Waterfront Park launches free historic walking tours starting this weekend

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Starting this weekend, you'll be able to get outside and learn something new about Louisville's history.

Waterfront Park is launching free historic walking tours, with the first this Saturday, May 17.

Saturday tours begin at 10 a.m., and Sunday tours start at 4 p.m. on the following dates:

Saturday, May 17, June 28, Sept. 20 and Oct. 25
- 10-11:30 a.m.
- Starting at the wharf at Fourth Street, in front of the Belle of Louisville, ending at Lincoln Memorial
- Paid parking will be available in the Blue Lot (Wharf)
Sunday, May 18, June 29, Sept. 21 and Oct. 26
- 4-5:30 p.m.
- Starting at the Lincoln Memorial at Waterfront Park, to and across the Big Four Pedestrian Bridge
- Free parking available in the Lincoln Memorial Parking Lot

Officials said both tours will span 1.5 miles, and take place rain or shine.

Historian and author Rick Bell will host the guided tours. Bell will cover stories he wrote about in his book "Louisville's Waterfront Park—A Riverfront Renaissance."

Officials with Waterfront Park said Bell will cover stories with interesting facts such as:

Why Louisville partied when the national economy crashed and a special visitor who joined
How a bridge can be built inside of an existing bridge
A saloon and a dance floor in the middle of the Ohio River?
Floods and Louisville's Waterfront

Bell has been restarting his walking tours since moving back to Louisville. The Waterfront Park tours will "guide citizens through what was once a barren scrapyard that has transformed into the 85-acre green space" now known as Waterfront Park.

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