This article appeared in the October 2010 issue of Louisville Magazine. To subscribe, please visit loumag.com.
The word “neighborhood” has always been an elastic term, and
especially so in a city that until seven years ago was a whole county.
It can mean, to some, a single street, or a group of streets whose homes
were built about the same time, or a section of the city drawn around a
central focal point, or a suburban subdivision, or section of a
subdivision, or even a fifth- or sixth-class city inside the big city.
Throughout October we will feature 16 of Louisville’s neighborhoods —
not necessary the “goes without saying” selections that come up time and
again, but pieces of real estate and social fabric inclusively chosen
for their beauty, value, character, amenities and, well, neighborliness. To follow along with this series, please visit the Neighborly 'Hoods section.
Incorporated as a city 71 years ago but with many homes that date to the 1920s, Seneca Gardens — a 7-iron shot from Seneca Golf Course and a short jog to the park itself — is a wonderland of tree varieties, both big and small. That’s because of an ongoing horticultural planting project, more than 1,000 trees strong, spurred by tree damage from a devastating 1987 storm. The Trevilian Way entrance off Pee Wee Reese Road immediately captivates a visitor’s eye, leading left or right into a residential forest.
It’s a physically active neighborhood, full of runners and cyclists and gardeners, and you’ll see quite a few moms and dads pushing strollers on the sidewalks of Broadmeade and Meadow roads, the neighborhood’s most populous streets, where the variety of home styles — and sizes — is striking. Some of Seneca Gardens’ grander residences line Seneca Valley Road amid the rolling, limestone-exposed topography. The 700-citizen city, with about 240 single-family homes and a few dozen Broadmeade Road duplexes, puts out a seasonal newsletter, Garden News, which provides transparency in city financial matters and announces occasional get-to-know-your-neighbors events called Gardens Gatherings.
- Boundaries: Pee Wee Reese Road (east), Taylorsville Road (south), Carolina Avenue (west), Woodbourne Avenue (north).
- Home price range: $250,000-$800,000.
- Nearby schools: Hawthorne Elementary, St. Raphael K-8, Assumption High
- Sidewalks: Yes, on the bigger streets.
- Architecture: Varied (Colonial Revival, Cape Cod, Foursquare).
- Age of housing: 30-85 years.
Photo: John Nation
