The Courier-Journal (Louisville)
Making landmark decisions
Louisville is home to dozens of landmarks, but how does the city decide what is deserving of the honor? ● Designations made by the Metro Historic Landmarks and Preservation Districts Commission are different than those made by the Kentucky Historical Society through the Historical Marker Program, but more than 90 landmarks are designated as historic in Louisville, including library branches, Louisville Metro buildings and even the Belle of Louisville.
What entity designates historic landmarks in Louisville?
The commission that designates historic landmarks in Louisville is the Metro Historic Landmarks and Preservation Districts Commission, Darr said.
Most people, however, only become aware of them when a meaningful area or building in the community is in danger of redevelopment or demolition.
Savannah Darr, historic preservation officer for Louisville Metro Government, said some residents have a common misconception about the Metro Historic Landmarks and Preservation Districts Commission’s process for preserving landmarks, believing the commission is against repurposing buildings or has made the process too expensive.
“That’s really not true because sometimes staying the same is the death of a building and we want to see people in these buildings,” she said. “We don’t expect buildings to be held as they are in perpetuity . ... Preservation is for the people. If you’re preserving a building and no one is using it [or] no one wants to use it, then why are you preserving it?”
Here is everything you need to know about historic landmarks in Louisville:
How are historic buildings designated in Louisville?
Darr said there are three ways to start the process in which a landmarks could get designated as historical: a resolution filed by a Metro Council member, by owner request or through a petition with 200 or more signatures.
When dealing with a petition, the commission would first verify it after its initial filing, including whether the petitioning person is a Jefferson County resident. The commission then has an informative pre-hearing conference to let the owner of the building know about the process that will ensue.
Darr said the commission has 30 days to write a report analyzing the landmark and the designation criteria. That document is uploaded to the commission’s website and is reviewed by the Technical Review Committee, a subcommittee within the commission, which will decide if the landmark will move forward to the public hearings.
What are the local preservation districts?
“Preservation districts pretty much take in the entire neighborhood,” Steve Wiser, the president of the Louisville Historical League, said.
He said the commission then decides if the building can be modified or demolished. The following Louisville neighborhoods are considered preservation districts:
● Butchertown
● Cherokee Clifton Triangle
● Limerick
● Old Louisville
● Parkland
● West Main Street
Can Metro Council reverse a historic building designation?
Yes. Metro Council can review and reverse a designation made by the Landmarks Commission.
Are historical landmarks strictly buildings?
No. Public works of art can also be designated as historical landmarks.
Darr said the commission is currently reviewing resolutions passed by Councilwoman Jennifer Chappell regarding the designation process of three different landmarks, including the Ruff Memorial Wheelmen’s Bench by sculptor Enid Yandell, which would be the first piece of public art to receive the designation, if approved.
She said there are other existing works, including the Castleman statue, and are therefore considered historic.
Can local landmarks also be recognized nationally?
Yes. Landmarks can be recognized by the Metro Historic Landmarks and Preservation Districts Commission and the National Register of Historic Places through similar processes, Darr said, though there are differences to both designations.
With the national designation, unless the landmark receives federal money, it is not protected from potential demolition, but the local commission can still offer some shielding for local landmarks by reviewing any changes a person wants to make to them.
She received the Kingery Award for strong ambition and overcoming adversities. She is a member of the National Honor Society, Future Medical Professionals Club, served as Vice President and Secretary of the Student Council, and is also a member of the National Art Honor Society, Environmental Club, Ozone, Yoga Club, and Unified Track. She has volunteered throughout high school at the local animal shelter and is a member of the Indiana Youth Advisory Board. Rosey will attend Bellarmine University in the fall to study Neuroscience and minor in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
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Superstar rapper Jack Harlow can expect more than a few full circle moments with the launch of his inaugural two-day music festival in his hometown of Louisville.
This weekend, the globally known rapper is producing and co-headlining the Gazebo Festival at downtown Louisville’s Waterfront Park. This is the same location where in 2017, as a bespectacled, ringlet-haired 18-year-old rapping teenager, Harlow climbed onto the Ocean Stage as one of the first acts of the day during the legendary, and now defunct, Forecastle Festival.
It was a steamy, hot summer day seven years ago and Harlow remembers the highly charged sea of dancing and screaming fans and an important lesson a performer can only learn by living through such an experience.
“Don’t yell into the mic,” he told the Courier Journal.” It sounds better when you don’t yell.”
We can guarantee Harlow won’t yell during his Sunday night headlining performance at the Gazebo Festival, but he will provide the audience unforgettable music in the same spot where he made his Louisville festival debut.
“With 22 years of Waterfront Wednesdays, Thunder Over Louisville, a decade’s worth of Forecastle Festivals, there is a long history of local luminaries bringing Waterfront Park to its highest and best use,” Holly Weyler, Gazebo Festival spokesperson, said. “There simply isn’t a better setting, nestled between the river that built us and the industry that pushes us forward, to experience Louisville culture. We’re privileged that Gazebo will be the next evolution of locally-made, tasting-making events in our region’s most prized green space.”
The 2024 Gazebo Festival features 26 artists on two outdoor stages with Grammy winner SZA headlining Saturday and Harlow rounding out the festival Sunday. “When you’re from a city that major artists sometimes skip when they’re routing their tour, it’s really significant when they finally come to town,” Harlow said.
Here’s what else Harlow had to say about the Gazebo Festival, his everevolving career, and the importance of giving back to the community that shaped him.
Leading up to each night’s headliner, Harlow personally curated a lineup of artists like Vince Staples, Pinkpantheress, Majid Jordan, Omar Apollo, Veeze, and many others.
“The lineup for Gazebo Festival feels like a chance to express my personal taste, and there are so many full circle aspects to it,” Harlow said. “I opened for Vince Staples in 2016 at Headliners in Louisville on my 18th birthday. SZA was my dream headliner pick. She hasn’t performed in Kentucky since she played Mercury Ballroom in 2017. I went to that show. I think there were maybe 900 people. I’m really grateful to have all these artists in town.”
Before Harlow was a household name with multiple chart-topping Billboard Hot 100 songs, Grammy Award nominations, a guest appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” Met Gala invitations, and a starring role in the reboot of “White Men Can’t Jump,” he was a teenage boy with a handi cam filming lowbudget music videos behind his neighborhood grocery store, in alleys near his middle school and selling mixtapes.
The title of one of those tapes is the inspiration for the name of this weekend’s festival. “The name of the festival came from my Gazebo mixtape,” Harlow said. “That project felt like my first taste of local respect.”
Harlow added, “I’ve always been attracted to European imagery and architecture, and there’s something tranquil and pleasant about it that I want to be reflected in the festival experience. We intentionally tried to lean into being more subtle and understated.”
Do you know what they say about respect being a two-way street? That’s what has happened between the city of Louisville, Harlow, and his legions of fans.
“Louisville has an authenticity and soul that I’ve been influenced by my whole life,” he told the Courier Journal. “People here are humble and principled.”
Everyone familiar with his music knows Harlow’s admiration for his hometown is sprinkled like easter eggs throughout his lyrics. He raps about physical Louisville locations like Eastern Parkway, Tyler Park, and Churchill Downs. There are also plenty of local people mentioned like Daryl Issacs, Colonel Sanders, and Muhammad Ali.
On the flip side, Louisville has made the 26-year-old part of its “Hometown Heros” project honoring the city’s famous sons and daughters. At the intersection of Broadway and Barret Avenue, an enormous banner of the musician hangs on the side of a multi-story brick building a few miles from Harlow’s boyhood home.
That principled thinking Harlow admires about people in Louisville is also part of this superstar rapper’s DNA. In 2023 he launched The Jack Harlow Foundation to serve as a philanthropic vehicle to reinvest, uplift, and support
Harlow’s rapid ascent to hip hop’s top tier gives him less time to hang out in his hometown — to date, he’s made three studio albums, performed during NFL halftime shows, and has done numerous commercial productions, musical collaborations, and appeared in film. In fact, on Aug. 12, he’s in a new film with Matt Damon and Casey Affleck called “The Instigators” on Apple TV+.
But there will always be time for his ultimate passion. Music brings Harlow joy and is the reason he’s hopeful the Gazebo Festival is a success.
“There’s still nothing I love more than making music,” Harlow told the Courier Journal. “I’m thoughtful about what I take on beyond that because doing things well requires a lot of attention to detail. I was excited about the creative parts of building this festival, and we spent a lot of time working to get it right.”
The 2024 Gazebo Festival continues Sunday, at Louisville’s Waterfront Park at the corners of Witherspoon and Preston Streets. Tickets are available for purchase at gazebofest.com.
Reach features reporter Kirby Adams at kadams@courier-journal.com.
TIMOTHY D. EASLEY/SPECIAL TO THE COURIER-JOURNAL