The Top 10 Fun Facts about Louisville

When you think of Louisville, KY, what is the first thing that comes to mind? The Kentucky Derby? Bourbon? Baseball bats? Sure, but there are so many other fun and unique things about Louisville, host city to #AACTE2019, that you may not know.

For example, did you know … ?

  1. Louisville is the disco ball capitol of the world. In fact, 90% of the disco balls in the USA are produced in Louisville.
  2. There is a replica of Babe Ruth’s baseball bat in downtown Louisville.
  3. The Old Fashioned is Louisville’s official cocktail, which is not to be confused with the Mint Julep that is the official Kentucky Derby cocktail—where over 100,000 Mint Juleps are served.
  4. The oldest operating Mississippi-style steamboat is in Louisville – the Belle of Louisville is over 100 years old!
  5. In October of 1803 Meriwether Lewis met William Clark just across the river from Louisville, at the Falls of the Ohio.
  6. Louisville’s signature dish is a comfort food free-for-all called the Hot Brown. It’s an open-faced sandwich with turkey and bacon smothered in Mornay sauce (main ingredients: butter and heavy cream), topped with Parmesan cheese and roma tomatoes, and oven-broiled.
  7. Louisville has one of the largest collections of Victorian homes in the country, and the largest collection of cast-iron building facades outside of New York’s SoHo district.
  8. Louisville is the hometown of boxing champion Muhammad Ali, and they will change the name of the airport to cement that fact. Visit the Muhammad Ali Center while in town.
  9. Louisville is also the hometown of Diane Sawyer, Jennifer Lawrence and Hunter S. Thompson. It’s also where a young Tom Cruise landed his first gig—as a newspaper delivery boy.
  10. The cheeseburger and high five really were invented in Louisville

As you plan for your stay in Louisville next month, I hope you will consider dining on a Hot Brown, visiting the Muhammad Ali Center, cruising aboard the Belle, and enjoying all that Louisville has to offer. Make sure to register by January 28, before the rates increase.


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