Melo Villareal
Over recent years Louisville, Kentucky, has managed to climb the cultural ladder with its lively atmosphere and array of attractions. Also known as the New Louisville, or NuLu, the city on the Ohio River boasts fantastic scenery, events and attractions. The city’s history has also had an influence on its newfound popularity, with some of the world’s most influential characters descending from the city. NuLu is a great up-and-coming place to visit so here are just a few of the city’s greatest stories.
Valhalla Golf Course image by Pga.com
Muhammad Ali
Kentucky’s largest city is renowned as being the home to one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. The Louisville Lip began his career in the city after a thief stole his bicycle at the age of 12. He was so angry over the incident that he told the local police officer, Joe E Martin, that he would “whup” the thief. Martin’s fantastic reply? “You’re going to need to learn how to box first….”
The Muhammad Ali Center by the river in Louisville is a cultural museum celebrating the life and career of the superstar. The center features exhibitions based around the boxer’s core values in life and his quest to be the best athlete that he could be.
Happy Birthday
Louisville has not only been the home to famous figures, it is also the birthplace of the celebrated song – ‘Happy Birthday’. It has since become the most recognised song in the English language and can be traced back to a kindergarten in Louisville. Two sisters, Patty and Mildred Hill, first wrote the song at the kindergarten where they worked in 1893.
The song lyrics were originally ‘Good Morning To You’ but over time it has been adjusted to become the popular celebratory song we hear today.
Valhalla Golf Course
The city is also the base of one of the greatest golf courses in the world. The 486-acre course, deisgned by professional golfer, Jack Nicklaus, has hosted the PGA Championships twice and will for a third time next week as golfing legend, Tiger Woods, will be making an appearance. The star has recently been given an extended deadline for the competition following a back injury he sustained earlier in the week. The injury to Woods has thrown the winner market with bet365 and other bookmakers wide open.
In the past, the event has attracted over 20,000 spectators from across the country and this year is set to be no different.
The Lousville Zoo
The zoo in NuLu boasts a fantastic set up with over 1700 animals across the 134-acre park. The fantastic attraction, founded in 1969, sees over 800,000 visitors each year and it isn’t hard to see why. With animals from across the world, the zoo has an excellent reputation and it has since been dubbed the ‘State Zoo of Kentucky’.
Home of the cheeseburger
The city has claimed to be origin of the ‘cheeseburger’. Although not certain, many say it began in a restaurant in the heart of the city in 1934. Restaurant owner, Kaelin, asked his wife to put a piece of cheese on his burger and the legend was supposedly born.
