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An “Emporium of Commerce”
Louisville’s thriving economy was a blend of both the agrarian south and the
industrial north. As an agriculture marketplace, Louisville became the nation’s leading hemp market and a major center for tobacco and meatpacking,
especially pork. Robust industrial growth created iron works and rolling mills
that produced pipes, rails, girders, plows, and steam engines. Louisville and
Jeffersonville became steamboat construction centers.
Urban Culture Blooms
Fig. 3B Hotels along Main Street, looking east from 7th Street.
Mozart Hall at 4th and Jefferson attracted major entertainment, such as singer
Jenny Lind, the “Swedish nightingale,” who was given a royal welcome in April
1851. The Louisville Theater at 4th and Green (Liberty) brought major theatrical \