The tower crane for the Bio-Med 3 Mega-Garage arrived via flatbed trailer today. Look for photos of the completed crane in a few days.
Tower Crane Arives at Bio-Med 3 Garage
Louisville Finally On Street Views on Google Maps
It just came to our attention that Google Maps now features Street Views for Louisville. This means the folks over at Google drove down every single street in Louisville with their fleet of techno-cars and photographed everything. Now the race begins to find the embarrassing photo-moments of people caught in questionable situations around town. Louisvillians now never have to leave their computers and instead can take a virtual walk down to the grocery store.
Louisville’s Tap Water: Best of the Best
There’s something about the water here in Louisville. It tastes better than any other tap water in North America. The Louisville Water Company has been awarded the top prize in the annual “Best of the Best” Water Taste Test put on by the American Water Works Association while meeting in Atlanta this week.
Local Atlantans marveled at the display of so much water in their city all at once, as predictions of Georgia drought are on the rise again this year. Water samples from all over the continent were ranked on flavor characteristics by judges.
Mayor Jerry Abramson couldn’t hide his excitement at the news. “Louisville’s water is clearly superior,” Abramson said. “Now the rest of the country knows that, too.” He was spotted handing out free bottles of tap water at Waterfront Park to celebrate the award. Greg Heitzman, president of the Louisville Water Company, was honored by the award, but noted, “In Louisville we’ve always known that you can’t top the tap.”
At any rate, Louisville water edged out the water from a tropical town in Puerto Rico, who placed second in the contest.
Louisville, KY wins best water taste test (AWWA)
Louisville’s Water Judged Best-Tasting in America (LWC) [ Warning: PDF ]
Cordish Opens Indy Casino
The Cordish Companies couldn’t wait until the building was complete to open the “new landmark entertainment destination integrating a state-of-the-art gaming facility with exciting restaurants and entertainment venues” Monday in Shelbyville, Indiana, just outside Indianapolis at the Indiana Downs.
The new project opened in a temporary pavilion after receiving final approval from the Indiana Gaming Commission less than two days previous. The 233,000-square-foot complex will feature over 1,900 slot machines and other electronic games, a 5,000-seat outdoor theater, an anchor restaurant by Wolfgang Puck, and other familiar Cordish names such as Angel’s Rock Bar and Maker’s Mark Steakhouse.
Cordish opens casino near Indy (Business First)
Indiana Live! Project Sheet (Cordish Cos.)
Indiana Live! Casino (Official Site)
Video: Possibility City: No Transit Here Ad
The Possibility City campaign has released a new promotional video. The obvious message: Louisville is wonderful, not too crowded, and an easy commute. The painful truth: Louisville has no transit system and likely will not in the foreseeable future. Judge the ad for yourself.
Area Farmer’s Market News
Phoenix Hill: The Phoenix Hill Farmers’ Market, located in the parking lot of Felice Vineyards (829 East Market Street), will host a Spring Festival on June 10 from 3:00–6:30p.m. The festivities include cooking demonstrations, live music, children’s activities, door prizes, and refreshments.
Norton Commons: A new farmers’ market will operate on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings with 14 to 16 vendors. The market will be held in the Norton Commons’ Town Center.
Jeffersonville: The Clark County Farmers’ Market will operate at Preservation Park (100 W. Market Street) in downtown Jeffersonville on Saturdays from 9:30–12:30p.m. and Tuesdays from 3:00–6:00p.m. Many special events such as cooking and gardening demonstrations are planned throughout the season (see Jeff Main Street)
Are the 21c Bathrooms America’s Best?
Business First reported that the restrooms at the 21c Museum Hotel at 7th and Main streets in downtown Louisville are among ten finalists for the America’s Best Restroom Award. If you haven’t stopped by the 21c to see their restrooms, they feature LCD eyeball video screens in the mirrors, a waterfall urinal that’s a one-way mirror onto the hallway, and some pretty fancy sinks (they also have some art, so we hear).
Among the other commodious latrines are New York’s Grand Central Terminal, Nashville’s Hermitage Hotel, and Northampton, MA’s Smith College Museum of Art. Be sure to vote for your favorite (the 21c, of course) on the competition web site. The winner will be announced in August.
Identity Crisis at the Legal Arts Building
The Legal Arts Building at the corner of 7th and Market streets is undergoing a few renovations. Rumors about this project have been floating around for a while, but as the construction fence goes up and the trees come down, it has become apparent that the major change to the 100,000 square foot building from the sidewalk’s point of view will be paint. A shiny new coat of, wait for it, beige and burgundy.
Renderings floating around in an advertisement in Business First earlier this year (above) suggested some major facade renovations for the mid-century monster that brought emphasis to the street level and the central entrance. Later these renderings disappeared and news emerged that Jaytee Properties Limited, a family partnership of Steve Trager, bought the building with plans to renovate the property. Trager is chairman and CEO of Republic Bank and Trust Company headquartered a block away at 6th and Market Streets. His group plans to rename the Legal Arts Building the Republic Plaza (despite the clear lack of any type of plaza).
Early news reports listed the proposed renovation at over $5 million, but that number has since been reduced to well below the $5 mil range. The bulk of the cost is in window replacement but a new glow-in-the-dark sign will also be located at the top of the building on an enlarged cornice. The famous statue sitting at the entrance to the building for as long as anyone can remember will be removed and a BS tipster reveals it may end up at the zoo with a few “modifications”—most likely a few fig leaves over the naked couple flying in mid air to make it “child safe.” The design work has been done by Luckett & Farley.
Below are photos of the current building proposal and the former building proposal and the disappearing statue trick, before and after. Bottom line: the building is ugly. No paint and plastic renovation can change that. This renovation can, however, help to push the civic center of downtown forward towards more new development and renovation.
Sky Falling at Downtown Parking Garage
Several chunks of concrete fell from the ceiling of the downtown parking garage underneath the Belvedere / Waterfront Plaza today causing one handicapped parking spot to be temporarily removed from service. Crowds of tourists were seen running about shouting “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!”