Beechmont is a neighborhood in the south end of

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. Its modern boundaries are

I-264 Interstate 264 is the designation for two Interstate Highways in the United States, both of which are related to Interstate 64: *Interstate 264 (Kentucky), a bypass of Louisville, Kentucky *Interstate 264 (Virginia) Interstate 264 (I-264) i ...

to the north, Taylor Boulevard to the west, Southern Parkway and Southland Boulevard to the south, and Third Street, Allmond and Louisville Avenues to the east. Iroquois Park is located to its southwest. The park, purchased by Louisville Mayor

Charles Donald Jacob Charles Donald Jacob (June 1, 1838 – December 25, 1898) was an American politician who served four terms as mayor of Louisville, Kentucky, two consecutively in 1873-78, then later in 1882-84 and 1888-90. He also served as the U.S. minister to ...

in 1889 and completed in 1893, was connected to the city by Southern Parkway (originally called Grand Boulevard), in a master plan designed by

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co ...

. Much like Shawnee Park spurred development in the

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

neighborhood, Iroquois Park contributed to making Beechmont a desirable suburb as it was developed in the 1890s. The neighborhood was named for the beech trees in the area, as Beechmont was to be a pleasant escape from the crowded urban area of Louisville. Due to its relative distance from Louisville, it was originally intended as a summer neighborhood for the wealthy, and was a part of the city of Highland Park - which incorporated in 1890. The dominant architectural style of early houses in the neighborhood is the Craftsman style. It was linked to Louisville by a

streetcar line A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

along 4th street in 1900, and the city was

annex Annex or Annexe refers to a building joined to or associated with a main building, providing additional space or accommodations. It may also refer to: Places * The Annex, a neighbourhood in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada * The Annex (New H ...

ed by Louisville in 1922, after a 5-year court battle. Beechmont escaped flooding during the

Great Flood of 1937 The Ohio River flood of 1937 took place in late January and February 1937. With damage stretching from Pittsburgh to Cairo, Illinois, 385 people died, one million people were left homeless and property losses reached $500 million ($10.2 billion ...

, and was a temporary disaster shelter. The neighborhood expanded slightly as new developments were built after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. These developments were often unpopular with the residents of Beechmont. The neighborhood suffered a decline in the 1960s, following the same pattern as all of the older neighborhoods. As of 2000, Beechmont had a population of 8,021.

References

External links

Beechmont Neighborhood AssociationStreet map of Beechmont Images of Beechmont (Louisville, Ky.) in the University of Louisville Libraries Digital Collections

— Article by Kristin Faurest of ''

The Courier-Journal ''The Courier-Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), is the highest circulation newspaper in Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett and billed as "Part of the ''USA Today'' Net ...

'' {{Louisville Neighborhoods in Louisville, Kentucky 1890s establishments in Kentucky Populated places established in the 1890s