Louisville's Waterfront Park is 72 stunning acres of green urban oasis. Its crowning jewel is the Big 4 Pedestrian Bridge, which just opened February 2013. 

The Big 4 Bridge was originally built as a railroad bridge in 1895, and was rebuilt as a rail and vehicle bridge in 1929 after a series of deadly construction accidents. It fell into disrepair and was officially closed to all types of traffic in the 1960's. After sitting unused for decades, plans for renovation were announced in February 2011. 

The bridge spans the Ohio River between Louisville, Kentucky, and Jeffersonville, Indiana. 

This massive ramp was constructed to allow pedestrian and cyclist access to the bridge. The ramp loops around in a big circle, making it seem long, but also allows for a gentle upward slope.

The bridge was really lovely and was being used by many joggers, cyclists, and families out for strolls, even on a weekday. Folks of all ages sat on well placed benches, taking in the view and enjoying the steady cool breeze.

Dave really loves barges. He is consistently struck by how absurdly dwarfed a tug boat is by its cargo. Dave was delighted to take a series of photos as this barge passed directly under our feet and the Big 4 Bridge. 

It is amazing that such a small boat can push such massive and heavy quantities of cargo upriver. 

The barge pushed onward towards downtown Louisville. 

Louisville was unexpectedly bustling with commerce, construction, industry, and activity. The cranes in this photo were beginning the construction of yet another bridge spanning the Ohio River. 

The view of Waterfront Park from the Big 4 Bridge was great. It is always nice to see a city with green space. It makes the whole city feel alive and healthy. 

This is the current vehicle bridge across the Ohio. When the second bridge is built, each one will be only one direction of traffic. 

The view of Jeffersonville, Indiana. Unfortunately, you can't walk to the Indiana side yet from the bridge, but the ramp is slated to be open in November of this year. 

We are so glad the city turned the Big Four bridge into a recreation area for the public. It is always wonderful to see landmarks preserved and protected for future generations to enjoy. Way to go Louisville!

On our Chattanooga road trip, we stopped for a day in Louisville, Kentucky. As a young child, I spent some time living in Kentucky, but I haven't really been back since then. We were pleasantly surprised to discover Louisville, a hip, healthy city. 

Our timing was unexpectedly excellent; we visited Louisville on Park(ing) Day, an annual global event where ordinary metered parking spots are temporarily transformed into tiny parks and urban green spaces. Park(ing) day, begun in 2005 in San Francisco, aims to draw attention to the need for more public urban space and to generate discussion about how public spaces are created and allocated. 

For Louisville's Park(ing) Day, many local businesses transformed a metered spot near their establishment into an outdoor office, park, or art installation. The Louisville Visual Art Association served up coffee and conversation in their unique parking spot. Coffee was free, and visitors could have a seat in comfortable chairs and choose a subject from the conversation "menu" to chat about. 

We choose the Parks and Recreation topic, but mainly ended up chatting with this sweet gal about her cool city. 

Our next stop was this parking spot, hosted by the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft. They organized a yarn bombing of ordinary objects, sourced from second-hand stores. 

We were more than happy to grab some yarn and play! Dave's contribution was this dollar bill, which he threaded onto the bike's handlebars. 

Park(ing) Day was this chair's second yarn bombing, so it had layers and layers of rainbow colors. 

This guy was creating color twists with two different yarns. 

We chatted with this lovely gal, who was representing the Louisville Museum of Art and Craft, about yarn bombings, and watched as people got creative with the Park(ing) Day project. 

As we continued to walk through downtown Louisville, we came across this giant statue of David. 

We stopped to say hello to this friendly keeper of the park bench. 

This is the preserved facade of the historic Heigold House mansion, built in 1853. 

This was the most famous of the upper-income homes built in The Pointe neighborhood by wealthy New Orleans transplants to the Louisville area. 

Many of the engravings are of early American leaders. 

Unfortunately, this is all that remains of the historic homes in The Pointe neighborhood, but at least this has been preserved. 

Some more interesting building facades found downtown. I'm not sure of the story behind these. 

Coming up next will be our visit to Louisville's Waterfront Park!