Hey, history buffs. Submit your unofficial historical locations around town.
Have you ever looked at a local spot and thought, “This place deserves to be commemorated?” Our city is full of legendary locations — many of which are indicated by historical markers.
Historical markers reveal significant places, streets, neighborhoods, buildings, businesses, and cultural events from the past or present. Think: Muhammad Ali’s childhood home + Louisville Gay Liberation Front.
But not all significant areas get the attention they deserve. What about the block in Old Louisville separating two iconic Derby City burgers? Or the back alley behind Richmond Drive where Jack Harlow posed for his “Jackman” album cover? We want to put these places on the map — literally.
Rules + details
Submit your historic place for a chance to be featured nationwide on our historical marker map. Our favorite submissions will then be featured in our newsletter, where we’ll put it to a vote. Who knows? Maybe it will receive an official historical marker.
Submissions are open through 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 3.
Finalists will be selected by our team and announced in our newsletter. These finalists will then go head-to-head in a vote for our readers’ favorite. The winner will be announced later in December. No promises that it will get an actual historical marker, but it will be one in our hearts.
Want to know more about official historical markers around town? Check out Kentucky’s Historic Marker Program.
Submit here.
The Results
The votes are in for the LOUtoday historical markers contest. Check out the finalists below, including the contest winner decided by your votes.
Winner: Vendome Copper and Brass Works
It was a close race for your top pick, but with 35% of the vote, Vendome Copper and Brass Works took the No. 1 spot. Reader Ken P. nominated this Butchertown manufacturing facility as being worthy of recognition. In business since 1903, the outfit has supplied the equipment for several distilling operations throughout Kentucky and beyond. It survived the flood of 1937, when the water reached “the shop rafters before receding.”
During WWII, Vendome shifted from creating spirit distilling equipment to making equipment for industrial alcohol — think: antifreeze, plastics, and medical supplies — as the US government halted beverage spirit production. After the war, the company expanded into equipment for beer, chemical, pharmaceutical, dairy, and confectionery manufacturers.
Birdie and Vi’s
Reader Susan O. submitted the two buildings that remain from what was once a thriving African-American community — including a bar where Muhammad Ali’s dad would come and brag about the exploits of his son — on W. Magnolia Avenue in what is now Old Louisville.
Victor Mature Childhood Home
Readers Chip R. + Pam C. both recalled that one of Hollywood’s leading men from the 1940s + 1950s was born in Shelby Park.
Hunter S. Thompson’s Childhood Home
Sumbitted by reader Tim M., this Highlands home is where the famous journalist grew up. He gained acclaim as an adult, writing for publications like Rolling Stone and authoring books like 1972’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.”
It doesn’t stop there — we got more submissions than these. Just check out our map of unofficial historical locations — both locally and across the nation.
