U.S. Marine Hospital

In the mid 1800s the federal government built seven Marine Hospitals to care for inland sailors. Of these seven, only the Louisville, Kentucky facility remains.

In 1997 the US Marine Hospital became Louisville's sixth National Historic Landmark. But being named a landmark has not saved the structure. In 2003, the structure was named to the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 11 Most Endangered Buildings list and was awarded Save America's Treasures status by the National Park Service. Today the US Marine Hospital Foundation and Friends of Marine Hospital are working to save this structure.

For more history of the building, its architect, the people who worked there, and the efforts to save the building, visit the US Marine Hospital web site.

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The Portland Wharf Park is a 56-acre mostly forested parcel of land lying along the Ohio River in the Portland Neighborhood. Today it is an oasis of nature within an urban area, featuring the Riverwalk trail. However, over 150 years ago, this land was the heart of the independent town of Portland. Just beneath the ground, evidence of a thriving 19th century river town is being uncovered by archaeologists and you can join them and help learn more about Portland’s rich past.

The site of Portland Wharf Park was originally the riverboat landing and wharf for the City of Portland, founded in 1811. Portland thrived as an autonomous shipping port as the western terminus of the portage route around the Falls of the Ohio River and later the Portland Canal. The town featured hotels, taverns, warehouses, and many businesses to support steamboats and their passengers. Despite the success of Portland early in the century, by the late1850s it had been annexed by the larger City of Louisville and has since been a neighborhood. Portland’s location on the banks of the Ohio River made it susceptible to frequent flooding and after several devastating floods in the late 1800s and early 1900s, much of the wharf area had been destroyed. The worst flood in the area’s history occurred in 1937 and prompted the construction of a floodwall between 1948 and 1954. Any buildings left in the wharf area was razed and buried. Since then, Portland has been separated from the river and its wharf forgotten. However, this buried and forgotten past will once again give life to the Portland Wharf.

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