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Valhalla Golf Club, Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville

During the Civil War, Louisville was an important Union base of operations and a major military supply center. In the postwar era, the city emerged even more prosperous than before, with merchant princes and manufacturers shaping the new economy. Owing to its strategic location at the Falls of the Ohio, Louisville was a major commercial center. River transportation was supplemented by the construction of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, which was chartered in 1850 and operated more than 1,800 miles of line in the state by 1920. Joseph E. Seagram and Sons opened the world's largest distillery in Louisville following the repeal of prohibition. Thanks to companies such as Dupont, the city became the world's largest producer of synthetic rubber during World War II.

Louisville was also a city of firsts. In the reform-minded progressive era of the 1880's the city was the first in the nation to introduce the secret ballot, significantly reducing vote fraud. It was the first city in Kentucky to adopt zoning and planning measures to control and shape urban growth. Home to the first bridge designed exclusively for motor vehicles to cross the Ohio River, Louisville was also the birthplace of Mary Millicent Miller, the first woman in the United States to receive a steamboat master's license.

The city has been home to a number of men and women who changed the face of American history. President Zachary Taylor was reared in surrounding Jefferson County, and two U.S. Supreme Court Justices, including Louis D. Brandeis, the first Jewish Justice, were from the city proper. John James Audubon was a local shopkeeper in the early years of his career, drawing birds in his spare time. Second Lt. F. Scott Fitzgerald, stationed at Camp Zachary Taylor during World War I, was frequent presence at the bar in the famous Seelbach Hotel, immortalized in the novel The Great Gatsby. Muhammad Ali, perhaps the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, was born in Louisville and won six Golden Glove tournaments in Kentucky."

Make sure to visit some of the top attractions:

Fourth Street Live
Louisville's $70 million entertainment district has revitalized downtown, adding a variety of restaurants and entertainment venues, all within walking distance of the majority of downtown hotels. Tenants include; Hard Rock Cafe; Sully's Restaurant and Saloon; Saddle Ridge; The Pub; Lucky Strike, and the one and only Maker's Mark Bourbon House and Lounge.

Caesars Indiana
Caesars Indiana, just a short drive from Louisville, offers world-class gaming action for every level of player, with over 130 gaming tables and 2000 slot machines. Caesars guests enjoy the largest variety of customary casino games in Indiana - 24 hours a day. With four floors of gaming, guests can take their pick of luxuriously decorated casinos.

Churchill Downs
Recently completing a $121 million renovation and expansion, the racetrack is most famous for the oldest continuously run sporting event in the United States is the Kentucky Derby. Known as the 'Run for the Roses' or the greatest two minutes in sports, the Derby is the first leg of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred horse racing. In addition to the Derby, Churchill Downs hosts spring and fall race meets.

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom
Featuring more than 110 rides and attractions, including eight roller coasters, innovative shows, special concerts and events, games, gift shops and restaurants Six Flags suits all tastes. Big celebrities like Bugs Bunny and his Looney Tunes pals walk around Looney Tunes MovieTown. Hurricane Bay Water Park is complete with a gigantic wave pool, water slides and the relaxing lazy river.

Huber's Orchard & Winery and Joe Huber Family Farm & Restaurant
At Joe Huber Family Farm choose from a wide variety of just-picked fruits and vegetables in the Farm Market and Gift Shop. In the restaurant, everything is made from scratch. Huber's Orchard & Winery includes over 550 acres of farmland and offers a children's farm park, farm market, cheese shop, ice cream factory, winery, gift shop and a banquet facility.

Kentucky Derby Museum
The Kentucky Derby Museum, located next to Churchill Downs, captures the thrill and traditions of the Kentucky Derby every day in an exciting 360-degree high-definition multimedia show. The museum has exhibits and art to delight all ages. Guests can also take a walking tour through historic Churchill Downs to see the Grandstand, the Finish Line and Winner's Circle.

Derby Dinner Playhouse
An entertainment tradition for over thirty years, Derby Dinner Playhouse offers live-stage productions, a plentiful buffet, and desserts that are so big you'll need two spoons. Derby Dinner is one of the largest dinner theatres in the country seating 500 guests and entertaining over 200,000 people a year.

Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory
See the world's biggest bat! Exhibits at the interactive museum honors baseball's greatest hitters. The fun and fascinating tour includes a walk through of an underground locker room into a full-size dugout and a virtual home plate where guests can test their skill against a fastball.

Speed Art Museum
Established in 1927, the Speed Art Museum is Kentucky's oldest and largest art museum. The museum has distinguished collections of 17th century Dutch and Flemish painting, 18th century French art, Renaissance and Baroque tapestries, and significant holdings of contemporary American painting and sculpture.

Frazier International History Museum
Located in the heart of Louisville's downtown cultural arts district, the Frazier Arms Museum is a collaboration with Britain's Royal Armouries. Visitors enjoy interactive exhibits and live reenactments. Many of the artifacts once belonged to noted politicians, celebrities, frontiersmen and soldiers.

Belle of Louisville
No other river steamboat in American history has lasted as long, been to as many places, or traveled as many miles as the Belle of Louisville, commissioned in 1914. The Belle, a National Historic Landmark, is now recognized as the oldest river steamboat still in operation. Now in her nineties, the Belle continues to journey back to the time when she carried passengers and goods to ports all along the beautiful Ohio River.