The renovation of the Muny’s upper plaza...
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Louisville Museums all in a Row Downtown
The video ring as the Ali Center Museum where
you can view all of the champs greatest fights
Louisville Has All its Great
Museums in a Row Downtown
By Bob Lindsey
Louisville has never been a destination for us, but only a “drive-through” city on our way to somewhere else. That changed last month when a national community newspaper conference that we usually attend was held in Louisville, a mere four hour’s drive from St. Louis. When we learned what Louisville had to offer, we couldn’t wait to drive there.
By staying downtown on the (Ohio) riverfront at the Galt Haus, we were within walking distance of most major attractions, except for the Kentucky Derby Museum and Churchill Downs, which were on the outskirts of the city, about 20 minutes from the riverfront.
We were able to park our car at the hotel and see downtown Louisville on foot. For dining, we walked to a Ballpark Village-type area of restaurants and night clubs called 4th Street Live. Even closer to our hotel was Louisville Museum Row on Main (MuseumRowonMain.com.), where most of the city’s top museums are located in an 8-block area. Although we didn’t have time to visit all of them, we made sure we saw the Louisville Slugger and Ali museums, as well as one bourbon distillery. (This area was once known as Whiskey Row because of all the bourbon distilleries.)
Our jam-packed Saturday began with a scheduled tour of the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience where visitors travel back in time via a wide screen video of the history of Kentucky’s first licensed distillery. Coincidentally, our guide for the tour was Rob Oker, who happened to be a Hazelwood East grad who grew up in Black Jack. We learned a lot from Rob about the distilling process, the difference between whiskey and bourbon (not all whiskey is bourbon) , and the fermentation process, which is similar to that of beer-making, up to a point.
The tour concludes with a bourbon tasting, which was new to us. Sipping and sniffing bourbon is much different than tasting wine, and Rob explained which parts of the tongue and palate experience different sensations as the bourbon is being swallowed. Not surprising, the final effects of sipping bourbon occur much more quickly than they do during wine tasting. Also not surprising was that we exited the building through a gift shop where all sizes of bottles of bourbon and other bourbon products were sold. Since we’re not really bourbon drinkers, we bought a very tangy and tasty Evan Will1ams barbecue sauce.
Our next stop was the one I was most looking forward to visiting. The Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory is just what it says. It’s a real factory where wooden bats are made, but visitors also learn the history of the bats and the legends who have swung them. The tour begins with an orientation film featuring top hitters talking about their favorite models. Then, visitors are guided through the factory. beginning at the lumber bin and moving past the craftsmen who make bats of all weights and sizes from the heaviest for the home run sluggers to the little wooden bats that are given free to each child. Along the tour, you can even get your picture taken swinging a Babe Ruth bat. During my many years of playing softball, I’ve seen several Louisville Slugger metal bats, but they don’t make them at this factory. Wood only. (SluggerMuseum.org)
We had planned to take in two more museums in the afternoon, but only had time to explore the four-story Muhammad Ali Center, which was much more extensive and interactive than we expected. It could take a half-day or longer to experience all of the Ali Center, an education and culture center that details the life story of Muhammad Ali. He and his wife Lonnie planned this center for their hometown and opened it in 2005. It traces his life as a small boy, his rise in the boxing world, his conversion to Islam , to his late life struggles with Parkinson’s Disease. The visitor’s experience is guided by what is called “the six prevailing core principles” of Ali’s life: respect, confidence, conviction, dedication, giving, and spirituality.
If you’re a boxing fan, you’ll find videos, interviews, his famous pre-fight poetry, and his key matchups with Joe Frazier, Sony Listen and others and, of course, his banter with Howard Cosell. You start the visit at the orientation theater with a five-screen multimedia presentation narrated by James Earl Jones. You can then watch some of his famous matches from a ring side seat that looks down on a boxing ring that becomes the movie screen. The center also has a Train with Ali section where you put on the gloves and shadow box, while learning basic techniques from his daughter Laila, a pro herself. (www.alicenter,org.)
Other stops to make along Museum Row (you need at least a weekend) are the Kentucky Science Center with three floors of hands-on exhibits, the film Kentucky Show playing daily at the Kentucky Center of Performing Arts, and the Frazier History Museum. The Frazier portrays the history, artistry and technology of weapons and armor that have shaped our country. Meet ancestral heroes through live, costumed performers and multi media presentations. (FrazierMuseum.org)
