Louisville's Beautiful Statues
Despite all the accusations of KY being a non-cultural capital of the world, Louisville, its largest city, has some really beautiful statues. Take a look and see, which is your favorite:
Just in front of the Kentucky Derby Museum is a very beautiful statue of the famous horse, Barbaro, who broke his leg, but couldn't heal, and had to be put down. The legendary horse broke hearts all over the country, when he died.
This is a statue of Carl E. Stolz, who founded the Little League ball teams, and lived here in Louisville. Louisville has a lot of life-sized statues of our most famous residents, so that one feels as if one is actually sitting with them, or talking with them.
Everyone knows who this is! Yes, this is Colonel Harlan Sanders, of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame. His hometown was in Corbin, KY, but he lived here in his later years... In his later years, he used a wheelchair to get around, one with a high back, like FDR used. He is actually sitting on a bench, and one can sit next to him, and "talk" to him...
I've apologized to him for the latest commercials-- So sorry that he is depicted as a cackling idiot, rather than the very nice, pleasant, intelligent man he was!
What famous KY city does NOT have a statue of Daniel Boone? This on is at the entrance to Cherokee Park, and cars drive around it to get into the park. D. Boone kilt a bar, all right, just not here. The Cherokee Park was designed by the same fellow that designed Central Park in New York City and is a lovely place of wild, wooded, and manicured sections. The park has nearly recovered from the tornado of April 4, 1974, when many trees were lost.
This golden copy of Michelangelo's David is located near the University of Louisville campus, and is quite eye catching. He is a little larger than in real life, but it is a beautiful statue!
This beautiful eagle statue is one of statues at historic Cave Hill Cemetery, near Cherokee Park. My 3 great's aunt and uncle are buried in Cave Hill... There is room for my husband and I, but I have no idea on how we could go about being buried there.
Another lovely statue at Cave Hill Cemetery, in honor of mankind's best friend.
One of the denizens of Cherokee Park, this statue is located in Cherokee Park, near some homes that border the park. It's a sweet statue!
Also at Cave Hill, this little boy did not survive a childhood bout of polio...
In one of the outside areas of the Louisville Bat Museum, a giant baseball glove affords a play area for the children.
A memorial to Louisville's firefighters who have lost their lives in fighting fires here in Louisville. At night, the huge flames are lit so that they resemble flames...
George Rogers Clark gets ready to leave for Indiana, by the Ohio River. George Rogers Clark died here in Louisville, after spending the last few years of his life in a very gorgeous home, Locust Grove, which was his sister's home. Locust Grove is a living history type farm, and is open to visitors.
This is the statue of the Indian at Indian Springs subdivision, where there are lots of springs. It is a really NEAT fountain!
This is a statue of John Graham Brown, who opened the Brown Hotel in the late 1890s- early 1900s. The Brown Hotel is the home of the legendary Hot Brown sandwich, which was invented as a way to use up turkey leftovers from the holiday buffets, and is still a wonderful place for a night on the town. Decorated in Art Deco style, F. Scott Fitzgerald came here to relax while stationed at Camp Pendleton, outside of Louisville. The movie, The Great Gatsby, was filmed here.
Right across the river from George Rogers Clark, is a statue of his brother, William C. Clark and Lewis Merriweather, who left KY for the town of Jeffersonville, IN, to leave on their great exploration of the northwest.
This is on the courthouse square, and is a statue of Louis XVI, in whose honor Louisville is named. We were very grateful to him for helping us with our revolution, so Louisville was named for him. The statue was placed when Jefferson was president of the US.
This mother and child statue is located near the health commons of one of the hospitals in the area... I believe it is Kosair's Children's Hospital.
Just a neighborhood boy, playing in one of Louisville's older neighborhoods! I think the statue is more recent than the neighborhood, to be honest!
Pan plays his pipes, or, in this case, looks at an apple, near the Kentucky Center for the Arts, downtown.
Well-known football player, Paul Hornung, a Louisville native, has his own statue near Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. downtown.
Peewee Reese was also a native of Louisville. This statue honors him and Jackie Robinson, near the Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.
Also at Churchill Downs, Aristades, who lived a long and healthy life, is honored by a statue.
To honor our citizens who fought in the Revolutionary War, the statue of a Kentucky Militiaman, sits downtown on Museum Row, near the Frasier Arm's Museum.
Known as "Spirits of the Cave", this rather creepy statue is located at Cave Hill Cemetery.
These life size statues of The Beatles makes it way downtown, along the sidewalk near Abby Alley-- not far from Nanny Goat Way...
This statue honors John Castleman, a Union General, who fought in the Civil War. It is located just outside the neighborhood in Old Louisville that bears his name.
This statue honors Harry Collins, a local magician and philanthropist.
This beautiful statue is called Temple Spring, which is in Old Louisville, a very "artsy" neighborhood near University of Louisville filled with historic homes.
A nice copy of Rodin's The Thinker resides just outside of University of Louisville's Law School.
Thomas Jefferson, has his own statue down by the court house. Since we're in Jefferson County, it makes sense!
Pegasus continues to fly at the Cave Hill Cemetery. I've always loved this statue!
This honors York, who traveled with Lewis and Clark through the Northwest Territory. He is not far from George Rogers Clark and across the river from William Clark and Merriweather Lewis' statues.
Young Mr. Lincoln resides at the University of Louisville's campus. Lincoln was born in Hodgensville, KY in 1812.
This is but a brief sampling of the art work out and about in Louisville. Most of these, I have seen up close. Also, many businesses have Lollapalooza's, fiberglass racehorses that they decorate and leave out for the KY Derby and beyond. It is really great to see all the fine artwork!
Thanks for coming by!
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Which is your favorite?
Nice collection of statues and sculptures with a good variety of topics.
Thanks, John-- we have a lot of statues that have nothing to do with the Civil War... Surprisingly so, probably!
Beautiful statues with a wide variety of subjects.
Well done Dower.
Thanks!
These life-size statues are sometimes startling! You're walking down a street, and all of a sudden, there sits Col. Sanders!
The Louisville Bat museum has a lot of life-sized statues of famous ball players, which is really interesting! Most of them were not BIG men!
Dowser, I know that there is a Muhammad Ali center. Is there a stature of him in Louisville?
If not there sure as hell should be.
I think he has a bust or something, at his Center and Museum. He is certainly plastered all over town-- there are old posters of him, and it's great! He is such a nice man!
The Muhammed Ali Center has all kinds of facilities and is a great place! I love the outside of it, which is a series of pictures, (sort of), of him dancing like a butterfly, stinging like a bee...
I'm sorry, that should be the Louisville Slugger Museum. I couldn't think of the right name yesterday...
The Louisville Slugger Museum also has a "statue" outside. I don't know if this could be considered a statue, or not, but it surely is HUGE. I think it was built like a giant smokestack...
I have two favorites; Daniel Boone and the Spirits of the Cave. Daniel Boone because it's Daniel Boone! and the Spirits of the Cave because I love cemeteries. They hold so much history. I could wander around a cemetery for hours reading the tombstones and imagining what the individual was like based on when they lived. The poems and the dedications that are carved on the graves can be so touching. Sometimes they make me cry but most of the time I leave feeling happy. I especially love the really old gravestones.
Cave Hill Cemetery is a tourist attraction all on its own... No really, they offer guided tours of where famous people are buried and where the "special" monuments are... It has a huge section of Civil War Dead, even Revolutionary War dead... I love to go there-- it is peaceful!
I love this statue, but it is a bit startling!
I love Daniel Boone, too-- he spent a lot of time in these parts! Mainly because the Falls of the Ohio was a huge spot for ambushes along the river. He also spent a lot of time at Ft. Harrod, in Danville, KY and of course, at Ft. Boone, in Booneville, KY, which is difficult to get to... But both of those are historical sites and they've rebuilt and restored the old forts!
Wow, I never knew that Louisville had so many amazing statues. Thank you for sharing them with us with those great descriptions.
Thanks! I left out a few of the war memorials... We have a giant WWI auditorium, downtown. Giant! Dedicated to all those WWI soldiers that came here to the staging area of Camp Pendleton... Three of my great uncles came here while they were in the war, before they were sent elsewhere! I've been in this and it is lovely!
Excellent photo essay!
Pee Wee Reese is my favorite
It's amazing how little he was. He's just about my size-- yet was such a powerhouse as a ball player! We all love him, and sometimes, there are flowers around his statue... Really neat, I think!
Jackie Robinson was a lot taller, which is surprising, when you see it up close!
I love this, dearest D! What a wonderful mix of statuary genre'. There's something here to please just about everyone.
My favorite? I have two: The Beatles, and the one of Lincoln looking like a normal guy and not posed in a whoop-ti-do stance. Rather creeped out by Pan and his Gene Simmons impersonation.
LOL! So was I! I thought, gee, Pan is supposed to be up and dancing, not being a freak with an apple...
I love Abe Lincoln as a young man, too! He is life-size, exactly 6'4", his real height, and one really gets a sense of just how tall he was! Besides, you feel as if you can sit right down beside him and share a book, which I like!
All these life-size statues make it more interesting, if a bit creepy. As I walk down the sidewalks, and see "someone" out of the corner of my eye, I'm startled to find they're made of bronze! But most of them are posed in such life-like situations, it gives you a real feeling of intimacy, which I guess is the purpose of the statues!
The Beatles are in an area where you don't expect a statue... Between alleys, and it is really neat!