My tour guide called Louisville “Manhattan’s little sister”. I would make one slight amendment to that: “Manhattan’s POLITE & CLEAN little sister.” (No offense, New Yorkers.)
You’re probably wondering what on earth NYC and Louisville, Kentucky could possibly have in common, and here it is: the street art. Both cities take great pride in making their streets as aesthetically stimulating as possible, making such a difference in the lives of local residents as well as being a huge draw for tourists. Here are a few of my favorite pieces around Louisville.
The Bike Racks
In 2001, the Louisville Downtown Management District commissioned local artists to create unique back rack sculptures to be scattered throughout downtown Louisville in lieu of traditional (need we say “eye sore”?) racks. The first one I saw, I gasped, “What a gorgeous sculpture!”
My guide informed me that it was actually one of the many functional racks that doubles as art. I thought this idea was just brilliant. Bloomberg, I hope you’re reading!
The Horses
You can’t go far in Louisville without spying a horse…and often they’re of the painted variety, standing guard outside a downtown restaurant or business.
Each of these horses is part of Gallopalooza, an event held every five years that bridges artists, sponsors, and an auction that will bring these life size horse statues to their forever home. Fantastic way to show that Kentucky pride, give back to your community, and dazzle tourists such as myself.
The Statues
Much like the Big Apple, Louisville has no shortage of iconic statues. I was particularly entertained by this 30 foot tall David statue gracing the sidewalk.
The Disco Ball
Walking to dinner one night, I spotted this disco ball hanging on a street corner. Impromptu dance party on the corner of Market and Floyd? I think yes! If that’s not Manhattan’s little sister, I don’t know what is.
Jessica Tiare Bowen lives in the juicy Big Apple with her adorable pink-nosed chihuahua, Gillman. He’s the inspiration for her first published children’s book, “Park Avenue Pound Puppy.” The book is the combined result of her two greatest passions: pooches and penning stories.
Her passions include art, urban hikes through Manhattan, drinking coffee with 3 creams and 6 sugars, making extremely detailed itineraries and traveling to far away places, singing along to Broadway shows, Netflix movie nights, discovering incredible treasures at Goodwill and thrift stores, and listening to stories from little people under 7 and big people over 70.
She started her career as New York City Teaching Fellow, teaching elementary school and theater arts at a special education school in the South Bronx for 6 years. She is now a Special Education School Improvement Specialist working in public schools throughout New York City. She is the Editor-In-Chief of the online New York City travel magazine, Used York City. The magazine focuses on finding the best of New York…as used by New Yorkers. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and an ASPCA Ambassador.
