Limerick

Many of the original residents were from County Limerick in Ireland. The neighborhood expanded in the 1860s for employees of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad just to the west. It began the trend of the working class moving south of downtown.

Louisville Steam Engine Co. 7 opened in 1871 to provide fire protection to the new southern suburbs of the city. The firehouse at 821 S. 6th St. was the oldest continuously active firehouse in the U.S. until it closed in 2009.

The English Gothic styled St. Louis Bertrand Catholic Church on Sixth St. was dedicated in 1873 and was the centerpiece of the neighborhood. From 1872 until 1918 the annual St Patrick’s Day parade went from the church north to Broadway.

Working class Irish immigrants lived in shotgun houses, with a large number of African-Americans living in simple wood framed homes in the alleyways behind them. Upper income Irish built larger homes along St. Catherine St. The Irish eventually moved to south Louisville along with the railroad jobs, and as they left African-Americans moved in to the shotguns.

Opened in 1873, the Louisville Central Colored School at 6th and Kentucky St. was the first state supported black public school in Kentucky. It served as the educational center for the city’s African-American community until relocating in 1894.

At 7th and Kentucky St., Eclipse Park opened in 1874, the home of Louisville’s major league baseball team the Louisville Eclipse, later known as the Louisville Colonels. The field was relocated in 1899.

The Limerick neighborhood is bounded by Breckinridge St. to the north, 5th St. to the east, Oak St. to the south, and the railroad tracks to the west.
Louisville Historic Preservation & Urban Design