Click to view a timeline of photos capturing the building's construction.
CONTACT
2743 Virginia Ave.
Louisville, KY 40211
(502) 574-1832
HOURS
Mon: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Tue: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Wed: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Thu: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Fri: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sat: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sun: Closed
DIRECTIONS
HISTORY
What better location for an incredible comeback story than the birthplace of Muhammad Ali—the Parkland neighborhood. Parkland has long been a cornerstone of Louisville’s history, and so has its library, a fixture at the corner of Twenty-Eighth and Virginia Avenue since 1908.
Parkland Library was one of the original nine libraries built with funding from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The land was donated by residents, and the Beaux Arts–style building, designed by local architect Brinton B. Davis, cost just over $20,000 to construct—though its impact would be priceless.
For seventy-eight years, the library adapted to meet the community’s needs. During World War I, the Parkland Red Cross chapter used the meeting room to make bandages for the French war front. In the 1930s, the Parkland Baby Clinic operated in the library, providing mothers and babies pre- and post-natal services. During the 1937 flood, the Library served as a boat base. In the late-1970s and 1980s, the U of L Center for Continuing Education offered classes for the community.
But in 1986, budget cuts forced its closure, leaving Parkland without a library. Over the next few decades, the building found new life, briefly as the Kentucky African American Museum and later as an office for LMPD’s Professional Standards Unit. Still, its original purpose was never forgotten.
In 2016, community voices began calling for the return of library services to Parkland. The grassroots efforts of the Parkland Library Services Committee (later becoming the Friends of Parkland Library) spanned two mayors, three District 1 councilmembers, and two library directors. Through years of tireless advocacy, the dream of reopening the library finally became a reality. In 2022, it was announced: Parkland Library would be restored.
Now, thanks to a $6.6 million investment from Metro Government and generous donors to the Library Foundation, the newly renovated and expanded Parkland Library reopened its doors on Thursday, February 27, at 10:30 a.m. The fully accessible library will offer books, technology, public meeting rooms, a makerspace, and free programming for all ages—ushering in a new era of learning and connection.