
Tyler Park is a neighborhood three miles (5 km) southeast of
downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
,
USA
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
. It is considered a part of a larger area of Louisville called
The Highlands
Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau.
Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to:
Places Africa
* Highlands, Johannesburg, South Africa
*Highlands, Harare, Zimbabw ...
. Near the middle of the neighborhood is a city park of the same name, and many houses in the neighborhood feature park views. The neighborhood boundaries are St Louis Cemetery to the north,
Bardstown Road
Bardstown Road is a major road in Louisville, Kentucky. It is known as "Restaurant Row" due to its many restaurants, bakeries, and cafes. It carries U.S. Route 31E and U.S. Route 150, from the intersection of Baxter Avenue (US  ...
to the east,
Eastern Parkway
Eastern Parkway is a major east–west boulevard in the borough (New York City), New York City borough of Brooklyn. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, it was built between 1870 and 1874 and has been credited as the world's fir ...
to the south and
Beargrass Creek to the west.
History
The first subdivision was laid out in 1873 by John H. Tucker between Baxter Avenue, Bardstown Road, Edenside Avenue, and about where Windsor Place would later be. However, because of its relatively remote location from downtown, development did not pick up until the 1880s. All early subdivisions were in the eastern section of the area, near Bardstown Road and away from the steep hills to the west. The extension of a
streetcar line
A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include segment ...
down Bardstown Road to Bonnycastle Avenue and the establishment of nearby
Cherokee Park
Cherokee Park is a municipal park located in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, and is part of the Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy. It was designed in 1891 by Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of landscape architecture along with 18 of ...
created demand around this time for housing in the area.
The last subdivision built in this part was Windsor Place in 1910, which was unusually strict, requiring all houses built there to sell for over $8,000 and have exteriors only of
brick
A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...
,
stucco
Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...
or stone. Utilities and wires were located in the alleys, to allow for an unobstructed view along the
maple
''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...
-lined street.
Further west, the sections between St. Louis and Calvary cemeteries were developed starting in 1907. The upper section was done by Edward A. Goddard, who lent his name to a street. The lower hilly section was developed by
John Breckinridge Castleman, a former Confederate army major and leader in creating Louisville's park system. He began purchasing the area, known as Schwartz's Woods, in the 1870s, intending to build a personal estate there, but realized this would be impractical as the city expanded around the land. He saw that there were relatively strict deed restrictions on the lots, including setbacks, prohibition of wood fences, a minimum cost of $6,000 for houses, and all structures on lots had to be built under one roof.
Tyler Park and Bridge
A city park was opened in 1910, named Tyler Park after mayor Henry S. Tyler who died during his term in 1896. This park would in turn lend its name to the surrounding neighborhood. One of the defining features of both the park and the neighborhood is the , built in 1904 (renamed after the opening of the park). Built of
Indiana limestone, the bridge allowed Baxter Avenue to span the valley north of
Eastern Parkway
Eastern Parkway is a major east–west boulevard in the borough (New York City), New York City borough of Brooklyn. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, it was built between 1870 and 1874 and has been credited as the world's fir ...
that would become Tyler Park. The design is attributed to
John Olmsted (son of
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, Social criticism, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the U ...
) and incorporates a large arched tunnel that allows pedestrians to freely walk from one part of the park to the other without crossing the busy street that bisects Tyler Park.
In 2018-202
the park underwent renovationsfunded by support from donors to an Olmsted Parks Conservancy's fundraising campaign, Louisville Parks and Recreation, Louisville Metro Government, Mayor Greg Fischer, Councilman Brandon Coan (District 8), and local residents fundraising efforts. The renovations included repairing and resurfacing two of the historic tennis courts, removing the old playground and replacing it with more modern play equipment (including a splash pad), adding in public bathrooms, new benches, lighting and replacing the tunnel's stairs with a wheelchair and stroller-friendly ramp. As of Dec 19, 2020, the following proposed planned renovations have not been completed: repairing and resurfacing two to four other tennis courts and creating two
pickleball
Pickleball is a racket or paddle sport in which two or four players use a smooth-faced paddle to hit a perforated, hollow plastic ball over a net until one side is unable to return the ball or commits a rule infraction. Pickleball is played i ...
courts.
Demographics
As of 2000, the population of Tyler Park was 2,867, of whom 91.9% are white, 3.9% are black, 3% are listed as other, and 1.2% are Hispanic. College graduates comprise 51.4% of the population, while people without a high school diploma make up 10.6%. Females outnumber males 52.2% to 47.8%.
See also
*
Forecastle Festival
The Forecastle Festival (pronounced "fore-castle") is a three-day music, art, and activism festival held annually in Louisville, Kentucky. The festival was founded in 2002 as a small gathering of local musicians in Tyler Park, Louisville, Tyler Pa ...
, held in Tyler Park 2002–2004
References
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Notes
External links
Tyler ParkImages of Tyler Park University of Louisville
The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...
Libraries Digital Collections
{{coord, 38.23090, -85.71660, display=title, scale:30000, name=Tyler Park
Neighborhoods in Louisville, Kentucky
Populated places established in 1873
1873 establishments in Kentucky