My problem with the Highlands & Bardstown Road

[Robin Garr]

I also should add that when my New York friends (the dudes I grew up with) heard I was moving to Louisville, Kentucky their comment was, and I quote, "Gissen, you can't move there, they're going to lynch you in Kentucky." Thus, they had an inkling I would be difficult. I am a rather provocative person no matter where I am. I'm the kind of person who stirs up the pot, so to speak. You either hate me or love me. There is no in between. Sorry.

I know I get some flak when I say this, Phil, but Louisville "inside the Watterson," particularly the People's Republics of Crescent Hill/Clifton, the Highlands, Germantown, Old Louisville and maybe St. Matthews aren't really in Kentucky.

Well, okay, legally they are. But culturally? I don't _think_ so ...

Phil,

Regarding your suggestions about downtown, trust me, you're not alone. While you'll find many differences on this forum as to whether Museum Plaza was ("is" I hope) a good idea, and whether the arena should be built downtown (again, I say yea), you'll not find many on here (and a good majority of the city, especially the "Inside-the-Watterson" crew Robin refers to), that disagrees with your point about local business getting a hold down here. I do especially like your idea about blocking off a cross street or two here and there to encourage al fresco dining and pedestrian areas downtown.

I think a good number of people on this forum and in the city believe that revitalizing downtown is very important. People aren't as drawn to suburban life as they once were here (not that there's anything wrong with it), and the city is growing slowly younger, at least in my observations. Those in my age group (roughly 25-35) want to hang out downtown, want to make evenings downtown, and want viable options to live downtown. I think we were on the verge of making so much progress before the meltdown, and I keep my fingers crossed that it won't take 20 more years to get things moving again. The arena will help, at least in my opinion, as would Museum Plaza, but there's a lot of ground to cover.

I remember the summer I spent as a summer associate at the law firm I currently practice with (summer 2006), and attended a lunch speech where a councilman talked about some exciting projects downtown, the hope in the near future of revitalizing the 3rd Street Corridor all the way from downtown to UofL, and some of the developments along the river. There was a lot of excitement in the air from people of many persuasions, political beliefs, and age groups, but unfortunately, at the moment, it's all stymied. It's a shame we didn't get things rolling 5 years sooner, but hopefully the economic mess will recede in the next year or so, and perhaps then we can get moving on downtown again, sans relying only on Cordish/chain developments.

Despite what you might read in the comments on the Courier Journal or the like, my impression is that more than three quarters of those in the city, especially those that work downtown, are fully behind making things happen down here and getting the ball rolling. It just seems like no one is sure how to make it happen. So much, it comes back to the chicken-and-the-egg scenario, on two fronts.

(1) Do you begin by getting chains to invest, hoping that local business follows? Well, there is some sense to that, but 4th Street Live hasn't created the number of surrounding local businesses some had hoped for.

(2) Do you get people to live downtown, and then grocery stores, laundromats, etc. etc. follow? Or do the amenities have to be here first? I don't think anyone has figured that out.

I should add, Phil, that David Tandy, the Councilman for the 4th District, which includes the downtown central business district, Butchertown, Germantown, Old Louisville, and other areas, is a law colleague of mine. I'm not sure what I could do, but if you want another ear in addition to your link to the mayor, I'm sure David would appreciate any comments you have.

My point is that you can start in one area, and are able to walk easily between maybe 2 areas, but any more than that may require a car. My friends have often pointed out that if this all was "squished" more together and made a little more pedestrian friendly, it would be great. Part of me agrees, but the other doesn't.

One time I walked "all" of Bardstown Road. Well, most of it. It was actually the first date with my gf - a beautiful, warm late March evening. We had plans to eat at Ramsi's, so we parked on Longest. Walked from Ramsi's to Grinstead and back while waiting for a table. After dinner, we took off south - making it all the way to the Loop. We stopped at Cumberland on the way back (collectively we knew about the whole crowd). And then trekked back to Longest to get the car. It was darn chilly in those last few blocks. I actually had a not-from-Louisville friend say, "Wasn't there anything better to do on your first date?" I guess it's a Louisville thing.

I'm not really sure the mileage walked, but there was time for people watching (in the busy sections) and intense conversation (in those gap sections). I tried to convince her we should turn around in the Deer Park area, but she wanted to make it all the way to the Loop. She maybe regretted the decision when had a major blister the next day - she was dressed to impress, after all.

I do not simply accept things the way they are and I am an advocate for change and progressive development. If that will alienate me from Louisville, so be it. Then, it simply is not a place that I will fit in and Donna will have to fend for herself. I am a child of the Sixties and while in college protested mightily against the Vietnam War and both the Nixon and Johnson presidencies. While at Georgetown, I was very active politically and learned to question the establishment. I do believe the advocacy and aggression of the Sixties brought about incredible change for the better within a myriad of social acceptances. I think the term "snob" is often thrown out when anyone simply wants things to be better and doesn't just say "everything is great."

Phil, I've got a question for you we hopefully can discuss over drinks in the future.

What happens when the "fighting the establishment" generation becomes the establishment?

I am a child of the Sixties and while in college protested mightily against the Vietnam War and both the Nixon and Johnson presidencies. While at Georgetown, I was very active politically and learned to question the establishment. I do believe the advocacy and aggression of the Sixties brought about incredible change for the better within a myriad of social acceptances.

You don't sound like a snob to me. However, you did pick a neighborhood that in the sixties was in the epicenter of Louisville's hippies/flower power/protesting, Joan Baez loving folks. To many of us got old and slow. More power to you.

AAAAhhhhhh Phil, my buddy! I think I can actually say I know you better than most on this forum...ahem! That, my friend, is a good thing! One of the reasons, Gordy and I had such fun last Friday was your "I like to stir things up" personality! Gordy has the nickname among family and old friends as "The Mixer", meaning he likes to stir things up!!!
This being said, I might mention to all in the forum, Phil and Donna actually live in the very same apartment building I grew up in; my mother being the property manager. With these perspectives in mind, I in many ways, agree with Phil that Bardstown Road could have been organized more effectively to make it easier to get to the restaurants and businesses. Guess what, it wasn't. When I was a kid going to grade school in the sixties, it was just as eclectic as it is now....Leatherhead was a carpet store and the only long lost and much lamented jewish deli this city has seen since. (My first real job was in that deli - Schneider's at the time, Simon's before that), Lentini's was at it's peak, with Sonny greeting the patrons and his dad, Tony sitting by the door smoking one of his ginormous cigars. Mid City Mall scared the daylights out of our parents and White Castle was going strong at Eastern Parkway and Bardstown. EarXtacy was Robert Hall department storeand to go to Kroger, you had to drive to Gardiner Lane Shopping Center.
Things are different and still much the same. Bardstown Road - is what it is. You either love it and put up with the idiosyncracies or hate it and go to Tinseltown. Phil, it will grow on you, but you will always dread the parking and the traffic from 7 - 9 am and 4 - 6pm!!!! LOL
If you want to meet the mayor, it isn't that hard,he's very down to earth and lives in Robin's neighborhood. You will eventually catch him frequenting a neighborhood establishment.
Oh! Steve Shade did hit on an excellent point, you are in the old Louisville hippie epicenter. Gordy and I know, we were in the middle of it all!

I know I get some flak when I say this, Phil, but Louisville "inside the Watterson," particularly the People's Republics of Crescent Hill/Clifton, the Highlands, Germantown, Old Louisville and maybe St. Matthews aren't really in Kentucky. Well, okay, legally they are. But culturally? I don't _think_ so ...

Which is why I'm a proponent of a people's right to secession. I've always wondered how financially feasible it would be for a large city (perhaps larger than Louisville, but I like to think it would work here) to form a city-state and become the 51st member of the union. We do have a higher population than Wyoming.

I almost forgot. You haven't actually "walked" Bardstown Road until you have done so on a Bambi walk. Years ago a regular Bambi bar patron and a group of friends walked from the downtown end of Bardstown Road to Bambi, stopping at each bar along the way for a beer. As the years went on, the general public started begining their Bambi walks at Bambi and going as far in the other direction as they could make it. This change was initiated by a bartender named "Doobie" who got tired over the years of always having to put up with the drunks that actually made it all the way to the Bambi from the other end of Btown. People would call and ask stupid questions, thinking a Bambi Walk was an organized event by the bar!!! Geesh. Anyway Doobie started telling people that they started at Bambi and went towards downtown. That way, the drunks ended up in other bars at the end of the night. I haven't been to Bambi since my ex "got it in the divorce" (he had hung out there longer than me, although we still, to my knowledge, hold the record for the only wedding at the Bambi, in front of the pool table). Phil, go pick up Bambi burgers to go one night, they are still awesome from what I hear.

although we still, to my knowledge, hold the record for the only wedding at the Bambi, in front of the pool table).

Sweeeeeet !!, not to change subjects, but I actually was in a conversation with a gentleman at Kern's Korner about a wedding that happened in front of the pool table at the Bambi sometime ago.......my kind of woman !!

Is this a restaurant thread?

I love Bardstown Road the way it is....I lived there for years and now I love outside the Watterson so I'm a hick. But it's a street that developed organically....it's real...not some bogus planned development. Planned developments are the "chains" of the real estate world!

i love the Btown Road - except for the Walgreens at Trevelian and the New Buildings at the corner of Eastern

i love how businesses on Bardstown have grown and developed (Great Escape, Wild & Wooly, and the many movements of Ear X for example)

Two words, Phil: New Albany.

The downtown area has the geographic layout you seem to be seeking- a village-like group of blocks rather than one long stretch. If you're interested in development, it's a great opportunity as it's in the early stages of revitalization with substantial activity but still comparatively affordable. It also provides better access to downtown Louisville than many parts of Louisville proper. Running into the mayor is no problem either. He may buy you a drink.

PM me if you ever care for a guided tour and, no, I'm not a real estate agent.

thanks and apologies. cheerleading over.

Carolyne. thnks so much I've been trying to remember Schneider's Deli for some time now.
When I apprenticed at Actor's Theater in the dark ages we would take homesick New Yorkers there for some chopped liver and matzo ball soup. It was the first time I ever tasted either one. Now another part of my long ago Louisville history is restored.

I guess when someone starts a sentence with "my problem" I take it for what it is - that person's "problem." I don't think it's up to the listener/reader to try and fix that person's problem. So, Phil, good luck with your problem with Bardstown Road. I think most people on this board take it for what it is and enjoy the eclectic nature of that part of Louisville. And, by the way, when you're done fixing Bardstown Road, move on over and work on Dixie Highway, Shelbyville Road and every other metropolitan six-lane street that has apparently next to no planning thoughts put into them. Then go down to Bowling Green and work on 31W, then Owensboro and work on Fredrica Street, then ... then ...