Gary & Judy met at UK when he was teaching architecture and she was studying community development. Eventually, after they got married (nearly 54 years ago!) she persuaded him to move back home to Louisville and Portland where they happily raised their three kids, and did much more along the way!
Tag: Portland History
The Louisville and Portland Railroad Company: Louisville’s First Transportation Token
To unravel the mystery of Louisville, Kentucky’s first transportation token you have to go back to the early 1830’s. Louisville developed into a major commercial center and river port because of its location above The Falls of the Ohio River. Boats were forced to stop, unload their cargo and then carry it around The Falls in order to continue their trip South. Portland, Kentucky grew up just South of The Falls because the lucrative transfer business provided the foundation for a strong economy.
Schoppenhorst Chapel Continues to Serve Portland Community After 100 Years
Readers of the Portland Anchor know the value and importance of the monthly obituaries. The warmth and humanity that these brief articles convey goes a long way towards demonstrating the pulse of a neighborhood, the deep bonds of generations of families and the unique details and personality traits that made someone’s life special. “It’s hard to summarize someone’s life in such a small snippet,” said pastor Joey Hightower, who serves part time at the Legacy Funeral Center Schoppenhorst Chapel at 1832 West Market Street. “It’s like going back in time, and it’s amazing to be part of such a rich history and staple in community for more than 100 years,” Joey said.
Squallis Puppeteers Returns to Portland With New Headquarters
Squallis Puppeteers have moved into the neighborhood with a new headquarters next door to the Portland Museum! Read their history here in Portland from Executive Director Nora Christensen.
Portland’s Grand St. Charles Hotel
The St. Charles Hotel was one of the most recognized landmarks of the old town of Portland. Located on the southwestern corner of Ferry Street (today’s 36th Street) and Second. Just two blocks from the busy Portland Wharf, it served visitors and travelers for many years in relative splendor.
Ed “Nardie” White Shares Portland Memories
“Portland was a closed community in a big metropolitan city. When you think about Louisville, you think about it as a big metropolitan city. But Portland was a definite city that was a community of its own. You had a pocket on Short Street. You had a pocket at St. Xavier. Owen Alley up here…that was a pocket. Those were all Black families. So we lived in clusters all around Portland. We lived in this 20-block radius. I lived between 21st street to 29th Street, that was my core area where I lived, and everybody knew everybody from generations.”
The Portland Anchor’s Founding: Missions and Miracles
“Somehow, the dreams of many individuals and groups meshed with old fashioned determination and hard work and the infant newspaper was cranked out on a rickety, old printing press in the basement of the Salvation Army Boys’ Club.”
City and Neighborhood Leaders Congratulate Portland Anchor on 50 Years!
Louisville’s oldest neighborhood newspaper the Portland Anchor celebrated its 50th anniversary in July 2025 with a special 40-page issue filled to the brim with original reporting and community submissions, including a fair share of congratulations from community leaders and figures from the Anchor’s past and present including Mayor Greenberg, Gordon Brown, and more!
The “Less than Great” Flood of 2025
The site of the city of Louisville is located on low and undulating ground with downtown Louisville surrounded on three sides by the Ohio River. Throughout the city’s history, water has risen above flood stage on the average of once every seven years. The lowest residential areas, Portland, Shippingport, West Louisville and the Point have suffered many minor floods. Approximately every fifty years the city has been invaded by major flooding.
From River to Imagination: Portland Museum Welcomes 50-Foot Shrimp Boat
This spring, something extraordinary set sail—without even touching the water. A 50-foot shrimp boat, built in 1949 by Robert Guidry, once cut through Gulf Coast waters and more recently floated (and occasionally sank) along the Ohio River. Now, thanks to the shared vision, tenacity, and logistical wizardry of a dedicated crew, it has found its forever home in the backyard of the Portland Museum in Louisville, Kentucky.