Louisville Gardens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jefferson County Armory | |
|---|---|
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | Louisville, KY |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Built/Founded: | 1905 |
| Architect: | Davis,Brinton B.; Caldwell & Drake |
| Architectural style(s): | Beaux Arts |
| Added to NRHP: | March 24, 1980 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 80001606 [1] |
| Governing body: | Local |
Louisville Gardens is a multipurpose, 6,000 seat arena in Louisville, Kentucky that opened in 1905 as the Jefferson County Armory. It recently celebrated its 100th anniversary as city mayor Jerry Abramson's official "Family-Friendly New Years Eve" celebration location. The facility has served the city of Louisville and Jefferson County in a variety of ways during the past century, from utilization as an actual armory to ABA Kentucky Colonels basketball games to various wrestling events. Elvis Presley concerts, political rallies, and Hurricane Katrina flood relief have also been staged there. More recently, WWE used the 3,000 person capacity arena as a training ground for future stars in a minor-league promotion known as Ohio Valley Wrestling, until the organization moved to the Davis Arena. WWE also staged two pay-per-view events at Louisville Gardens: (In Your House #6 and Ground Zero). Freedom Hall replaced the small, aging facility in 1956 as a more popular venue for city events.
The Southeastern Conference men's basketball tournament was held at the Jefferson County Armory from 1941-1952. Additionally, the Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament was held there from 1949-1955 and again from 1964-1967.
The Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association played their home games at the facility, then known as the Convention Center, from 1967 through 1970.
The Louisville Catbirds of the Continental Basketball Association (1983-1985), the Louisville Shooters of the Global Basketball Association (1991-1992) and the Kentucky Colonels of the ABA 2000 (2004-2006) all played their home basketball games at the Louisville Gardens.
Ice hockey teams to use the Gardens as home ice include the Louisville Blades, Louisville Shooting Stars and the Louisville Rebels.
Elvis Presley performed there, Martin Luther King Jr. and Harry Truman both spoke there. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The building was also known as the 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.
In 2007, the Cordish Company, manager of the nearby Fourth Street Live! entertainment complex, agreed to take over operation of "The Gardens" from the Metro Louisville Government as part of a $250 million development in downtown Louisville.
[edit] References
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
- Shafer, Sheldon. "Gardens may need niche to survive", The Courier-Journal, 2000-05-07.
- Shafer. "Historic Gardens may flourish again", The Courier-Journal, 2007-08-30.
