Urban Renewal photograph collection

The Urban Renewal Commission planned and oversaw the redevelopment of downtown Louisville with the mission to improve the city by stopping blight and decay, as well as clear room for the interstate highway I-65. The Economic Development Department of the Urban Renewal Commission documented the locations of buildings set for demolition by block and parcel (lot number). The appraisers who photographed worked under the supervision of Fred Zipp.

The idea of “urban renewal” was popular in cities across America in the 1950s and 1960s after the passing of the 1949 American Housing Act that created a federal program to fund the demolition of decaying neighborhoods, referred to as “slums,” and the construction of new public housing. In addition, the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 sanctioned an elaborate network of interstate highways to connect cities across the country, which added to the demolition of urban neighborhoods. While the goal of these acts were to revitalize American cities, create a decent home for every family, improve transportation, and accommodate suburban sprawl, the results were often very different. In Louisville, Urban Renewal destroyed scores of historic buildings and pushed predominantly Black families from their homes and businesses, intensified housing shortages, and increased segregation by pushing entire communities of Black citizens away from downtown and westward, further away from the white neighborhoods on the East end of town.