Historic Photos of Louisville

Founded in 1778 by George Rogers Clark at the falls of the Ohio River, the city of Louisville emerged quickly as a center for river commerce. Through the Civil War, the early twentieth century, two world wars, and into the modern era, Louisville has continued to shine as a great American city steeped in history.

Historic Photos of Louisville captures the journey of Kentucky’s largest city through hundreds of historic photographs culled from the finest archives in local, national, and private collections. Handsomely bound in one volume and showcased in vivid black-and-white are images of the best-known and many lesser-known landmarks and key moments from the city’s past.

Join writer James Anderson in this nostalgic look back at penny farthings and the Dixie Flyer automobile, mule-drawn trolleys and the L&N Railroad, bourbon whiskey, the Louisville Slugger, the Flood of 1937, the Sennings European Hotel, the grand Rialto Theater, and of course Churchill Downs, among a potpourri of other fascinating subjects.