The Most Beautiful College Campus in Kentucky Will Leave You Speechless

There’s truth to the adage, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” and college campuses are no exception. Online debaters disagree about the most beautiful college campus in Kentucky. Still, we side with the media outlets that bestow the honor on the university located in the commonwealth’s largest city.

The most beautiful college campus in Kentucky is the University of Louisville‘s Belknap Campus.

Is the University of Louisville a Beautiful Campus?

Situated on 309 acres in the heart of the city in Old Historic Louisville, the University of Louisville’s Belknap Campus is breathtakingly beautiful.

Stunning buildings throughout the campus boast gorgeous design features, while nature is beautifully displayed through the native plants and animals at the University.

Campus Architecture

H. Charles Grawemeyer Hall, built in 1926, is a U.S. National Historic Landmark. Its front exterior, with classic red brick and concrete steps leading to double front doors amid stately white columns, calls to mind images of old, grand churches or presidential residences.

Most distinctly, a statue of “The Thinker” sits on the front steps. This statue is the first full-scale bronze cast of the sculpture by Auguste Rodin.

In front of Grawemeyer Hall is a large, dark green oval lawn and a 16-spout water fountain flanked by a canopy of gorgeous mature trees.

Inside, you’ll find the Office of the President and Provost of the University of Louisville as well as a Foucault pendulum suspended from the interior dome that measures 73 feet high.

Grawemeyer and the Oval are iconic and characteristic of the stunning beauty on campus that combines old and new elements.

Campus Trees

One of the first things you’ll likely notice when you step on campus is the maturity, beauty, and diversity of the thousands of trees planted there. More than 2500 trees representing more than 130 species provide beauty with white, pink, and red blooms in the spring; deep green foliage in the summer; and vibrant red, orange, and purple leaves in the autumn. These trees are among the numerous varieties on campus:

• Cedar of Lebanon
• Smoketree
• American Yellow Wood (also known as the Kentucky Yellow Wood)
• Eastern Redbuds
• Robert E. Lee Chestnut Oak
• Northern Red Oak
• Willow Oak
• Pin Oak
• White Oak
• Black Oak
• Tulip Tree

Campus visitors can take a self-guided walking tour to learn about all the trees there.

For a decade, the Arbor Day Foundation recognized the University with the Tree Campus USA distinction. This means that the University met the Foundation’s high standards for tree care and conservation.

The Sierra Club has also named the University of Louisville a “Cool School” because of its commitment to sustainability and environmentalism.

Campus Plants

Native plants, shrubs, and flowers round out the landscape of the Belknap Campus. When selecting plants for the grounds, campus staffers intentionally choose those that encourage natural pollination.

In the Biology Department’s Harriet A. Korfhage Native Plant Garden, you’ll find woody shrubs, herbaceous perennials, grasses, and ferns, including:

• Witch Hazel
• Smooth hydrangea
• Shrubby St. John’s Wort
• Wild Petunia
• Butterfly weed
• Asters
• Coneflowers
• Goldenrods

With the many trees, plants, and flowers, it’s not surprising that birds, bees, and insects enjoy life at the University of Louisville. A 1000-square-foot butterfly garden attracts the beauties, and bright yellow sunflowers serve the bees each year in late summer.

Campus Wildlife

And speaking of critters …

Even though the Belknap Campus is in the middle of an urban area, wildlife still makes appearances occasionally. Don’t be surprised if you spot one of these animals exploring campus grounds:

• Foxes
• Coyotes
• Deer
• Raccoons
• Owls
• Bald eagles
• Opossums
• Blue herons
• Hawks

What Is Unique About the University of Louisville?

The University of Louisville is uniquely immersed in traditions and culture that delight all of the senses. Not far from the banks of the mighty Ohio River, the University gets its charm and beauty from the Bluegrass state and the people, plants, and animals who live there.

Kentucky bourbon and the classic open-faced turkey sandwich, the Hot Brown, are legendary for delighting tastebuds and tummies.

And no event is more visually stunning than the Kentucky Derby at nearby Churchill Downs. People don their brightest hats to sip Mint Juleps and cheer on their favorite competitors. This annual race features the sleek beauty and majesty of the Thoroughbred horse.

If you’re looking for the most beautiful college campus in Kentucky, you’ll find it at the University of Louisville.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Ken Lund from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA / CC BY-SA 2.0 – License / Original

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