The area gradually declined as the affluent moved to newer streetcar suburbs, such as Cherokee Triangle, or built estates in areas east of Louisville recently connected by railroad, such as Anchorage and Glenview.
Accelerated by the Great Depression, many of the large homes in Old Louisville were converted to boarding houses during the 1930s.
The Ohio River flood of 1937 caused a great number of the remaining wealthy households to move above the flood plain.

The gradual abandonment of Old Louisville by the wealthy was a reflection of changing lifestyles brought on by technology.
Many homes of Old Louisville were originally built as mansions that would require several servants to maintain.
Because of the relatively high wages offered by manufacturing jobs, servants were no longer affordable to all but the wealthiest families by the mid-20th century.
Interurban rail lines, and increasingly automobiles, meant that the wealthy no longer had to live so close to their businesses, and many chose to live in what had previously been summer homes in the county's east end.
The lifestyle that created Old Louisville was effectively obsolete.

During the years between World War I and World War II, many of the old mansions were hastily converted into apartments to house the growing labor supply, a practice encouraged by the federal government at the time through low-interest loans.
However, after World War II, with the housing shortage solved by large-scale suburban development affordable to the middle class, vacancy rates in Old Louisville surged.
To attract renters, landlords had to lower rents dramatically, attracting less affluent tenants with less funds to maintain the homes.

A large section of the neighborhood, from around Kentucky Street to Broadway, was razed.
Many buildings south of Lee Street, and nearly all south of Avery Street (renamed Cardinal Boulevard) were razed for the construction of Noe Middle School, expansions to Manual High School and a major expansion of the University of Louisville, as well as to expand local industry east of Floyd Street.
From 1965 to 1971, 639 buildings were razed as a part of this effort.
However, the plan did spur the restoration of over 100 buildings in other parts of Old Louisville.

During the 1960s many low income residents downtown who were displaced as a result of urban renewal moved into the newly converted apartments, especially on the north side of the neighborhood.
The area was now considered drug ridden and undesirable by most Louisvillians.
The very term Old Louisville, first becoming associated with the area in the 1940s, had mostly negative connotations initially, as historian Samuel W. Thomas put it, "In an Era where architectural styles were changing dramatically, old meant out of fashion".
The area gradually declined as the affluent moved to newer streetcar suburbs, such as Cherokee Triangle, or built estates in areas east of Louisville recently connected by railroad, such as Anchorage and Glenview. Accelerated by the Great Depression, many of the large homes in Old Louisville were converted to boarding houses during the 1930s. The Ohio River flood of 1937 caused a great number of the remaining wealthy households to move above the flood plain.
The gradual abandonment of Old Louisville by the wealthy was a reflection of changing lifestyles brought on by technology. Many homes of Old Louisville were originally built as mansions that would require several servants to maintain. Because of the relatively high wages offered by manufacturing jobs, servants were no longer affordable to all but the wealthiest families by the mid-20th century. Interurban rail lines, and increasingly automobiles, meant that the wealthy no longer had to live so close to their businesses, and many chose to live in what had previously been summer homes in the county's east end. The lifestyle that created Old Louisville was effectively obsolete.
During the years between World War I and World War II, many of the old mansions were hastily converted into apartments to house the growing labor supply, a practice encouraged by the federal government at the time through low-interest loans. However, after World War II, with the housing shortage solved by large-scale suburban development affordable to the middle class, vacancy rates in Old Louisville surged. To attract renters, landlords had to lower rents dramatically, attracting less affluent tenants with less funds to maintain the homes.
A large section of the neighborhood, from around Kentucky Street to Broadway, was razed. Many buildings south of Lee Street, and nearly all south of Avery Street (renamed Cardinal Boulevard) were razed for the construction of Noe Middle School, expansions to Manual High School and a major expansion of the University of Louisville, as well as to expand local industry east of Floyd Street. From 1965 to 1971, 639 buildings were razed as a part of this effort. However, the plan did spur the restoration of over 100 buildings in other parts of Old Louisville.
During the 1960s many low income residents downtown who were displaced as a result of urban renewal moved into the newly converted apartments, especially on the north side of the neighborhood. The area was now considered drug ridden and undesirable by most Louisvillians. The very term Old Louisville, first becoming associated with the area in the 1940s, had mostly negative connotations initially, as historian Samuel W. Thomas put it, "In an Era where architectural styles were changing dramatically, old meant out of fashion".
Old Louisville