Who's familiar with the West End around 25th and Market ST.

When I was a kid I lived on the West end of Louisville 25th and Market ST. Main street one block over was a pretty nice street. Lined with beautiful trees and nice houses.

Had a school called West something H.S. can't remember. Down aways on main st.  I went to J.B. Atkinson elementary school. We walked from 25th and Market ST to school never a problem.

Best friends were Keith Barksdale and a black kid named Steve Johnson. My Aunt owned a Marathon gas station at intersection.

But got to rowdy and parents moved to PLANT CITY Florida when I was in 6th grade. Totally different life from big city. Loved it back then.

But I had a great time back then. Use to go to the Boy's club alot and was a Scout.

Several years ago while visiting relatives in my great home state of KY. Decided to visit Louisville. While there drove to 25th and Market ST. Holy F totally different place. I did not feel safe in the day time. I'd not even think about going there at night.

It's really sad how areas can degrade for whatever reason like that. That's all I'll say about that.

Miss KY hope one day to come home. The smell of that clay and dirt in the country is so different than here. Green and Adair counties. Miss Dumas Walker slaw burgers and a cup of chili in Greensburg
Plus my family there.  

I rode that beat in uniform then worked the area as a Detective for the majority of my career starting in the early 90's..."open air drug market" covers it.

You could throw a rock in any direction from that intersection and hit a dope house, a hooker or a corpse, depending on the time of day. Groups of unsavory characters standing around holding their crotch drinking Colt 45.
Classic case of gentrification.
If I had to guess I would say there probably isn't a homeowner anywhere near there, and nearly everything is section 8.

It'a a shame, too; the west end used to be 'the place' to live and work until sometime in the late 60's, early 70's from what I understand. Some of the architecture is amazing.

Yeah I live there as a kid in late 60s to early till 72 or 73. There use to be a really goid bakery on one corner. A produce stand on the other. The coffee shop or stop diner there.

The HOUSE we lived in and my aunt's house who owned the Marathon Gas Station that was on the corner are both gone as is the little post office.

It really sad what happened there. We use to go down to the river front and there was a fish house there fixed up like an old paddle boat. Plus I remember a White Castle down there some place.

Dad use to take us to wrestling to see Tojo Yamamoto and Jerry Jarrit or Garret, something like that.

That big cemetery use to make me feel uneasy when I walked by it on the way to J.B. Atkinson school.

I had a good time there. Would pump gas for pocket change sometimes at the gas station.

Oh yeah there use to be some kind of amusement park down by the river towards Shawnee park I believe.

I remember now Fontaine Ferry Park was it's name. I remember the Shawnee Park B.S. my mom flipped. She was not a happy camper about all that. I remember it being called Ghost Town on the River too.
Was a really great amusement park at one time.

But as usual like today. Crap happens and rioting, looting and burning. It never changes. They will always feel as if they are owed something for nothing. Plus no matter what, it'll never be good enough.  No matter what you do. I just don't get the you owe us attitude. For what, being born.

Fontaine_Ferry_Park

That was a Kingfish down near the river in the heart of downtown; it got torn down a few years back . That White Castle is still there on 105 E Market St, but it's undergone a couple of renovations.

Theres still a Kingfish down on the river near Zorn, out near the VA hospital.

Kingfish that was it. That place was cool back in the day. That was the place to go. I'm moving back to KY one day. Obviously not the West End and not Louisville it's changed too much

Probably back to Greensburg, Columbia area. Bunch hillbilly relatives there. Lots of cousins too.

Thanks for sharing.  I was not aware of some of this history of Louisville such as the amusement park.

My grandparents lived in the West End in the early 50's and I can remember their house and the neighborhood being very nice. They would often take my sister and me to Fontain Ferry. Later they moved to Butchertown and my uncle worked for Falls City brewery. My grandparents had a cabin on the Ohio River at Turners Beach and we would go there in the summers. My sister and I would swim in the river. I wouldn't want to do that today. I can remember going shopping with my mother to the main shopping district, 4th Street(there were no suburbs and no malls at that time). Now full of mostly boarded up and failing businesses. It's really sad and I don't even live there. It's just that my memories of the things that should have been built on and preserved are now crumbling. We have lost so much at the hands of vandals. It makes me think of the Romans and their civilization burned and pillaged by the Goths.

Same here it was a really beautiful area st one time full of history and great memories. To see what has become of it today just breaks my heart.

There is no excuse for it to be honest. The community once represent the quality of people that lived there. They had pride in where they lived. Based upon how it looks now. Well like I said...quality of people. They have zero pride in themselves or community.

I remember cherokee park also when we live once on St Catherine street and E Oak St. My brother, friends and I  use to ride our bikes there all the time. There was bike trails in the woods on really steep hills in an area. Man we were stupid as kids.

I looked at street view and even that area looked like a slum area. There use to be really nice old houses there. Went to school on E. Oak St can't remember name of school but it's no longer there maybe.

My dad worked for the university of Louisville in the maintenance dept. That over saw the HVAC and other things I guess. Use to love going to UL I remember atching Artis Gillmore in a game there once. Use to wonder campus all the time. I remember girl streakers running around several times

I remember when we moved to the small town of PLANT CITY Florida it was alien to me. So different here. Lots of sand. Did I mention fire ant's holy hell. I stood in a mound of them when we first came here. My God those things are monsters.

Went to Tomlin Jr high and PLANT CITY HIGH. Then went Into the Army. To the 1st Ranger Batt. Got out and wanted to go into L.E. But wife said nooo.

We owned an accounting business. Did that for several years. Had enough and she continued the office. I then went to work for Hillsbourough County Fire Rescue as a Firefighter and Paramedic. Loved  that career. I good friend of mine that came to work for HCFR came from Louisville FIRE RESCUE. Really great guy.

Just about everything changes eventually. I'm 41, and can remember when Bardstown Rd was a 2 lane until it crossed Buelah Church rd. That was before Gene Snyder was built. Dad moved us from a no-stoplight-town in eastern Ky to Mt Washington. I absolutely hated it, and got out as soon as I could, but eventually wondered back for work and women. Now I'm back in the middle of nowhere and nothing beats it.

Heard that brother. I love the country down around eastern KY.

I remember as a young kid. Visiting relatives in Horse Cave, Greensburg, Columbia and other areas down there. Some did not have running water, outhouse used wood burning stoves to heat and cook with. Had to use a porcelain pot at night. My uncle's house you could see through the joints in the floor in a areas. It was all unfinished wood too.

When he got a hand pump in the house he was moving up in life it was a two story house too. He owned over 150 acres of land that he grew tobacco on. Worked there during summer. Loading tobacco onto trailor, taking to barn to hang. Great days as a kid.

Remember there was a Democrat that live up on a hill about 200 yrs away. I remember hearing conversations about them shooting at each other. Specifically using the word 8mm mauser. Lol.

My understanding is my uncle ran and served as county commissioner a few times. He had 8 kids, 5 girls and 3 boys. Let me tell you. Those girls did not recognize the meaning of what cousin meant. You had to run from them. LOL

there's nothing though like a country girl in Jean cut offs and boots on. Not talking about my cousins either. Went back when I was 16 and spent a month up there with my older male cousin. He knew alot of girls.

My wife of 32 years is a Florida girl though. She will not leave Florida I live on Tampa bay here. Bought property and built my home myself. Drove just about every nail. I could not afford to buy here now.

My God the value sky rocketed it cost me 110k for lot and to build. Now my home is worth over 400k. I figure I could buy a nice spread in KY for that. My homes paid for too.

But until then I'd like to sell and move to the pan handle it's beautiful up there and more of a country setting. But here in Florida we got those pesky things called hurricanes. Which the wind is bad, but the flooding is worse. Plus everything here want's to either kill you or eat you.

Between the sharks grabbing your fish on the stringer tied to your belt or kayak or alligators. Biggest gator I've seen was every bit of 13 ft long. I hate bull sharks.

Plus Florida is starting to just plain get to crowded. I've never seen so many Yankee tags in my life. NY, Illinois, Washington, Oregon and other North Eastern states. I hate those AHs.

Bunch of aggregant pos that act like they know more than people from the South. We'll they did not know that much they screwed up their states, now they want to F up the South by doing the samething that made them run away from up there.

I'd move back to KY tomorrow if my wife would move.

Oh forgot to mention the baracuda here. I had one come up the transom of the boat once. Within 3 to 4 inches of my face. The only thing that stopped it from getting my face or neck was that it hit the splash guard. It's body rubbed by hands. I caught a fish and it wanted it more than me. But the thing waited till I was about to lift it out of the water.

I had an AR15 stuck barrel first in a rod holder. That fish circled the boat after that. Until I got a shot at it. It actually swam right alone side of boat on it's side with it's head and big eye out of water looking up at boat. Bam bam used it for bait those things are so fast you can hardly see them move. It was about 5 ft long. Kept it's teeth.

My uncle has about 200 acres in Greensburg. It's nice out that way. I'll be out there soon to take care of his groundhog problem. He also has another farm in Pike county. Never seen so many snakes in my life. Copperheads and rattlers everywhere.

My wife spent the first 38 years of her life in Louisville. It took some convincing to get her out of there. Now, when she visits, she hates it. Says it's too noisy and too ghetto.

I like being able to shoot anywhere anytime. I'll never go back to the city.

See that's my problem. Wife has never lived out of town or real close to it.

Yeah up in Greensburg I did shoot alot. Pike County, got relatives that way to. My great grandmother was a Blankenship. I remember she was old school. I remember chasing me as a you'd child. Saying come back here you little devil I used to love that old courthouse in the sq in Greensburg I thought that was the coolest thing.

Don't know if it's still there. But the tobacco auction house I remember was in Greensburg too right outside of town on your way to the cut off to Columbia.

Indian arrow heads all over the place in the woods there. In dried up creek beds. My mom's brother was metal detecting once and found a gold nugget in a dried creek bed. He got the fever after that lol. I still wonder if somebody planted to mess with him.

I remember a little store called Warf's general store some where around there. Had an old meat counter and pool table. Made the best sandwiches there.

It was out near a private stocked pond full of catfish. That was open to the public to fish for a price of coarse.

Spent the first years of my life in Whitley county. Still have an arrowhead that dad found while digging a footer for the porch. Used to carry it my pocket until it started to wear smooth.

I'm related to the McCoys in Pike. I hear a lot of Fued stories that aren't common knowledge.

My wife finally decided it was time to move when we began having problems with roving gangs of feral teenagers. Also after some guy tried to come in the house and our dog almost got him. Out here, we only have an occasional goat or cow to deal with, and a 12ga shot into the dirt sends them home.

Cool Took a DNA test it came back that my great great grandfather was a John McCoy. From my understanding the Blankenship, Bunch and McCoy clans were related in some way.

I'm also related to the Bunch, Blankenship on my mom's side of the family. Did not know about the John McCoy till I did the DNA test. That's all I know.

Never knew my great grandfather Blankenship. But do remember my great grandmother Blankenship. She was living in Columbia when she passed away. I have alot of family in that big cemetery there. My uncle was Condy Blankenship I really like him.

Wow just discovered my cousin died Ricky Blankenship 2 years ago. We played together as kids.

I never went any further than that. But sister researched all they way back to the REVOLUTIONARY WAR.

I do know our relatives fought both on the confederate side from Ky. My mom told me the Bunch side of the family were crazy and mean lol.

I was born in Glasgow Ky heck I've got family all over up there.

Related to Warf out of Greensburg also. There were some bad characters back in the day from what I was told. I remember one they called Trigger. Those are long lost days of a different era. Back when it was a wilder time I guess.

I do remember Trigger though. You did not mistreat children around him. He was shot point blank in the chest with a shot gun I was told. The only thing that saved him was he threw both hands up across his chest. Lost several fingers. He spent a large part of his life in the Kentucky State Prison for one thing or another. Do not know what though.

But all those old places are gone and people are more civilized now lol. My parents lived in Russell Springs back when that State Trooper was shot by I guess some drug dealers or boot leggers on that road that leads into London. Think that was back in 80s I was in the ARMY then.

I was home on leave and turned my motorcycle around in the rd in front of their trailor they lived in. Ass wipes came out and chased me back to my parents house and flipped me off as they went by.

Awesome. My 3x great grandpa fought for the Confederacy. He joined the 13th Alabama partisan rangers at age 45.

I would not recommend moving to Louisville. I spent the first few years in south Louisville, near the Downs and across from Iroquois Park. Busing started and white flight populated the surrounding counties.

I joined the Army and eventually met my wife, who lived in southern KY. I have lived in this area for over 17 years, and will never go back north. Plenty of lakes, forests, very rock ribbed conservative area. I’m within 2-3 hours of the smokies and East TN.

Columbia and Greensburg are nice rural areas as well. Really anywhere in KY is nice outside Louisville.

The sad part is Louisville has a rich history as a river town, cool architecture, historic neighborhood and had a revitalized downtown

Yep. I'd never move back. I  dont care how hot she is lol

https://www.wdrb.com/news/yvette-gentry-named-as-new-lmpd-interim-chief-interim-chief-robert-schroeder-to-retire-oct/article_b7f2afd0-edfa-11ea-8d41-d31941d43036.html

new / temporary (?) police chief there

nice thread guys, hope I didn't ruin it just now

Was looking at Google maps my aunt's gas station was on the corner of 26th and W Market st not 25th.

It brought back some memories seeing that park down by J.B. Atkinson school and looking at the area I played in as a child.

Made me remember that mean 3rd grade teacher also that took a ruler and used it to whip the palm of my hand once. Just for chewing gum, bitch.

But yeah the old house and the houses around it are all gone. Torn down and just empty lots. Man that place is beyond being a dump.

26th and Broadway was the location where a National Guardsman shot and killed the "barbeque man" during a riot this summer. Also at that same intersection is Dino's Food Mart. The City has just ordered them to shut down and vacate the property declaring them a "public nuisance" because of all the criminal activity and homeless loitering. The LMPD made over 1,000 runs to that location in the last 2 years. 26th St. and surroundings has become a real shithole.