Limerick, Louisville
Limerick Historic District | |
Location | Between Breckinridge and Oak, 5th and 8th St., Louisville, Kentucky |
---|---|
Coordinates | 38°14′24″N 85°45′46″W / 38.23986548°N 85.76286077°W |
Area | 47 acres (19 ha) |
Built | 1860 |
Architectural style | Queen Anne, Romanesque, Victorian |
NRHP reference No. | 78001360 (original) 83003715 (increase) |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | September 13, 1978 |
Boundary increase | December 23, 1983 |
Limerick is a neighborhood one mile south of downtown Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
History
The neighborhood was developed in the 1860s as a place of residence for employees of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad freight yard. It was named because nearly all of the residents were from the Irish county of Limerick. The St. Louis Bertrand Catholic Church was the centerpiece of the newly founded neighborhood. Limerick began the trend of working-class people living southwest of downtown, a trend which continues in the city to this day.
The
On October 7, 1871, the
As the Irish left, the African Americans moved from the alleyways into the vacated shotgun houses. In 1873, Louisville Central Public School, Kentucky's first state supported public school for African Americans was opened at 6th and Kentucky Streets. It would be later renamed Simmons College and finally Municipal College for Negros, a "colored" campus of the University of Louisville. The school is now in the process of reclaiming its former campus and is officially known as Simmons College of Kentucky.
Beginning around 1874 Limerick was the site of two successive baseball fields, both named
The news weekly Kentucky Irish American would be published from Limerick for nearly seventy years, starting in 1898.
Historic preservation
Today, Limerick is a historic preservation district. It is bounded by Breckinridge Street to the north, 5th street to the east, Oak Street to the south, and the CSX railroad tracks to the west. South of Oak street, the eastern boundary is 7th street until it crosses the railroad tracks.
Demographics
As of 2000, the population of Limerick was 1,448, of which 56.5% are black, 37.7% are white, 3.8% are listed as other, and 2% are Hispanic. College graduates are 17.3% of the population, people without a high school degree are 21.2%. Males outnumber females 63.7% to 46.3%.
See also
References
- The Courier-Journal. Archived from the originalon July 30, 2012. Retrieved December 30, 2008.