Phoenix Hill

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Phoenix Hill is a neighborhood just east of Downtown Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Its boundaries are Market Street to the north, Preston Street to the west, Broadway to the south, and Baxter Avenue to the east. The area was originally known as Preston's Enlargement, part of the land granted to Colonial William Preston in 1774. The area was annexed by Louisville in 1827, and was densely populated by the time of the Civil War. Some of the Bloody Monday riots occurred in Phoenix Hill near the St. Martin of Tours church.

A triangular portion of the neighborhood bounded by Beargrass Creek was not developed at all before the Civil War. Though a park was built in 1865, most of the land was not developed until the 1890s.

An important local business still continuing in 2006, in one way or another, was the Phoenix Hill Brewery, established in 1865, which also established the nearby park. Orators including William Jennings Bryan and Teddy Roosevelt spoke there before it was closed (partially because of Prohibition) in 1919.

The housing stock was heavily composed of Shotgun houses, and the residents were predominantly German in heritage, until after World War II, when many left for the suburbs. Revitalization efforts began in 1977, when mayor Harvey Sloane obtained federal funds for rebuilding. The area now is known for its many popular nightclubs, such as Phoenix Hill Tavern.

[edit] References

• "Phoenix Hill". The Encyclopedia of Louisville (1). (2001).