Frazier History Museum

We attended the recent special member event highlighting the newest exhibition-- Flashback: Louisville Media Through the Years. This was very informative as well as sometimes entertaining to view the literal visual timeline of local media and historical events. As one of my friends has stated, "we will go to bed less stupid tonight". Snowstorms, floods, tornados, mass shootings, protests, etc., have all left their mark on our community, uniting and dividing the citizenry, and the record keeping is an important endeavor. We were also fortunate to have Rachel Platt as one of our hosts during the tour and her sharing some of her personal experiences and anecdotes certainly made this event even more enriching. I certainly appreciate all that Frazier Museum has to offer and rate it as one of my top 5 tourist destination recommendations for visitors, as well as for locals.

I'm always up for taking in a museum and some history when I'm visiting a new place for me. Already being in the downtown area I decided why not stop in here. It is also the start of the bourbon tour I believe, but I didn't get a chance to partake in that.There is a lot in such a small place. The exhibits spanned multiple topics and time periods. If you don't have a good attention span, then this might be the place for you. I wish there was an easy way to tell you how to explore this area, but in all truth, it doesn't matter where you start as a lot of this, even though it is history, doesn't link up very well.Notable exhibits include The Lewis and Clark Experience, Spirit of Kentucky, the bourbon/speakeasy area, Founders Gallery, and the miniature section. I spent a good amount of time in the Lewis and Clark section and even though they were doing maintenance here, I found it to be interesting and one of the most interactive portions of the museum.The bourbon/speakeasy portion was really cool and made you feel like you slipped back through time. You were able to see how a speakeasy functioned and were hidden in plain sight. Also you would be able to see the amounts of different types of bourbon that are made and take a tally of how many you have consumed.This museum also relies on loans from other museums in the state to place items on display. This can give you a good idea of other places to go and visit if you were like me and on vacation.Don't forget to check out the gift store before exiting. They have a wide array of items in here from shirts to stickers. I ended up with a few items from here and having a very pleasant conversation with the lady working. In fact, she gave me many suggestions for when I was there on what to see next.

On a weekend getaway, and my guy and I are budding bourbon enthusiasts, we chose Frazier Museum as our kickoff point on our bourbon tour. What a unique place to learn not only about Louisville, but famous Louisvillians (?). We took one of the educational classes - Bourbon 101. Our instructor was young, vibrant, knowledgeable and hilarious. He was very patient - even with the annoying bourbon know-it-all who clearly only attended to show off butting in every 5 seconds during the class. After the class we wandered thru the museum learning about music, Colonel Sanders and course, bourbon. The gift shop offered anything from bourbon to clothing to snacks and kitchen gadgets. Prices range from cheap to need to take out a second mortgage. Lol. We plan to visit on our next trip to Louisville.

I enjoyed the museum and learning about bourbon and Kentucky history. I went there as part of a wedding so got a semi exclusive experience. The staff there is helpful and happy to make your visit a great one. Go there and check it out.

Amazing museum with lots of details on each artifact. Every floor has so many items to view and gain knowledge from about Kentucky.

The new Frazier is a great destination for out of town visitors or locals. The internal renovation is more open and airy than the past museum. They've redone the museum to focus on local Louisville and Kentuckiana history, and it's really a gem for adults and kids alike. From an overview of bourbon to biographies of local legends, there's a little bit of history for everyone, kids and adults alike. It's much more accessible and interesting than the prior arms focus. We will be back for sure.

One of my favorite activities from our weekend in Louisville. We arrived at the museum shortly after they opened on a Saturday morning and spent several hours exploring the exhibits before heading back home. We worked our way from the top floor down as suggested. For the $14 admission, there is A LOT to take in and a fair amount of variety as it relates to local history. I was pleased to see it covered both past and contemporary history and it was nice to find something to do that wasn't entirely centered around bourbon. (Though they do have a big exhibit and a tasting club, if you're looking to round out your Whiskey Row experience.) I don't know how much new exhibits rotate through, but if there was significant change I'd go back to check them out.

I wasn't quite sure about what this museum covered, but it turns out to be 100% Kentucky, three floors of a classic old brick buildings, the walls of which reverberate the sounds of the children's groups that will likely be there, and the interior of which hits all the Kentuckiana you could ask for. A half-hour film in an open theater runs through the history and geography of the region with a heavy home-court slant. Exhibits cover things like the Lewis and Clark expedition, Civil War history, and of course horses and bourbon.The amenities include AC that was pleasantly strong on a day that approached 100 degrees, and water that they advertise as being of the highest quality (the water gets used for making bourbon too, after all). It is a nice welcome to Kentucky museum, and I think it compares favorably to the most obvious similar museum which is the Teennesee State Museum in Nashville about three hours south of here. That museum, however, is free with free parking, and this one costs a fair amount of money to basically pitch you on Kentucky tourism. If that's what you're up for, you'll have a good time.

My husband and I stopped here, while we were waiting for our room at our hotel to be ready for us to check in to the hotel. I had seen this museum on KET, when they had originally opened with the armor exhibit from England years ago. I had hoped to still get to thee that armor when I came to the museum this past Tuesday, but alas, it was not to be -- the armor exhibit left the museum years ago. I actually saw a worker while at the museum and I asked him about the whole armor exhibit, which is when I found out that it had left years ago.Not getting to see the armor exhibit was a minor disappointment, because the museum ended up being a lot better than I expected with what it did have inside of it. I really liked getting to see the Lewis and Clark expedition exhibit; the 1920s exhibit with flappers and Al Capone and all of that Bourbon related stuff, including the thing on "Pappy" Walker's stuff. I also liked getting to see Heather Renee French's crown and dress, seeing that she is from Augusta, Kentucky -- about 45 minutes south of where I live in Cold Spring, Kentucky.If I am ever in Louisville, Kentucky again and I want to spend 3 to 4 hours killing time in an interesting museum, I'm fairly certain that I'm going to be hitting this museum up again with my husband. We enjoyed looking at all of the displays in this museum.

The Frazier museum is a great museum along Main Street in Louisville, right on the corner. It's a relatively new museum, as it's fewer than 20 years old, but it's an affiliate of the Smithsonian so you know that it's worthy of a visit. Once focused on armor and firearms, they've expanded their focus to history more generally.Amongst their permanent exhibits is a collection of miniatures, which is something I'm not sure I expected to see. Of course as part of the bourbon trail they have an exhibit on the liquor for which Kentucky is most well known. Their rotating exhibits are perhaps even better than the permanent collection, so make sure to make time for them when you visit.It's not an overwhelmingly large museum, and it's also accessible with elevators that lead to each floor. They also have wheelchairs available for patrons to borrow. I think you could get away with two hours here, give or take some time depending upon how detailed you want your visit to be. If you've visited the Louisville Slugger Museum and left with your favorite new bat, be prepared to either put it in your car or check it when you arrive at this museum.