fbpx

What is the history of Shelby Park, Kentucky?

Shelby Park is a neighborhood two miles southeast of downtown Louisville, Kentucky USA named after Kentucky’s first governor, Isaac Shelby. Shelby Park has always been considered a working-class neighborhood. It was first populated by German immigrants in the early 1900s. By the 1950s, the neighborhood was majority African American. Today, Shelby Park is a blend of ethnic and economic diversity. People from all walks of life co-exist in a vibrant, art-filled community. The Shelby Park neighborhood is known for its 17-acre park by the same name. Shelby Park was designed by the Olmsted Firm in 1907 and is the only Olmsted park in Louisville with a Carnegie library designed by Arthur Loomis. A gothic revival church at Oak and S. Shelby Streets constructed around 1886 is another architectural and historical landmark. Most of the residential homes in Shelby Park were constructed around 1900 to 1910 and are shotgun-style cottages and camelbacks, with some two-story brick federal-style buildings in the mix, too. Shelby Park is home to Logan Street Market, Louisville’s first and only year-round indoor market with food vendors, artisans, a coffee bar, a brewery, and Farmer’s Market located at Logan and Oak Streets in Shelby Park that opened its doors in October 2019. Shelby Park is bounded by the CSX rail tracks, Kentucky Street, and I-65 and borders Germantown, Smoketown, and Old Louisville. As of 2000, the population of Shelby Park was 3,204. Located on the edge of Germantown, The Swepson Guesthouse is close to anything you would need! Restaurant row, the Highlands, Downtown, UofL Campus, Old Louisville, and NULU. It’s the perfect distance to bars, breweries and distilleries, restaurants, and Logan Street Market.