lu is concerned, they only have a handful of stores and I wouldn't call that downtown, sure wasn't walking distance from our Brown Hotel room.
We like Bardstown road but it is mostly restaurants and bars and Frankfort was the nicest street for shops , more there than downtown.
As a current resident of Chicago I wont even reply to your ridiculous comment about shopping options there compared to Lou but I will say the wife and I spent a week this Fall in Chattanooga TN, a city with one fifth the population of Lou and 5 times the amount of shopping in its downtown core .
We like Lou a lot but realize downtown just doesn't have much retail options and hope all that changes in the near future as more people move downtown
Not true at all. There is shopping in both, you just don't know where to look, thats all. You cannot view a metro area of 1.5 million in two days. There's simply no way.
Now if you mean the downtown's have no chain retail, then yes, I see what you mean. Could there be more retail? Absolutely...but you can say that about almost any downtown outside the top 10. Indianapolis is the only downtown in the upper south and midwest to have all the retail that would prevent someone from driving to get more, and even there the pickings are slimming. This is also because Indy has literally zero urban neighborhoods which are really walkable outside downtown...nothing like Highlands, Clifton, Crescent Hill, etc,
Downtown New Albany specifically has about a dozen or more very nice retail shops. Here is a great one:
Downtown Louisville is normally very active, you must have caught it on an off day. Normally multiple events, shows, concerts, you name it.
There's not just a FEW things getting built. Man, there is construction on almost every block! Over a billion in active construction as we speak and about 1 billion more proposed or getting ready to start!
Again with the 2 days....I clearly wrote 2 weeks and I never said Downtown wasn't active, just mostly tourists and not a whole lot for residents to do
I'm not the shopper, my wife is and I dropped her off in New Albany while I went exploring the neighborhoods although I didn't get very far before she called me and told me to come pick her up because there was so very little shopping. Maybe in time, both locales will attract more of both national and local retailers but as of now any real shopping has to be out in the suburban fringes where all the strip malls and big box retailers are located.
Construction on almost every block ?? I strongly disagree with your statement. After extensive walking around downtown, all we saw was work along Main Streets Whisky row and at the Omni site but maybe dozens of new projects began in June after we had left but I find that difficult to believe
Again with the 2 days....I clearly wrote 2 weeks and I never said Downtown wasn't active, just mostly tourists and not a whole lot for residents to do
I'm not the shopper, my wife is and I dropped her off in New Albany while I went exploring the neighborhoods although I didn't get very far before she called me and told me to come pick her up because there was so very little shopping. Maybe in time, both locales will attract more of both national and local retailers but as of now any real shopping has to be out in the suburban fringes where all the strip malls and big box retailers are located.
Construction on almost every block ?? I strongly disagree with your statement. After extensive walking around downtown, all we saw was work along Main Streets Whisky row and at the Omni site but maybe dozens of new projects began in June after we had left but I find that difficult to believe
This list is WAY behind and only lists projects over I think 3 or 10 million:
And there are dozens even here on this site.
Several cranes went up after you left, but you missed MAJOR construction sites all over. Heck, 8 hotels are under construction downtown alone! A few of these are historic rehabs. For example, I am sure you walked by the Starks and Republic Buildings and had no idea they are under construction for apartments and hotels. That is what I mean.
In fact, there are sooo many projects, that some are not even listed on that site yet, even some huge ones like this:
There are literally too many for me to even remember.
There is almost 2 billion in construction for downtown either now or proposed.
I am not discounting what you are saying, and cannot disagree with some of it, but you need to give it another look, probably next year.
And there is NO WAY chattanooga has more going on in its downtown than Louisville. It's not even close. No major arena, no major theatre district. Chattanooga does not attract 20+ million tourists a year (it attracts less than 4 million). The only thing Chattanooga has on Louisville is a very tiny aquarium. That aquarium is so small it reminds me of the Falls of the Ohio interpretive center in Clarksville IN, across from Louisville, which also has some fish tanks. Ok, that's a stretch but yo get the idea. The Tennessee aquarium is the type of place you go once and you have seen it all, and don't really need to go again after 2 hours there.
Last edited by Peter1948; 11-20-2016 at 05:52 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
