Louisville, Kentucky

==Economy==

{{Main|Economy of Louisville, Kentucky}}
{{See also|Greater Louisville Inc.|Keep Louisville Weird|List of major employers in Louisville, Kentucky}}
[[File:LNBldBroadwayLOu.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Louisville and Nashville Railroad|L&N]] Building on West Broadway]]
[[File:LouisvilleViewFromBelvedere.jpg|thumb|Left to right, [[BB&T]] Building, [[400 West Market]], [[National City Tower]], and the [[Humana Building]] in downtown Louisville]]
[[File:TSOK bottle hall.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Bottle Hall at [[Frazier History Museum|Frazier]], showcasing every bourbon being produced in Kentucky]]

Louisville today is home to [[List of companies and organizations based in Louisville|dozens of companies and organizations]] across several [[industrial classification]]s. However, the underpinning of the city's economy since its earliest days has been the shipping and cargo industries. Its strategic location at the Falls of the Ohio, as well as its unique position in the central United States (within one day's road travel to 60 percent of the cities in the continental U.S.) make it a practical location for the transfer of cargo along its route to other destinations.<ref>{{cite book |title=Louisville Survey: Central Report |year=1978 |last=Kramer |first=Carl |page=32}}</ref> The [[Louisville and Portland Canal]] and the [[Louisville and Nashville Railroad]] were important links in water and rail transportation.

Louisville's importance to the [[freight transport|shipping industry]] continues today with the presence of the [[Worldport (UPS air hub)|Worldport]] global air-freight hub for [[United Parcel Service|UPS]] at [[Louisville International Airport]]. Louisville's location at the crossroads of three major [[Interstate Highway System|interstate highways]] ([[Interstate 64 in Kentucky|I{{nbhyph}}64]], [[Interstate 65 in Kentucky|I{{nbhyph}}65]], and [[Interstate 71#Kentucky|I{{nbhyph}}71]]) also contributes to its modern-day strategic importance to the shipping and cargo industry. In addition, the Port of Louisville<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.portoflouisville.com/ |title=Port of Louisville |access-date=April 22, 2017 |archive-date=April 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170413153125/https://www.portoflouisville.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> continues Louisville's river shipping presence at [[Jefferson Riverport International]]. As of 2003, Louisville ranks as the seventh-largest [[inland port]] in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ndc.iwr.usace.army.mil//wcsc/pdf/inlandport03f.pdf |title=Top 20 Inland U.S. Ports for 2003 |publisher=[[United States Army Corps of Engineers|U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120015600/http://www.ndc.iwr.usace.army.mil//wcsc/pdf/inlandport03f.pdf |archive-date=January 20, 2013 }}</ref>

Louisville is a significant center of manufacturing, with two major [[Ford Motor Company]] plants, and the headquarters and major [[home appliance]] factory of [[GE Appliances]] (a subsidiary of [[Haier]]). The city is also a major center of the [[American whiskey]] industry, with about one-third of all [[bourbon whiskey]] coming from Louisville.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kiniry|first1=Laura|title=Beyond bourbon in Louisville|url=http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20130827-beyond-bourbon-in-louisville|access-date=September 29, 2015|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=September 2, 2015|archive-date=November 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119233143/http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20130827-beyond-bourbon-in-louisville|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Lufkin|first1=Bryan|title=In Louisville, Try the Bourbon and Zip Line (Not at Once)|magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|date=April 29, 2015|url=https://www.wired.com/2015/04/what-to-do-in-louisville/|access-date=September 29, 2015|archive-date=October 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001110539/http://www.wired.com/2015/04/what-to-do-in-louisville/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Travel Channel">{{cite web|title=Things to Do in Louisville|url=http://www.travelchannel.com/destinations/us/ky/articles/things-to-do-in-louisville|publisher=[[Travel Channel]]|access-date=September 29, 2015|archive-date=October 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002042351/http://www.travelchannel.com/destinations/us/ky/articles/things-to-do-in-louisville|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Hall|first1=Gregory A.|title=Much of bourbon boom carries Louisville address|url=http://www.courier-journal.com/story/money/2014/10/21/much-bourbon-boom-carries-louisville-address/17654567/|access-date=September 29, 2015|work=[[The Courier-Journal]]|date=October 21, 2014|archive-date=November 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231106012909/https://www.courier-journal.com/story/money/2014/10/21/much-bourbon-boom-carries-louisville-address/17654567/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Brown-Forman]], one of the major makers of American whiskey, is headquartered in Louisville and operates a distillery in the Louisville suburb of [[Shively, Kentucky|Shively]]. The current primary distillery site operated by [[Heaven Hill]], called the [[Isaac Wolfe Bernheim|Bernheim]] distillery, is also located in Louisville near Brown-Forman's distillery. Other distilleries and related businesses can also be found in neighboring cities in Kentucky, such as [[Bardstown, Kentucky|Bardstown]], [[Clermont, Kentucky|Clermont]], [[Lawrenceburg, Kentucky|Lawrenceburg]], and [[Loretto, Kentucky|Loretto]]. Similar to the [[Kentucky Bourbon Trail]] that links these central Kentucky locations, Louisville offers tourists its own "Urban Bourbon Trail",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bourboncountry.com/things-to-do/urban-bourbon-trail/index.aspx |title=Louisville, KY's Urban Bourbon Trail (UBT) |website=BourbonCounty.com |access-date=February 20, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219050143/http://www.bourboncountry.com/things-to-do/urban-bourbon-trail/index.aspx |archive-date=February 19, 2015 }}</ref> where people can stop at nearly 20 "area bars and restaurants, all offering at least 50 labels of America's only native spirit".<ref name="Travel Channel" />

Not typically known for [[high tech]] outside of the previously identified industries, [[Code Louisville]], the city's [[public–private partnership]] for teaching people entry level software development skills, received recognition in 2015 from then-President [[Barack Obama]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wfpl.org/president-obama-wants-programs-like-code-louisville/|title=President Obama Wants More Programs Like Code Louisville|work=89.3 WFPL|date=April 3, 2015|access-date=April 26, 2017|archive-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202083916/http://wfpl.org/president-obama-wants-programs-like-code-louisville/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://wfpl.org/code-louisville-aims-expand-regions-available-tech-talent/|title=Code Louisville Aims to Expand the Region's Available Tech Talent—89.3 WFPL|work=89.3 WFPL|date=March 19, 2014|access-date=April 26, 2017|archive-date=February 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208033037/http://wfpl.org/code-louisville-aims-expand-regions-available-tech-talent/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://wfpl.org/why-louisvilles-tech-initiatives-are-on-a-national-stage-today/|title=Why Louisville's Tech Initiatives Are on a National Stage Today|work=89.3 WFPL|date=April 2, 2015|access-date=April 26, 2017|archive-date=February 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208132822/http://wfpl.org/why-louisvilles-tech-initiatives-are-on-a-national-stage-today/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Louisville also prides itself in its large assortment of small, independent businesses and restaurants, some of which have become known for their ingenuity and creativity. A remarkable company in Louisville is Omega National Products, which manufactured at times 90% of all [[disco ball|mirror ball]]s used in the USA.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

Several major motion pictures have been filmed in or near Louisville, including ''[[The Insider (film)|The Insider]]'', ''[[Goldfinger (film)|Goldfinger]]'', ''[[Stripes (film)|Stripes]]'', ''[[Lawn Dogs]]'', ''[[Elizabethtown (film)|Elizabethtown]]'', and ''[[Secretariat (film)|Secretariat]]''.