Iroquois Park
| Iroquois Park | |
|---|---|
 View of Downtown Louisville from the overlook atop Iroquois Park | |
 | |
| Type | Urban park |
| Location | 5216 New Cut Road, Louisville, Kentucky |
| Coordinates | 38°09′36″N 85°46′49″W / 38.160006°N 85.780221°W |
| Area | 725 acres (2.93 km2) |
| Created | 1888 |
| Operated by | Louisville Metro Parks |
| Status | Open |
Iroquois Park is a 725-acre (3.0 km2) municipal
The summit of Iroquois Park presents an all-at-once vista of the city of Louisville, seen from the south. A bronze plaque at the site demonstrates the plan of the city's park and parkway system as planned and executed by Olmsted's firm.
The park features an amphitheater, basketball courts, 18-hole golf course,[1] a disc golf course and a riding stable. Louisville Metro Parks and partner companies stage concerts, musicals, and other shows each summer at Iroquois Amphitheater.
History
Iroquois Park was one of the three major suburban parks created in the late 19th century in Louisville. In 1889, Mayor
The move was controversial at first and called "Jacob's Folly" by political opponents after early improvements were washed away by rain in the Spring of 1889. In 1890 control over the park, then called Jacob's Park, was given to the Board of Park Commissioners. Frederick Law Olmsted was invited to tour the park, and gave an influential speech at the Pendennis Club on May 20, 1891, and signed a contract to design the city's park system two days later. Work was soon underway on the park, by then renamed Iroquois, which Olmsted envisioned as "providing the grandeur of the forest depths in the dim seclusion of which you may wander musingly for hours".[3]
See also
- Performing arts in Louisville, Kentucky
- Iroquois, Louisville
- Kenwood Hill, Louisville
- Little Loomhouse
- Colonial Gardens
- City of Parks
- History of Louisville, Kentucky
- List of attractions and events in the Louisville metropolitan area
- List of parks in the Louisville metropolitan area
References
- ^ "Iroquois Golf Course". louisvilleky.gov. 2014-09-19. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
- ^ Kramer, Carl (1988). Louisville's Olmsteadian Legacy. p. 7.
- ^ Kramer, Carl (1988). Louisville's Olmsteadian Legacy. p. 8.
Further reading
- Buzan, Stefanie Rae; Rosemary Hauck McCandless (2007). A View From the Top: The Neighborhoods of Iroquois Park and Kenwood Hill. ISBN 978-1-4276-1659-3.