Louisville Waterfront Park

Louisville Waterfront Park
The Louisville Waterfront Park exhibits rolling hills, spacious lawns and walking paths on Louisville's waterfront in the downtown area
Type	Municipal park
Location	Downtown Louisville, Kentucky
Area	85 acres (340,000 m2)
Created	1999
Operated by	Waterfront Development Corporation
Status	Open, expansion planned

Coordinates: 38°15′33.73″N 85°44′46.72″W / 38.2593694°N 85.7463111°W / 38.2593694; -85.7463111

Louisville Waterfront Park is an 85-acre (340,000 m²) municipal park adjacent to the downtown area of Louisville, Kentucky and the Ohio River. Specifically, it is adjacent to Louisville's wharf and Riverfront Plaza/Belvedere, which are situated to the west of the park.

Phase I of Waterfront Park consists of approximately 55 acres (220,000 m²) and was dedicated on July 4, 1999. Louisville architects Bravura Corporation, together with Hargreaves Associates, were the designers of the park. Much of the park, such as the Great Lawn, had opened to the public by the fall of 1998. The initial development cost was about $58 million, a combination of public and private money. The site of the park was previously used for industrial purposes: scrap yards, sand pits and other industrial sites.

The park hosted hundreds of events in its first full season of use, including outdoor concerts and other festivals, with an estimated total attendance of more than a million people. There were problems early-on with the grass being too easily worn down by visitors.

Phase II of the park opened on June 10, 2004, and added approximately 17 acres (69,000 m²), including the Adventure Playground, which opened in July 2003. Included is an esplanade along the river's edge and a cafe plaza where the Tumbleweed cafe opened in Spring 2005. The park also contains the Brown-Forman amphitheater, docks for transient boaters, and an area for a new rowing facility. The latter is used for the University of Louisville Women's Rowing Team, school and community rowing groups.