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Louisville's parks power play
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Our next live podcast: Residential real estate trends are redefining Louisville's growth and neighborhoods. Join us for a live Access Louisville recording as we dive into the latest market insights. The event includes networking, breakfast and a spirited discussion of the latest news in our area. Our panel includes: Stacy Durbin, Semonin Realtors, Jakeeva Lee, Greater Louisville Association of Realtors and Jon Mand, Lenihan Sotheby's. Tickets and registration are available here.
The Olmsted Parks wrap around Louisville like a string of pearls. And we chat about this civic jewelry on this week's Access Louisville podcast.
Mary Grissom, president and CEO of the Olmsted Parks Conservancy, is on the show this week for an interview with LBF Editor-in-Chief Shea Van Hoy. The two talk about the history of the parks and bringing the renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to the city, how the conservancy works with Louisville Metro Government and how the system sets the city a part from its peers.
"This is the original. This is the national legacy for Louisville," she said.
She also speaks about the Olmsted Parks Conservancy's plans for restorative work at Chickasaw Park, following a $5 million anonymous donation.
After the U.S. Civil War, Grissom explained, Olmsted personally believed in public parks that were open to all — our disunity as a nation had to do with us not being able to see the humanity in each other.
In the 1920s, the city of Louisville went against those values and segregated its parks. It was around that time that Chickasaw Park was created on 61-acres and the city brought back the Olmsted firm to design that park, giving it the dubious distinction as the only segregated park developed by the firm.
That said, the park is a very special place for generations of Black Louisvillians. And because of that, Grissom said she was honored that the conservancy can use the $5 million donation to work on upgrades and restoration there, including lighting, benches, playgrounds and walking paths.
There'll be a refreshed master plan that's created with the feedback of park users and nearby residents "to ensure that both nature and park amenities are tended to," she said.
Elsewhere in the system, she talked about restoration of the pavilion at big rock in Cherokee Park, building conservancy membership and bridging the gap between generations of park users.
"We want to make sure that Olmsted parks are here for everyone. Always. Period."
Access Louisville, sponsored by Baird, is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. You can also follow it on popular podcast services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify, which are linked above.
Louisville has a big brag that a lot of cities don't have. Homestead parks. We're gonna chat about them next on Access Louisville. Thanks for joining us. My name is David Mann, and joining me today is Shea Van Hoy. Hey everybody! Later in the show, we're gonna be joined by Mary Grissom, president and CEO of Homestead Ark. Access Louable is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. Each week we bring you the latest news and plenty of sharp opinions on what's going on here in Louisville, Kentucky. A couple things before we get into it. First, this podcast is sponsored by Baird. Discover the Baird Difference at rwbaird.com slash Louisville. We'll hear from Baird later in the show. Also, our next live podcast is set for July 30th. I'm calling this one How Louisville Lives. We're going to talk about the ins and outs of residential real estate with three local experts who will be on the show. The housing market is a constant conversation around town, so we hope you can make it out for this event and get some real insights into where the market is going next. I'll leave a link in the notes of this show where you can buy tickets for that event. For now, though, let's get into this interview. Shay, uh I think we've talked about this before, but one of your favorite parks is an Olmstead park, right?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, probably. I talked a little bit this during the interview, but uh I live close to Tyler Park and I love it. I love that it's not too big. Um, it has that cool uh bridge feature. It's also been redone largely with the splash pad and pickleball courts and everything, but it's just a great little park with a lot of shade.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Um, and uh I guess uh how did Mary Grissom get on your uh radar?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I've known Mary for a little bit, but I got invited to the Olmstead Park Conservancy's breakfast annual breakfast a couple months ago. It was at uh Melwood Arts Center, and basically they just give us state of the parks, but it was a really cool event, and um Mary did uh such a good job of explaining the parks and what's new and her vision. She's been in the role about a year, so thought it was a great time to have her on. And we in November had just written about Chickasaw Park um getting a five million dollar anonymous uh donation, so we talk a little bit about what's next for that park as well.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. All right. Well, with that, we'll go ahead and go to the interview.
SPEAKER_03Welcome to the Access Louisville Podcast Executive Interview. Today we're joined by Mary Grissom, who is president and CEO of the Olmsted Parks Conservancy. Welcome to the show, Mary.
SPEAKER_00Thank you. Happy to be here on this hot day.
SPEAKER_03I know it's hot. I was out at a park last night. We'll get to that here in a little bit. But um, wanted to have you on. I came to the annual meeting, the annual event, uh, which was great, my first time there. And uh, thought it was a good time to check in with you as you've kind of been in the role for a year. So um I like to start off with just a how's it going? Uh how how is the role and also maybe what's something that surprised you that you didn't expect going in?
SPEAKER_00Perfect. Well, I thank you for coming to our breakfast. It is a a sort of state of the parks moment. Um and a year in, I can tell you, it's amazing. This is really joyful work when the world is upside down. Uh and so I feel really, really grateful uh to be stewarding and protecting and enhancing what is a national treasure for Louisville, our Olmstead Park system. Um, and it's everyday good times. So I get to be in the park. I get to, you know, kick a soccer ball and hear about people's first kisses and where they learn to fish and you know their favorite memories. Um what surprises me is how big it is that this is 2,000 acres of urban green, 2,300 if you include the parkways.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um, and so really feeling um how much natural area stewardship uh, you know, these really are the lungs of our city. Right, right. Uh, and then the depth of it, which is like how many different neighborhoods, how many different constituencies uh really are connected.
SPEAKER_03Right. So set the scene. Um I I know enough to be familiar with this, but a lot of people aren't. And also you did a nice job at the breakfast of explaining it. But how did Olmst, how did we get Olmsted Parks? How did we get this jewel?
SPEAKER_00Well, it is a wonderful tale. So um, you know, first and foremost, I would say this has always been sort of a citizen effort uh that has partnered with uh city government. Um and so in 1891, you know, uh the end of Frederick Law Olmsted's life and career, he had already designed Central Park in New York City, the U.S. Capitol Grounds in Washington, D.C., um, and many of America's most cherished public landscapes. Um, and it was a group of citizens in Louisville who got together to help assemble the lands that would become our parks and bring Frederick Law Olmsted himself here to Louisville. It had to be like a superstar arrival, right? Uh I it was. There was a bit of a there was there was a gentleman's club, the Salmagundi Club, uh, that actually uh put together the funds and sort of political capital to reach the Olmsted firm and to reach uh, you know, the founder himself. Um and, you know, when they brought him here and showed him what would be Cherokee Park and what would be Iroquois park and Shawnee, um, you know, he immediately saw that this, you know, shouldn't just be a collection of parks, but this should be an intentional plan for Louisville, sort of an original green print uh for our city. Um and so he designed those flagships that connect us from east to west to south. He drew the parkways and he said we should have little neighborhood parks uh you know along those uh um uh pathways. And and for 40 years we followed the plan. So then his sons continued to work here and successors, and that's how we got Tyler Park and Willow Park and Victory Park and Algonquin and uh Bingham and Central and Stansbury and all uh all of which make up a 17 park system.
SPEAKER_03Right. And uh I have to forgive props from my local park. I am walking dis I am walking distance to Cherokee, but very close to Tyler, and so that's my that's my point. You got a good one there. Yeah, it's excellent. And you know, the recent renovations the last couple years is fantastic. So um, so uh I think the confusion that comes in and that there's Louisville Metro Parks and there's Olmstead Parks. So can you talk about um how they how the system how Olmstead fits in with the larger system and what kind of education you do, and and how do you explain like this is the the difference, but this is the similarities as well.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. Well, um I I like to help people understand that Olmstead parks are the original parks of the city, right? Um they are city-owned, they are public parks through and through. Um now the city has grown, right? Think about it in 1891, it was a pretty small town. Right um, you know, uh the Olmsted parks were were the outskirts of the town, right? Now that city has grown. There are 120 uh public parks in the city of Louisville. Um, and so uh the Conservancy is an independent nonprofit that partners with the city, just like think about Central Park in New York City. New York City is the owner of Central Park, but the Central Park Conservancy helps uh protect, enhance, and steward that park. Um and so that's our partnership with the city of Louisville.
SPEAKER_03It's awesome. It works well. Um and obviously adding the parks um to where the people have gone have worked. And then also, you know, the the privately funded parks. We have the Parklands and Origin Park on the way.
SPEAKER_00Uh better resourced than Olmstead. Yeah. Uh but I like to help people know like this is the original, right? Like this is the national legacy for Louisville that is the original, right? Like nothing, the only thing actually touched by Frederick Law Homestead, you know, are these public parks. And we're proud of their public nature.
SPEAKER_03Right, for sure. So uh honing in on uh one park specifically, in November we wrote about uh the Conservancy's announcement that it was going to take on the largest restoration project in the history. Uh that's at Chickasaw Park in the West End. Um, how you know what does that involve and what's the most uh exciting part of that project for you?
SPEAKER_00Well, we are so honored uh to have really the second national legacy, right? Uh, which is um Chickasaw Park. So let me uh sort of trace the history here a little bit. So Frederick Law Olmsted believed that parks should be open, accessible for all. In fact, you know, that was like a fundamental idea coming out of the Civil War that inspired his idea for public lands, that we should need to be in proximity to one another, um, that that, you know, our disunity as a nation had everything to do with us not seeing the humanity in each other. Um so when he came to Louisville, um, we are the southernmost place he designed a public system. In theory, these parks were open and available to all. But in the 1920s, the city of Louisville went against those Olmstead values and segregated its parks. Um, it was at that time that Chickasaw Park was created, 61 acres, um, and the city brought back the Olmstead firm to design that park. So it holds a distinction, uh dubious distinction of being the only Olmstead firm design park specifically for black Americans um in the country. Now, um, what it means for Louisville is that it has contained a hundred years of Louisville's black history because it has been a beloved place. Yeah. Loved and stewarded and uh containing memories of you know, greatness, literally, Muhammad Ali's park, um, but also, you know, thousands of uh of Black Louisville who have come through there and had rest and respite and enjoyment. And uh and so we are really proud uh that it will now see the level of investment that other flagship parks in our system receive. Um, and we're really uh honored that that someone saw how important that legacy is. Uh, and we are in service uh to that great history.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, the five million dollar anonymous donation, right? Yeah. What uh what what are a couple highlights, like what are features or what are up what upgrades are you looking at right now?
SPEAKER_00Well, so first of all, I'd say that the gift really was anchored uh by a partnership with the West Louisville Tennis Club that has operated there since 1923. So there hadn't been a Chickasaw Park without the Westwell Tennis Club. Um and so uh when they saw the work we had done to um improve those courts, uh you know, they took a look around the rest of the park and said, well, hold on, you gotta you got a dying spray ground and a rotted playground and a front pavilion that's you know chipped paint and the why are there port and pots here? So all that is what we're going uh uh to restore, um, but also have the chance to really engage with the users of the park. You know, there are morning walkers who uh, you know, are are walking that park every morning and say, I need lighting, you know, I need benches. Uh and so walking paths are the most used amenity in any park. So we're, you know, we're listening to Chickasaw neighbors and residents and park users, and um, there'll be a refresh master plan that's created with residents uh and with park users to ensure that uh both nature and park amenities are attended to. Right. Folks also want to have their relationship to the river restored. I mean, those, you know, both Shawnee and Chickasaw Park I think of as the original waterfront parks of Louisville, but you wouldn't know it by the vegetation that keeps people, you know, from that relationship to the river. So um a new feature uh just opened in Chickasaw Park, St. Kofa Sanctuary, uh, which was really a vision of Play Cousins, a group that works with um kids and families to build sort of a village around um black children. And they uh have a beautiful river uh lookout there that was, I think, has started the entire community thinking about what's our relationship to the river in this park.
SPEAKER_03Right. Yeah. Awesome, awesome. Well, we look forward to following that along. Um, what are a couple other projects that are going on at the parks that people might not know about or might see and be like, what's going on here?
SPEAKER_00Oh, Big Rock. We want to talk about our beloved Big Rock. Uh, everybody loves Big Rock. People have been partying there for a hundred years because it is a beautiful spot. And that is exactly what Olmsted intended. Um uh but it has really special ecology that needs to be protected, and that pavilion is long overdue uh for refresh. So we are uh proud uh that the city has uh made major investment um and we brought 22 donors along, and so we will begin restoration of the Gulbert Pavilion there, which is um, you know, an original historic structure uh and a refreshed master plan for the site area um to be sure that you know we're accounting for the cars and the bikes and the and pedestrians um trying to get in and out of that special space, but also doing some ecological education to help people know like it's beautiful and we have to take care of it. Right.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_00Don't trash it, right?
SPEAKER_03So yeah. So talk about a little bit about fundraising. Um, you know, you've been in this role for about a year. Obviously, it's a nonprofit. Every nonprofit's out there trying to fundraise. Uh, what are some of the ideas you have around that or or things that you might want to try?
SPEAKER_00Well, I we are an independent nonprofit. And, you know, every dollar we raise goes goes into the parks. Um, people see that name Olmstead and they think, oh, you also fancy. No, we're we're we're regular out here uh, you know, really trying to um invite people who use the parks to become members of Olmstead Parks Conservancy. So uh, you know, people may see us uh at uh beer garden pop-ups. I know um I have seen you at Beer Garden Pop-Up before. Guilty discharge that is a membership strategy. We are not just out there having fun. Uh we are building community and awareness that, you know, just the way that we need the parks, the parks need us. Um so membership is a really important part of what we do. Um, but we want to make sure that Olmstead parks are here for everyone always, period. Um, and we're the you know, the second oldest Olmsted Conservancy in the country. Um, the Central Park Conservancy is the only other one. Um, and I think we have a real opportunity here in this sort of generational baton pass uh to make sure that this, you know, legacy uh lives on uh and that the the conservancy as its protector is adequately resourced.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. It's a great story to tell too, though. So um, well, I just went last night uh before we were on air, I was talking to you a little bit about this to Iroquois Park. It's a very hot day, but if you're gonna be outside at a concert, Iroquois at night or in the evening, that's the place to be. It's very shaded uh and it's it was an awesome night. Uh saw Spoon and the best out there. Um but the uh the concert series has been around for a while, but now I know the city's partnered with Danny Wimmer, they're booking it. It's a really robust season. Um, but just what has that concert series meant to the parks and the exposure it gives? You know, I told you I had friends from out of town, they'd never been to the park or the amphitheater. So what is that kind of like spotlight shines on?
SPEAKER_00Um it's immeasurable. I mean, Iroquois Park is a treasure, right? This is 700 acres um of you know woodlands. I mean, that is the lungs of our city. Um, and you know, for those of you who've been to the North Overlook at the top of it, to me, that is the most umsteadian and special place you'll ever see because you think about like that skyline was not there, right, right, right? But it was a city that was coming. Um, so I think the draw of the amphitheater for arts and culture is immeasurable. It's huge. I think it's a dip for people into that park. Um, it is a magical place to see music. Um, I absolutely love going to concerts there. Um uh, you know, the dollars that are created from that do not go back into the park. So if anybody knows Danny Wimmer and wants to put a bug in his ear, like, like there it is.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, exactly. Well, looking forward to more shows out there. Um, we're gonna move to the lightning round, some quick get to know you type things here. Um, first off, this is open to any or all you want to answer here. What are you watching, reading, or listening to right now? I didn't I don't think I put listening to, but we were talking about music beforehand. So feel free to like what you know, what your uh playlist looks like now.
SPEAKER_00It's true. Well, what we were talking about as we were getting warmed up here was that I went to a different city and a different park for a concert not long ago. So um I'm always listening to Waxa Hatchie and went to go see her play uh in Bloomington, Indiana at Switchyard Park, uh, which I am now pumping for everyone to know about. It's a great city public park in Bloomington, Indiana. Um I'm teaching my kids about Lauren Hill right now, so that is also in my playlist.
SPEAKER_03You're educating about the miseducation of Lauren.
SPEAKER_00Indeed. I feel it is good for them. I feel it is good for them. Uh and um, and the truth is, like I'm still, you know, reading a lot about park life, you know, a year in, there's a lot of history to absorb. Um I love spying on the south is a great book uh about tracing Olmsted's travels to the deep south uh and then retracing them in 2016. So really interesting. Um and then uh Eric Kleinenberg has a book called Palaces for the People about why libraries and parks matter.
SPEAKER_03Awesome.
SPEAKER_00And he has an additional piece of work that talks about heat and traces in Chicago when there was a heat wave, you know, about a hundred years ago, people survived that heat wave based on the fact that they had shared spaces where they could share information and tips about how to help each other. And so I think about these parks are not um, you know, they're they're green infrastructure, but as cities are under stress of heat, of polarization, you know, of extreme weather, you know, they are so many things. They are stormwater mitigation, you know, they are um, you know, third spaces where people connect and share information, you know, moms at a playground given a tip, like that can literally be survival. Right, right. So those are things I'm thinking about in this heat wave. And wildlife. Well, certainly wildlife, yeah. The all the creatures.
SPEAKER_03Uh well at the at the breakfast, that was the the photos were great of of you just don't realize like I had no idea there are that many owls like hanging out in our parks. It's crazy. It is. And I'm like, and I'm like, how have I not been seeing them? But it's like because I'm not trained to, you know, with my eye on that.
SPEAKER_00So um you have to be still. Uh yes. You have to be quiet.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I'm usually in motion. I'm usually on the trail. So um I know this might be a tough question, so I'll sort of caveat it, but um, what's your favorite, what's your favorite park in Louisville, or maybe more if uh your favorite spot in a park in Louisville? And then you mentioned Switchyard, but kind of what other cities or parks are you drawing inspiration from for your role?
SPEAKER_00Ooh, these are dangerous questions. Like a child, you're gonna talk about it. What's your favorite child? Well, my home park is Cherokee Park. Um, you know, I I'm a boomerang to Louisville, so I grew up within walking distance of Cherokee, and now I raise my two kids, you know, just right at the entrance of Cherokee Park at Hogan's Fountain. So I feel, you know, those woods feel like my woods. Um, and so I uh, you know, that's that is definitely my happy place. The top of Iroquois Park, I already gave you that speech, but man, if you have not done it, go to the Northern Overlook. Feel that. Um I think the one I worry about the most is Shawnee Park, um, just because it's so big and has, you know, a complex history. And so, you know, making sure that we have a cohesive plan for that park and you know, really um invest, you know smartly uh is is important. Now it holds the beautiful dirt bowl, you know, another legacy for Louisville. Uh and so um, you know, you'll hear me advocating for Shawnee.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. How about other cities? Throw like a a part or a a city that you think like, oh wow, their parks are great.
SPEAKER_00Wha well, obviously Bloomington, Indiana is top of mind for me right now because I just went uh and it's and it's and it's easy. But, you know, Boston, the Emerald Necklace is an incredible, you know, lovely system. Um I lived there for a while early in career, right next to Franklin Park, um, which is, you know, an incredible uh living, breathing treasure, uh, you know, right in the middle of really urban Boston, um, where life is crowded uh and uh and challenging. And so um that's remarkable to me. W I just got back from Austin, Texas for a national conference uh on parks. Yeah. Wowser.
SPEAKER_03Zilker uh yeah.
SPEAKER_00I mean, to see a city, you know, that has more resource generally speaking, um, uh, but the juxtaposition of, you know, um skyscrapers and cranes, but everything framed by Lacey Green because they really have anchored, you know, uh and understood that that you know, their nature uh flowing through their downtown is part of what is attracting people to live and work and make a life there. Um so whether it was the bat center the bridge or the you know trail conservancy there, you know, weaving right through the the city, it was really remarkable.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Mount Bennell is a great lookout there too. Yeah, yeah. I've been there a couple times. So uh my my one was, and this was I think at one point, I don't even know if it was a podcast, but Sarah Devash or Wisdom had told me that um how impressive like the pocket parks in Detroit were, and then I went to Detroit, like downtown, I went to a Tigers game, and they have these little pocket parks that are really, really cool. Um, so and that's and down and just downtown Detroit in general is like on the up for sure. So that's my that's my pitch if you're in Detroit. Um, so other than the parks, obviously, um when people visit you from out of town, where do you like to take them? Uh could be entertainment, food, restaurants, whatever.
SPEAKER_00Well, I I do take them to the Ali Center. I am a good Louisville, and I believe that everybody should be introduced to our greatest cultural asset. Um, and then um Yeah, I mean, food and drink is what we do. Right. Uh I like people to get a real flavor. I mean, I I'm a true grumpy Louisville. I love this place with all of its warts and all of its charm. Uh, and so I like people to know how easy it is to see live music here, how easy it is to to have, you know, world-class food uh, you know, that's grown by hands and transported only a few miles for you to enjoy it. Uh, you know. Um, so uh, you know, I like to like to take them to neighborhoods to eat and drink.
SPEAKER_03Right. Any current favorite, anything you're digging right now, uh restaurant-wise?
SPEAKER_00I mean, M peppers. You know, I'm a Highlands girl, uh, and you know, no jokes about Bargetown Road around me. I'm not having it. Um we we are um strong business corridor, and our job is to go out and eat. Yeah, spend money.
SPEAKER_03As as the outro to this, I will have some thoughts similar to yours uh as we as we close the show, I believe, um, to talk about the Highlands. Um my new new newly opened favorite is Cipollini. Uh I have not been yet.
SPEAKER_00It's at the end of my street. I mean, like I am really that's my Bonnie Castle. I'm really good. Okay.
SPEAKER_03It's really good. I'm also on Bonnie Castle on the other side of Bartzone Road. So uh I'm gonna I'm gonna save this one for the after this. So I have four or five of the Olmstead Park t-shirts. If you haven't seen them, they have them individualized for parks, then with all the parks listed on the back. It's an awesome also the t-shirts are super soft, and I'm a t-shirt snob, and I would not wear them, even though I would love to support it. Oh, they're great. They're great, of course. So I have Tyler, Shawnee, Central, Iroquois, and that might be it. But um, whose idea was that? It was a great idea, and you sell them at the sell them at your events and beer festivals, but um as a fundraiser, where did that come from?
SPEAKER_00Well, I was came from the incredible staff team of the Olenstead Parks Conservancy who were really inspired by the national parks uh imagery.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um, and so you you see that you know each of them is unique to the park. Uh, it's designed by, you know, local press artist, you know, takes key features of that park uh and reflects them. Um and I think they've done an incredible job. I mean, I love every one of them. Thank you for plugging that. Um the next one to come out will be Bingham Park. Awesome. Uh which is a sweet little neighborhood park in the Clifton area. Yeah. Um, but it is uh being re sort of refreshed for an overdue master plan associated with American Printing House for the Blind's dot experience because that park has been there. You know, the School for the Blind has been there since 1842, I think. Something crazy like that. And and students have been using that park for performances, it's safe passage to employment on lower uh Brownsboro Road. So we're gonna restore it as one of the most accessible parks in America. Uh so the t-shirt, we're gonna try to give some kind of an homage. I don't know how yet. So think about Braille, think about the Dodd experience. Um but you know, uh really making sure that that whole area um really is uh a unique experience given the the treasure that the American Printing House for the Blind is another national, you know, uh uh wonder that we don't know about in the world. You know, we have to keep our nice things. The Olmstead park system was one of our original nice things. Uh and so I'm always gonna uh share what's special about us, and I think American Printing House for the Blind is another.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think the Dodd experience is set to open in October, I believe. Yeah. Uh I got in when I don't think the windows were in yet, but got a tour of this is gonna be here and it's gonna be awesome. And I think that will sort of break down some of that of folks not knowing that they got here because they're gonna be people coming from all over the world to see this. So um uh Finny, well then we're gonna let you plug something in a second coming up. Oh, for the t-shirts. Can people get those online?
SPEAKER_00Yes, okay, absolutely. You can order them online, we'll ship them to your house.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, the website is Oh, what is it? Oh, or is it just your almost deadparks.org. Yeah, yeah. There you go. Um, we'll finish this sentence uh and then we'll have you plug something coming up.
SPEAKER_00Olmstead Parks is a success if these parks are here for every generation of every Louisville that is to come.
SPEAKER_03Great. And what can we look forward to coming up? Uh, where can we find Olmstead Parks out in the wild coming up?
SPEAKER_00You can well, you can always find us out in the wild. You'll see our crew out there in the parks all the time. They're they're amazing. Talk to them. They know what they're doing. They might be uh removing an invasive uh plant uh or repairing a trail, uh, but you'll see our team out there. Uh but we do have uh some beer garden dates coming up. We'll be at Tyler Park September 4th. Um we will be uh at Shelby Park October 16th, and then Hayride, which is an annual event. We sort of move to our flagship parks, we'll be at Shawnee Park on October 25th. So mark your fall calendar as the weather starts to chill out a little bit.
SPEAKER_03It's Labor Day weekend for Tyler Park then, right? Oh yeah, and that'll be big.
SPEAKER_00You know, Tyler Park comes out like it is no joke.
SPEAKER_03I have yes, I have and it and it's a great mix of you know, like families and yeah, friends with kids love it too, and so the kids can go run around and they can, you know, have their beers and yeah, we do buy a shirt.
SPEAKER_00We even bring like nature play uh and pop up play because we know when parents are drinking beer, it's a great time for the kids uh to play. For sure in a safe and wonderful environment.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, well, I will see you out there. Um Mary, thanks so much for coming on. It's been really nice having you on and keep up the great work at Olmstead Parks Conservancy.
SPEAKER_00Thank you. We appreciate this time and your support.
SPEAKER_02I'm Jim Allen, Vice Chair of Baird. For over a century, Louisville families have relied on Baird to provide customized financial solutions. In addition to wealth planning and trust services, Baird also offers extensive investment banking capabilities to clients ranging from large corporations to family-owned businesses. Finally, our public finance team provides valuable advice to municipalities, school districts, and academic institutions in need of capital. Yes, Louisville, Baird has you covered.
SPEAKER_01All right, well, great interview. Um, funny story about Frederick Law Olmsted. Um, if you've ever read the book Devil in the White City, it's about the Chicago World's Fair in uh, I can't remember, the late 1800s. Um Frederick Law Olmsted is a character in that book. It's like one of those historical fiction books, and he has a howling toothache the whole time. He seems like a very miserable man. But um, I don't know if that was based on any actual historic record or if that was just a uh detail that the author threw in as kind of a I don't know, something to make him more memorable. But uh he he also had a hand in designing the Chicago World's Fair. Ah, okay. Uh so that's the connection there. It was a very famous book. I'm sure a lot of people have read it. And that's just the every time I think of Frederick Law Homestead, I think of that. Um, but anyway, I guess uh before we go, we'll we'll do our uh our uh uh segment, give us something to think about, and Shay, I'll start with you. Why don't you give us something to think about?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you know, a lot of times we're getting ready to go on air and we're like, ah, I need something to think about. And this one's easy this week for me. Um we're working on a story about it now. Mary alludes to it a little bit in her interview too as a Highlands resident, but um obviously there's been a lot of uh debate, talk over Bardstown Road, safety, license suspensions, citations, arrests. Um but I think probably the most frightening thing now that's come out is um some of the groups of uh residents who live around Barstown Road are trying to get a petition, which no no fault about trying to get this petition. It's everyone's right. But the result would be basically making uh sections of Barstown Road moist, which would mean that there'd be really heavy restrictions, including if you're a bar that doesn't sell food, you either have to start selling food or probably go out of business. Right. Um the there's a high concentration in those areas of of some gay bars. They don't uh most of them don't serve food, to my knowledge. Um, so it also seems sort of selective in that nature. Um there, you know, it's the highest concentration of gay bars in the city there. But beyond that, there are certain caveats in this in this moist law, would which would mean one of them that I read and uh I think was an LKY report would be that you have to serve food with a beer, so you couldn't just go into like Jack Fries and sit at the bar and get a cocktail. Oh, I didn't know that. And um so it it it would cause businesses that as a Highlands resident we love on Bargetown Road to close. Obviously, what's going on or has been going on is not ideal, but I don't think you could blame a neighborhood bar for that sort of thing. And I just I if it does go on the November ballot, I would encourage people to vote against that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, it kind of does seem like uh a uh a nuclear option to this. Right, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03It's like yes, this is a problem. It's also happened before. And we had other and in other parts of town, and uh I was talking to um our regional editor if uh a little behind the curtain here. Uh eat each of us are in a have a regional editor who just give us advice, they don't manage us or anything. But ours is based out of Baltimore, and I had a meeting with her last week just to catch up, and she's like, Shay, this is happening in Baltimore too. Yeah. The exact same thing. Yeah. So um it's crappy, it's bad, but like forcing a bar uh that has absolutely nothing to do with this to possibly close is acinine to me.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it seems like there's a lot of solutions to this problem.
SPEAKER_03So cut me off there because I'll just keep going.
SPEAKER_01All right. Well, um, I guess I'll uh in typical old man rant fashion, I will rant about the uh this plan to put uh um paid parking in Newloo. Uh, you know, I get what they're saying. The mayor's office is saying if we have people pay for parking, it will encourage more turnover. People won't linger along as long in restaurants and then new people come to restaurants and it'll be good for business. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's also like, man, can we just stop with a nickel and diamond everywhere you go, you gotta pay for something.
SPEAKER_03Uh I will say, in defense of that rule, I mean, like, that's the thing is like if you live around here, you know these new loo hacks. Like you can park on clay between like and so so I was going to a concert, I think it was Pete Fest on the waterfront, and I just found a like a hundred dollar room at the Cambria and was like, oh, I'll check it out and stay there. I didn't pay to park because you could park on the street on a I think it was maybe a s even a Saturday. So they're kind of trying to get around that. So my car sat there for like a good almost 24 hours without moving.
SPEAKER_01I did the same thing at Genevieve.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. Um, and that's gonna come to an end. Although, you know, Louisville still has Sunday grace. You can, you know, you don't have to pay on Sundays, but um, but yeah, it's gonna be more of a new Lou's nuts right now.
SPEAKER_01Something happened a few years ago in my brain, and I said, I'm never paying for parking again. And I well, I do pay for monthly parking in a garage, so that's a lot. But you know, so I always find a place to park, whether I'm visiting Newloo, if I'm going to a soccer game, I don't pay for the parking. I park in Newload usually. Um, this is gonna be paid parking on East Market, Jefferson, South Hancock, South Clay, South Shelby, South Campbell, and South Winsel, uh, between Maine and Jefferson Streets. So, man, that's a lot of paid parking.
SPEAKER_03Here's what I wonder will that the people like you and me, will they just move a little farther north into Butchertown where there is some street parking?
SPEAKER_01Park and Jeff across the big floor bridge.
SPEAKER_03But yeah, I mean, there have been times where I've been going to like um West Six and I've maybe parked into or technically in Butchertown and it's two blocks. So yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, all those, you know, it's usually usually you park somewhere down there and you can get to all points.
SPEAKER_03But and then but Butchertown obviously is mostly residential, so like are those people gonna start grumbling because people are parking in front of their houses?
SPEAKER_01I get it. Caesar needs his money, but uh yeah. So I'm still gonna complain about it. Uh anyway, uh, I guess that is it for our show. If you like what you hear, uh please uh consider listening to us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Uh thank you very much, Shay. Thank you, Mary Grissom, and thank you guys for listening to us out there. And of course, thanks, Baird, for the support, and we will see you next time. Bye, we can't see.