Public Realm

The “public realm” of a city is the environment that its streets, open spaces, parks and plazas create for visitors, workers and residents.  The public realm in any vibrant downtown engages people and encourages human interaction.  It makes one want to sit outside at a café and watch what’s going on rather than stay inside.  Its streets celebrate the uniqueness of downtown and add to its creativity.  Downtown Louisville has seen much focus on its public spaces in the past decade, with some great successes.  West Main Street area and Waterfront Park exemplify two areas where the public realm is successful in engaging visitors, residents and employees in an attractive and pedestrian-friendly atmosphere. This focus on creating great places  continues in the work that the DDC and others are currently engaged in.

East Main/East Market Streetscape

To leverage the private investment and nurture the strong residential market emerging along East Main and Market streets, Metro Louisville and the Downtown Development Corporation have embarked on the installation of a new streetscape pattern in East Downtown.  The sidewalks, streetlights, banners and street furniture are designed to complement the residential development and historic architecture of East Downtown. 

The Muhammad Ali Plaza

The Muhammad Ali Plaza surrounds the Muhammad Ali Center and tops the Ali Center Garage. The plaza, which is under construction and will be finished late next summer, will provide a truly vibrant public space that extends the pedestrian environment of West Main Street and connects it to the Riverfront Plaza/Belvedere and the Riverwalk. 

With its glass fountain and unique sculptural amphitheater, the plaza will be alive with visitors, children, and educators annually, and the activities of the Center will spill out into this public space.  The plaza will also be connected to Main Street through a mid-block atrium.  Finally, the plaza will be connected to the Museum Plaza development and park and open space that is planned as part of that complex.

The Muhammad Ali Center (www.alicenter.org) , opened in 2005, has quickly established itself as one of the premier visitor attractions in the nation.  Named as the Best New Visitor Attraction by the North American Travel Journalists Association in 2006, the Center was recently honored by Pathfinders Travel Magazine as "the best place to see a museum that touches the heart and soul." 

Downtown Image

Downtown Louisville is composed of a number of sub-districts with their own unique identity and character.  Some of these have been very well developed and have also included a nomenclature of design elements: signage, streetscape, design standards, etc. These include Theater Square, the Waterfront, West Main Street, and to some extent the Medical Center. 

A unified signage and wayfinding  system for downtown has been developed and partially implemented.  The system provides for an overall logo and design vocabulary for downtown, but also provides for similar identity elements for the major sub-districts of downtown.  These identifiers not only provide improved directional information for both those in vehicles and pedestrians, but they also become major elements of an improved public environment that add color, liveliness, lighting and a degree of celebration to the public realm.

River Road Redesign/Connection to West Main Street

The north side of River Road provides the current connection to the Riverwalk, to the downtown wharf area, and ultimately to the new West Waterfront Park for the vast majority of those in downtown.  However, regardless of the significant public and private investment occurring along these areas and in the area south of River Road and Main Street, River Road acts as a severe impediment to those wishing to access the River. 

A redesign of River Road is underway, providing new access to the Shipping port area, a future West Waterfront Park, and ultimately Northwestern Parkway. The redesign will vastly improve connections to the Riverwalk by slowing traffic speeds, signalizing Sixth and Eighth Streets, and introducing strong graphic and lighting elements.