Over the weekend, the Society of Urban Perambulators (SoUP) held a walking tour of Jeffersonville’s downtown and new arts and cultural district (NoCo). Jeffersonville has a flourishing downtown with a plethora of historic architecture, thriving businesses, parklets, and more. Almost all participants hailed from Louisville, exposing themselves to the often underappreciated urban vitality that exists on the other side of the river.
This event was only possible because of our amazing field guides: Jeffersonville Planning & Zoning Director Chad Reischl, Jeffersonville Public Arts Director Kathleen Wang, and arc Design & Development Director Jason Sams. Kyleigh Hublar from Maker13, Amber Powell from Jeffersonville Parks and Rec, and Seth Lieber from SoIN were also critical in making this happen, but were not able to attend. A special thanks to all of them!
The event started off at the Spring Street Coffee Crossing, the same one we met at for the Clarksville SoUP. The storefront was conveniently located right next to the SoIn Visitors Center. Both spaces are located in the Spring Street Commons development, which is a mixed-use project from arc, whose office we got a tour of later on.
At 11:00, we walked over to the SoIn Visitors Center where staff member Cheryl told us about their work in bringing in tourists and showed us some of the amenities around the storefront. Before leaving, we took a group picture using one of these amenities. We even managed to get almost everyone in frame.
After SoIN, we took a stroll down the historic Spring Street Corridor. As we approached Chestnut Street, Chad Reischl discussed the success of the city’s parklet program with us. This corridor alone had around seven parklets, which is approximately seven times more than we have over here in Louisville. Many of the parklets were empty this early in the day, but were pretty crowded when I walked back to the area after the event.
The group then crossed the street to the offices of arc, a local development firm. Jason Sams showed us around their offices and talked a bit about their history and current development projects. The office space was full of great design details. The pictures pretty much speak for themselves.
arc fully renovated this building a few years back. In addition to being home to their office, the first floor is a venue space called “The Camp” that can be rented out for events. This space was also full of interesting design tidbits, following an outdoor camping theme. The space is home to a full A/V system, video game machines, and an indoor pickleball court.
After The Camp, the group moved out towards the NoCo (North of Court) Arts District. This was the longest walk of the event, but we stopped a couple times on the way. First, at Big Four Station, Chad Reischl talked with the group about how catalytic the walking bridge was for downtown and the development it spurred. This discussion occurred as we were surrounded by an extremely active public space.
From there, we moved north towards the arts district, briefly stopping in front of the office for Jeffersonville Main Street. Chad shared with us about how the organization is funded in-part by rent from four historic homes that were almost demolished as part of a highway expansion. Instead of demolishing them, the city moved the four buildings to Pearl Street and gave them to Jeffersonville Main Street, which is now housed in one while renting the three others out. The rent is used for funding the Director’s salary and putting events together across the downtown.
We then moved across Court Avenue and entered the new arts district. There we met with Kathleen Wang at the NoCo Arts Center, where she showed us around the space. The center is home to play performances, free amenities for artists, and rentable studios. It is currently home to a variety of artists creating a wide range of different art: driftwood art, portraits, murals, statues made of reclaimed items, quilts, and more.
After exploring the arts center, we got a chance to look at Maker13 across the street. This is a non-profit creator space with a wide array of tools and machinery that can be rented for different kinds of art and hobbies. The space also hosts classes so you can learn cool and useful skills like wood cutting and welding.
Maker13 also generously provided us with a cool souvenir: a laser-cut wood coaster custom made for this event.
Across the street from Maker13 were the next two stops: The Depot and Picasso Point. As Kathleen unlocked the gate to The Depot, Chad told us about Picasso Point, a parking lot that was converted into an art-focused public space. The new coat of paint absorbs much less heat than bare asphalt, so the heat effect from the lot is significantly reduced. The paint was also used to create a maze, hopscotch, and other games for kids. Art from local students is strewn across the space, including portraits that give the lot its name.
The Depot was soon unlocked and we were ushered into NoCo’s primary venue space. While the venue is rentable, it is also used for public events and is home to small businesses that are open for special hours. These businesses are housed in converted shipping containers that have full modern amenities (i.e. A/C.). Additionally, it contains a stage that is used for public concerts.
The Depot sits adjacent to an alley that leads to Fall’s Landing, our next stop. On the way, we passed the rear end of the Clark County museum, which is enveloped by a beautiful mural.
Our last major stop, Fall’s Landing, is a brand new sculpture park on the northwestern side of the NoCo district. The space cannot be traditionally developed because it is located above a massive stormwater tank, so the city decided to make it a park space. The art pieces and infrastructure design makes the park feel quite science-fiction.
From here, the group walked back to our origin point in downtown. On the way back, Chad pointed out the Denton-Floyd offices. A historic building that was once a Masonic lodge and has since been renovated. This is where we officially wrapped things, with a few perambulators getting lunch at La Catrina Tacos & Tequila afterwards.
The Society of Urban Perambulators seeks to give unique perspectives into urban planning and design by exploring neighborhoods around Louisville. A handful of these events are held each year. If you would like to participate, please join our facebook group or just keep an eye on this site for announcements. We hope to see everyone at another SoUP event very soon!
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