Future Site Of Lincoln Statue

Waterfront Park has undoubtedly been a major boon to revitalizing Louisville’s urban neighborhoods, but the eastern and western phases of the park still remain divided by hundreds of feet of chain link fence as construction continues on some of the most dramatic features of the entire park system: the Big Four Bridge and the Lincoln Memorial.  It’s been a long and arduous process to move from the industrial wasteland that once comprised Louisville’s waterfront to the nationally acclaimed park that exists now, but the wait has well been worth it.  The final 13 acres of the 85 acre project are scheduled to be phased in over the next couple of years and will finally unite the park into one community jewel.

Masterplan for Phase III (Rendering Courtesy Waterfront Development Corporation)

We took a tour of the estimated $22 million construction site as the grass is beginning to grow and the heavy construction is starting to heat up.  Peering through the fence at the park’s signature sculpted hills reveals only a portion of the inner workings of the site.  The articulation of the river’s edge is far in the distance and the Lincoln Memorial is all but hidden from view.  Landscape architects Hargreaves & Associates of San Francisco have shown how skillfully they can articulate space in Phase I and II of the park, and one must experience the new spaces from all angles to appreciate their full complexity.  Once within the confines of the construction fence, the true intricacy of the park begins to be made apparent.

Waterfront Park Construction

Walking along the riverfront from the west, a granite amphitheater appears from behind a sculpted earthen berm.  Next spring, a larger than life Abraham Lincoln will be perched atop a massive boulder intently gazing down the river.  (His general glance will be fixed on the third pier of the Kennedy Bridge, we’re told.)  The Lincoln Memorial has been designed to be an experiential journey past four bas reliefs depicting scenes of Lincoln’s life in Kentucky, wrapping around the gentle curve of the amphitheater until the visitor is confronted by the former president himself sculpted by renowned local artist Ed Hamilton.  The surrounding berm shields the memorial from the rest of the park, essentially wrapping around the site and embracing the micro-landscape.  According to the Waterfront Development Corporation, the Lincoln Memorial “teaches about his connections to Kentucky and about how, as a young man, he developed his abhorrence of slavery while standing on the banks of the Ohio River in Louisville.”  The space has the potential to be a deeply moving one.

• Waterfront Development Corporation (Official Site)
• Hargreaves & Associates Landscape Architecture (Official Site)
• Big Four Bridge Proposal By Studio Arne Quinze (Broken Sidewalk)
• Happy Birthday From Under The Bridge (Broken Sidewalk)

You’ll want to click through, there are dozens of park photos just ahead (and more to read!)