Louisville Apartment Reviews

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Louisville Information

Opportunities were not, however, universal. Old segregation patterns remained in place. The library system, for example, was not open to Louisville Blacks before 1948; nor the University until 1950. It would be the 1960's before legal restrictions in housing, accommodation and employment began to fall in the city. The Courier-Journal, under the editorship of Barry Bingham Sr., would be a leader in the fight for civil rights in the community, as were many religious organizations. As late as 1975, court-ordered school busing sought to redress the effects of segregation on education, only to touch off a long period of local unrest.

Nature played havoc with the city at times during these years; a flood in 1964; a devastating tornado in 1974; the hard, bitter winter of 1977-78; and the city's largest snowfall and coldest temperature on record in the winter of 1994. The economy of Louisville would take some body-blows as well. The city population and tax base began to shrink over against the county and metro region. Following national trends, the old industrial base of the city began to shrink as well. In 1963, 42% of jobs were industrial; in 1982, only 26%. Yet, total employment grew, as Louisville became increasingly a city of "service industries" which came to account for some 40% of area workers. Particularly in the area of medicine, Louisville became nationally noted. Meanwhile, some old Louisville landmarks vanished: Reynolds Metals, Fontaine Ferry Park, the Louisville Times, Stewart's historic downtown department store, Kentucky Baptist, St. Joseph and St. Anthony Hospitals.

A newly-merged Jefferson County school system (joining the old city and county units) steadily pushed toward greater achievement, while higher education became increasingly significant. The University of Louisville more than doubled in size and allied with the University of Kentucky. Bellarmine College was established in 1950, and would become the Commonwealth's largest private college. Jefferson Community College opened downtown, and later added a southwest campus. Spalding attained university status. An imaginative Metroversity consortium was established in 1971. Over a generation, the metro area had become a serious "college town" with over 40,000 students engaged in higher education.