Louisville Gardens
Former names | Jefferson County Armory Louisville Convention Center |
---|---|
Location | Louisville, Kentucky |
Public transit | |
Jefferson County Armory | |
Coordinates | 38°15′5.06″N 85°45′37.26″W / 38.2514056°N 85.7603500°W |
Built | 1905 |
Built by | Beaux Arts |
NRHP reference No. | 80001606 [1] |
Added to NRHP | March 24, 1980 |
Owner | ABA ) (2004–2006) |
Louisville Gardens is a multi-purpose, 6,000-seat arena, in Louisville, Kentucky, that opened in 1905, as the Jefferson County Armory. It celebrated its 100th anniversary as former city mayor Jerry Abramson's official "Family-Friendly New Years Eve" celebration location. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
History
The facility has served the city of Louisville and
Use as a sports arena
Primary home of Louisville Cardinals men's basketball starting in 1945 when Bernard "Peck" Hickman was head coach until 1956 when they moved to Freedom Hall. They played occasional games there each season until their last on November 30, 1972. The Louisville Cardinals were 153-23 all time at the armory.[3] The Kentucky Wildcats when led by Adolph Rupp played 72 games at the armory going 61-11 there from 1937 to 1956.[4] Included in that was games played in the SEC men's basketball tournament which was held at the armory from 1941 to 1952. Additionally, the Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament was held there from 1949 to 1955 and again from 1964 to 1967.
The Kentucky Colonels, of the American Basketball Association, played their home games at the facility, then known as the Louisville Convention Center, from 1967 through 1970. Louie Dampier was the team's best player in the era.[5] On November 24, 1968, Penny Ann Early became the first female to appear in a men's professional league, playing briefly in a home game for the Colonels.[6]
The
Other names
The building was also known as the Convention Center or Louisville Convention Center, mostly in the 1960s and 1970s. It was renamed Louisville Gardens in 1975 when the Commonwealth Convention Center (now called Kentucky International Convention Center) was being built.
Current status
In 2007, the
See also
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ "MLK at the Jefferson County Armory | The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change". www.thekingcenter.org. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015.
- ^ "DEADLINK".[dead link]
- ^ "Kentucky's Jefferson County Armory Record".
- ^ "Remember the ABA: Kentucky Colonels". Archived from the original on May 22, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
- ^ "Only in the ABA - Superstar for a Second".
- ^ "Records: Home/Attendance" (PDF). 2010–11 Louisville Cardinals Women's Basketball Media Guide. University of Louisville Sports information. p. 159. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
- ^ "Cordish obligation to revamp Louisville Gardens 'optional'". WDRB. September 17, 2012.
- ^ "Louisville Gardens soundstage proposal could be a boon for local film". Louisville Public Media. December 9, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
- ^ "Louisville Gardens". LouisvilleKy.gov. March 2024.
- Shafer, Sheldon (May 7, 2000). "Gardens may need niche to survive". The Courier-Journal.
- Shafer, Sheldon (August 30, 2007). "Historic Gardens may flourish again". The Courier-Journal.
External links
Media related to Louisville Gardens at Wikimedia Commons