WDC News 2010
October 5, 2011
Waterfront Park's Lincoln Memorial Selected for Inclusion on Kentucky Civil War Heritage Trails
FRANKFORT, Ky. – Louisville Waterfront Park’s Lincoln Memorial has been selected to be part of the Kentucky Civil War Heritage Trails, a new state program to help visitors and residents understand how the conflict shaped the commonwealth as the nation observes the Civil War’s 150th anniversary.
Fifty-four sites around the state make up the initial group of attractions on the Civil War Heritage Trails announced Oct. 1 by Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet Secretary Marcheta Sparrow.
The selected sites are ready to receive visitors, have historical interpretation and are near to major routes for both in-state and out-of-state travelers. More sites will be added to the trails as they meet these criteria.
Besides battlefields and other sites of the war, the Kentucky trails program includes a new website, www.kentuckytourism.com/kentucky_civil_war, which features maps, a monthly listing of commemorative events and a blog providing interpretive information.
The trails are not intended to be one continuous route, but instead to provide clusters of sites that can be visited conveniently in various regions of the commonwealth, said Kimberly Clay, Cultural Heritage Tourism Director with the Department of Travel and Tourism.
“We believe the trails will attract visitors from outside the state who aren’t necessarily Civil War buffs but who want to learn more about what happened here,” said Clay, who has worked with officials from the Kentucky Historical Society, Heritage Council and the Transportation Cabinet to coordinate the project.
The Lincoln Memorial is located in Waterfront Park, north of River Road between I-65 and the Big Four Bridge. The Memorial, framed by an amphitheater that faces the Ohio River, features a sculpture of Lincoln and four bas reliefs that tell the compelling story of his life-long ties to Kentucky. Celebrated Louisville artist Ed Hamilton created the artwork for the memorial, which opened in 2009 as part of Kentucky’s two-year bicentennial celebration of Lincoln’s birth.
The Lincoln Memorial at Waterfront Park is open during park hours, 6am – 11pm daily. Parking is available in the Lincoln Memorial parking lot, which is immediately adjacent to the site.
A Lincoln Memorial visitor’s guide and park map (pdf format) are available online at www.louisvillewaterfront.com/projects/lincoln and www.louisvillewaterfront.com/documents/2011_park_map.pdf.
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The Kentucky Department of Travel and Tourism is an agency within the Tourism, Arts & Heritage Cabinet, which promotes the Commonwealth as a travel destination. Tourism in Kentucky has an economic impact of $11.3 billion, employs about 170,000 people and generates $1.2 billion in taxes.
Waterfront Park is an award-winning public park on the Ohio River in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. The park hosts more than 120 events and 1.5 million visitors each year.
FRANKFORT, Ky. – Louisville Waterfront Park’s Lincoln Memorial has been selected to be part of the Kentucky Civil War Heritage Trails, a new state program to help visitors and residents understand how the conflict shaped the commonwealth as the nation observes the Civil War’s 150th anniversary.
Fifty-four sites around the state make up the initial group of attractions on the Civil War Heritage Trails announced Oct. 1 by Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet Secretary Marcheta Sparrow.
The selected sites are ready to receive visitors, have historical interpretation and are near to major routes for both in-state and out-of-state travelers. More sites will be added to the trails as they meet these criteria.
Besides battlefields and other sites of the war, the Kentucky trails program includes a new website, www.kentuckytourism.com/kentucky_civil_war, which features maps, a monthly listing of commemorative events and a blog providing interpretive information.
The trails are not intended to be one continuous route, but instead to provide clusters of sites that can be visited conveniently in various regions of the commonwealth, said Kimberly Clay, Cultural Heritage Tourism Director with the Department of Travel and Tourism.
“We believe the trails will attract visitors from outside the state who aren’t necessarily Civil War buffs but who want to learn more about what happened here,” said Clay, who has worked with officials from the Kentucky Historical Society, Heritage Council and the Transportation Cabinet to coordinate the project.
The Lincoln Memorial is located in Waterfront Park, north of River Road between I-65 and the Big Four Bridge. The Memorial, framed by an amphitheater that faces the Ohio River, features a sculpture of Lincoln and four bas reliefs that tell the compelling story of his life-long ties to Kentucky. Celebrated Louisville artist Ed Hamilton created the artwork for the memorial, which opened in 2009 as part of Kentucky’s two-year bicentennial celebration of Lincoln’s birth.
The Lincoln Memorial at Waterfront Park is open during park hours, 6am – 11pm daily. Parking is available in the Lincoln Memorial parking lot, which is immediately adjacent to the site.
A Lincoln Memorial visitor’s guide and park map (pdf format) are available online at www.louisvillewaterfront.com/projects/lincoln and www.louisvillewaterfront.com/documents/2011_park_map.pdf.
###
The Kentucky Department of Travel and Tourism is an agency within the Tourism, Arts & Heritage Cabinet, which promotes the Commonwealth as a travel destination. Tourism in Kentucky has an economic impact of $11.3 billion, employs about 170,000 people and generates $1.2 billion in taxes.
Waterfront Park is an award-winning public park on the Ohio River in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. The park hosts more than 120 events and 1.5 million visitors each year.