Elm Tree Garden (Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky)

USA / Indiana / Clarksville / Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky
 amusement park, tavern, racetrack - dont use, historical layer / disappeared object
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Louisville's first amusement park. 1829-1873
Opened as the Elm Tree Pavilion by Frenchman Joseph L. Detiste on June 6,
1829, in Shippingport at the foot of the 18th Street Canal Bridge.
The Garden centered around a giant elm tree with a large wooden platform,
more than 300 feet in circumference, that was constructed in the branches.
The platform was home to a tavern featuring drinking and gambling. Below
the treetop tavern were mazes, puzzle gardens and a racetrack.
In early 1831 Detiste added a small locomotive and as an amusement ride,
and by June of 1832 there was a China pavilion, pagoda tree arbor, a dance
pavilion and a gondola service to ferry people across the Ohio River.
The flood of 1832 marked the end of Elm Tree Garden's heyday. It reopened
but never achieved its former level of popularity. The amusement park was
eventually closed by 1873.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   38°16'7"N   85°46'21"W
This article was last modified 14 years ago