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DALE HOLLOW LAKE STATE RESORT PARK 31 WHITEHALL HOUSE & GARDENS
DALE HOLLOW LAKE STATE PARK
Located just under three hours south of Louisville on the Kentucky-Tennessee border is Dale Hollow Lake, a Kentucky treasure like no other, and regularly rated as one of the nation’s highest rated lakes by USA Today. Visitors can take in all the area has to offer including hiking, camping, golfing, boating, fishing, horseback trail riding, and more.
While there are plenty of places to stay and play throughout the area, the state owns and operates Dale Hollow Lake State Resort Park, where adventure is easy to find.
The Mary Ray Oaken Lodge offers 60 guest rooms, a full-service restaurant with breakfast and dinner buffets, and a swimming pool to cool off on those hot Kentucky summer days. The lodge sits atop a bluff overlooking the lake and rolling woodlands, and is conveniently located near a marina, multiple trails, and just down the road from one of the best golf courses in the state. If you are looking for a camping option, there are 145 campsites, RV hook-ups, as well as cabin rentals.
When it comes to exploring the outdoors, trails are open for hiking, horseback riding, and mountain biking. Most of the trails follow old logging roads along narrow ridge tops through the park and end at the tips of the ridges overlooking Dale Hollow Lake.
Another popular outdoor activity is the Dale Hollow Resort Golf Course that offers rolling Bermuda fairways and promising challenges even the avid golfer will appreciate. The course has been upgrading the bunkers and other aesthetics over the past few years, making it a must for every golfer’s bucket list.
Each of the 18 holes is unique with its own characteristics, with one of the most scenic being No. 15, a 180- to 190-yard par three that is all carryover a ravine that drops a couple hundred feet. The visual from the tee box to the green expands over the tip tops of the trees growing from the ravine below.
Don’t miss your chance to explore the beauty of Dale Hollow Lake State Park.
Kentucky is home to 45 state parks, including 17 resort parks and 13 golf courses. For more information about Kentucky State Parks, visit parks.ky.gov.
VIDEO: Explore Dale Hollow Lake State Resort Park, the vacation spot you don't want to pass up.
LOUISVILLE LANDMARK
WHITEHALL HOUSE & GARDENS
Historic estate is a popular venue for special events
by Kristen Lutes
Whitehall House & Gardens is an historic home and estate garden that is owned and operated by the not-for-profit Historic Homes Foundation Inc. Built in 1855 by John Marshall, Whitehall began as a modest, two-story brick house in the Italianate style popular during the mid-19th century.
It sat on 20 acres of land that had been part of the original Spring Station tract owned by Samuel and Norborne Beall, and Bealls Branch, a tributary of Beargrass Creek, ran through the property. The house consisted of eight rooms, four downstairs and four upstairs; a very narrow and steep staircase was featured in the center hall. A back door in the center hall could be opened to coax a cool breeze during a sweltering Kentucky summer day.
WHITEHALL HOUSE & GARDENS
3110 Lexington Road | Louisville, KY (502) 897-2944 | historicwhitehall.org
ERAS OF OWNERSHIP
Ownership of the house passed through five different families until it was purchased in 1909 by successful horseman and entrepreneur John Middleton and his wife, Betty Summers Middleton. Renovations to the home made under the supervision of Mrs. Middleton fashioned the Southernstyle Greek Revival mansion we know today as Whitehall House & Gardens. A wing was added to each side of the house and one in the back. Mrs. Middleton also added the iconic portico, columns, and circular driveway in the front of the house.
Numerous changes were made to the interior, including the removal of a wall between two rooms on the east side of the house on the first floor, and the addition of columns to provide needed structural support in this newly elongated parlor. Although there was no central heat in the house at that
Whitehall offers over 50 varieties of peonies along with a variety of bulbs, perennials, herbs, evergreens, and specimen trees.
time, Mrs. Middleton chose to remove fireplaces once present in these two rooms to create a more formal interior setting.
The original 12-foot ceilings on both the first and second floors were altered, raising the first floor to a much more impressive 14 feet in height, but lowering the second floor to 10 feet. But perhaps the most dramatic change made by Mrs. Middleton was the dedication of an entire room from the original house for a staircase, opening up the center hall with an effect that is both light and airy. Many of these changes were somewhat atypical to Victorian architecture of the period, but historians have reasoned that Whitehall's renovation was to reflect Mrs. Middleton's idea of an antebellum mansion of a bygone era.
The next significant era of the house began in 1924 with the purchase by Hume and Susan Logan. Mr. Logan was president of the Logan Co., a fence and steel products manufacturer. Hume Logan Jr., the middle son of the Logans’ five children, purchased the home shortly after the death of his father in 1948, and lived in Whitehall as a bachelor until his death in 1992 at age 94. The house, gardens, and many of the unique furnishings — which include French and American antiques and original gaslight fixtures — were bequeathed by Mr. Logan to the Historic Homes Foundation so that the public would always be welcome to enjoy this special home. Whitehall was extensively refurbished in 1994 under the expertise of local design firm Bittners as that year's Junior League of Louisville Historic Showhouse. Today the house is open to the public for historic tours from Monday through Friday and continues to be a popular venue for weddings, receptions, and other momentous occasions.
IMPRESSIVE GROUNDS
At just under 10 acres, Whitehall’s grounds and gardens have become a known entity in the horticulture community, offering the public a botanical garden in the heart of Louisville. Workshops, lectures, and garden tours are hosted throughout the year — all inspired by Whitehall’s special collection of trees and plants. This collection includes an arboretum of over 200 trees, featuring a rare specimen collection that has become an important source for propagation of interesting species. The Ralph Archer Woodland Garden is an official display garden of the Hardy Fern Foundation, a national fern enthusiast organization. Truly a garden in the very “greenest” sense, tree logs and stumps have been recycled as rustic planters for the ferns and other woodland plants. This gardening technique, first popularized in Victorian England, is commonly known as a stumpery and serves as an ideal habitat for shade loving plants.
Springtime at Whitehall offers another kind of Victorian treat: a collection of over 50 varieties of peonies. Although a popular flower known for its fragrant blooms and lush foliage, the variety offered at Whitehall is not common to the typical garden. Aside from peonies, Whitehall’s Sun Garden features numerous varieties of bulbs, perennials, herbaceous plants, evergreens, and specimen trees along a winding path.
Designed by Hume Logan Jr., the Formal Garden at Whitehall was first realized in the early 1970s. The garden is characterized by its Florentine influence, featuring reproductions of Italian statuary from Logan’s personal collection and wrought iron trellises manufactured by the Logan Co. The area is neatly divided into “rooms” created by borders of taxus hedgerows and arborvitae, a kind of evergreen from the cypress family. A carefully tended herbaceous border anchors the garden just outside the hedgerow, featuring stunning color beginning in early spring and extending through mid-October.
As a division of the not-for-profit Historic Homes Foundation, Whitehall depends on a variety of sources, including donations, fundraisers, and rental income, to keep its doors open. Throughout the year, Whitehall offers educational programs and special tours centered around horticulture.
For more information about Whitehall’s special events and educational programming, or weddings and other rentals, please visit historicwhitehall.org or call (502) 897-2944.
FIND THE “BUDDING ACTOR IN YOU” IN JUST 6 WEEKS TIME!
Choose the 6-week course that fits your age group!
Scholarships are available for all classes! Contact stageone@ stageone.org for more information
StageOne Family Theatre offers after-school classes in theatre performance skills for every age and interest level! From Mar. 22 to April 30, 2022 ACTING FOR ADULTS will reignite any adult with acting tools and imagination! Ages 18+, Fridays 6-7:30pm Learn how to make character choices, build basic improvisation skills, and build confidence! IMPROV 2: INTERMEDIATE is your key to acting without a script! Ages 10-12, Thursdays 4:30-5:20pm Ages 13-16, Thursdays 5:30-6:20pm YOU’LL LEARN…THINKING ON YOUR FEET! CREATING ORIGINAL STORIES! ACTOR’S TOOLBOX 2: INTERMEDIATE Ready to level up your acting skills with us? Join us in part two of our 12-week introduction to acting! Ages 6-7, Tuesdays 4:30-5:20pm Ages 8-11, Tuesdays 5:30-6:20pm Classes will incorporate scene study, voice work, improvisation and movement! TINY TALES: STORY THEATRE facilitates creative drama by diving into a book! Each week, you’ll read a story and then act it out! Ages 3-5, Saturdays 10am-11am YOU’LL LEARN…LISTENING! WORKING TOGETHER! IMAGINATION!
Our classes take place in our main office located downtown at 315 W. Market Street
EVENTS CALENDAR
Audience is your connection to the performing arts and entertainment in Louisville. Below are some of the events we are looking forward to in the coming months and we hope you enjoy them all! For more of our preferred arts and entertainment recommendations, visit Audience502.com/audience-events
MARCH
5
Festival of Latin American Music - Part 1 Louisville Orchestra 8PM, Whitney Hall louisvilleorchestra.org 12
Festival of Latin American Music - Part 2 Louisville Orchestra 8PM, Whitney Hall louisvilleorchestra.org 19
Sam Bush 8PM, Bomhard Theater kentuckyperformingarts.org 19
Classical Mystery Tour Louisville Orchestra 8PM, Whitney Hall louisvilleorchestra.org
Mean Girls
22 – 27
Mean Girls PNC Broadway in Louisville Whitney Hall louisville.broadway.com 25
Taylor Tomlinson 7PM, Brown Theatre kentuckyperformingarts.org
APRIL
2
Sheherazade Louisville Orchestra 8PM, Whitney Hall louisvilleorchestra.org
Alton Brown
3
Alton Brown Live - Beyond the Eats 6:30PM, Whitney Hall kentuckyperformingarts.org 8
An American Dream Kentucky Opera 8PM, Brown Theatre KYOpera.org 15
Sam Vulcano from Impractical Jokers 7PM, Brown Theatre kentuckyperformingarts.org
22
Michael Cavanaugh Plays Music of Elton John Louisville Orchestra 8PM, Whitney Hall louisvilleorchestra.org
Leanne Morgan
23
Leanne Morgan: Big Panty Tour 4PM & 7PM, Brown Theatre kentuckyperformingarts.org 30
Reclaimed Treasures Louisville Orchestra 8PM, Whitney Hall louisvilleorchestra.org
MAY
14
Leon Bridges 8PM, Louisville Palace louisvillepalace.com 14
Fantastique Louisville Orchestra 8PM, Whitney Hall louisvilleorchestra.org 27-29
Forcastle Festival Waterfront Park forecastlefest.com
