Qualla
This is the first time I've gotten around to checking out the David sculpture since it was installed in May. 21c commissioned Turkish artist Serkan Ozkaya to transport the sculpture from Istanbul to NYC and then to Louisville. From a New York Times article: The museum's chairman, Steve Wilson, trailed David across the bridge and into Manhattan after talking about "taking art to people who don’t go to museums" and about the plaster cast of David at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. "The queen was mortified" by the statue, he said, "so they made a fig leaf." People who visit the Louisville museum may hear about the fig leaf, even though Mr. Ozkaya’s statue did not come with one. "We're producing a necklace" with two pendants to be sold in the gift shop in Louisville, Mr. Wilson said. "One is the fig leaf and one is the penis. They're on order." cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/06/the-streets-were-hi... IMG_5101
This is the first time I've gotten around to checking out the David sculpture since it was installed in May. 21c commissioned Turkish artist Serkan Ozkaya to transport the sculpture from Istanbul to NYC and then to Louisville. From a New York Times article: The museum's chairman, Steve Wilson, trailed David across the bridge and into Manhattan after talking about "taking art to people who don’t go to museums" and about the plaster cast of David at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. "The queen was mortified" by the statue, he said, "so they made a fig leaf." People who visit the Louisville museum may hear about the fig leaf, even though Mr. Ozkaya’s statue did not come with one. "We're producing a necklace" with two pendants to be sold in the gift shop in Louisville, Mr. Wilson said. "One is the fig leaf and one is the penis. They're on order." cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/06/the-streets-were-hi... IMG_5101

The Louisville Slugger Museum: Where Bats Are Born

kentuckylouisvillebaseballfactorymuseum
5 min read

You'll know you've found it when you see the bat. A 120-foot steel replica of Babe Ruth's Louisville Slugger leans against a building in downtown Louisville, impossible to miss, impossible to mistake. Behind that bat, inside that factory, the Louisville Slugger has been made since 1884 - ash and maple turned on lathes into the most iconic tool in American sports. Ted Williams called his Slugger the best friend he ever had. Babe Ruth swung one. So did Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, Derek Jeter, and virtually every great hitter in baseball history. The museum shows you how they're made: from log to lathe to bat in less than a minute, the same basic process that's been turning timber into home runs for 140 years.

The Beginning

In 1884, a 17-year-old woodworker named Bud Hillerich turned a bat for Pete Browning, a Louisville Eclipse player who'd broken his favorite. Browning used the custom bat and went 3-for-3 the next day. Word spread. Bud's father, a German immigrant who made bedposts and banisters, wasn't interested in the bat business - there was no future in toys, he said. But demand grew. The J. Frederick Hillerich & Son company began making bats, eventually becoming Hillerich & Bradsby, and eventually becoming synonymous with baseball itself. The father was wrong about futures.

The Players

The Louisville Slugger has been swung by virtually every great hitter in baseball history. The company pioneered the practice of paying players to use their product - Frank 'Home Run' Baker was the first endorser in 1905. Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner - the legends of the early game - all used Sluggers. The company keeps records of every bat made for major leaguers: preferred length, weight, handle diameter, barrel size. Ted Williams was so particular that he inspected his bats with a postal scale and rejected any outside his specifications. The vault contains specifications for thousands of players, living and dead.

The Factory

The museum tour includes the working factory where bats are still made. Northern white ash or hard maple logs arrive, are split into billets, dried for months, and finally turned on lathes that shape a bat in under a minute. Flames char the trademark into the wood; lacquer seals the finish. Major league bats get extra attention - hand-inspected, weight-checked, sometimes made to individual specifications. Each pro player gets bats made to their exact preferences; some go through hundreds per season. The process is hypnotic: a cylinder of wood enters the lathe, and seconds later, a baseball bat emerges.

The Big Bat

The 120-foot steel bat outside the museum is a replica of Ruth's 34-inch model, scaled up 300 times. It weighs 68,000 pounds, leans against the building at the same angle Ruth's bat might have leaned against a dugout wall, and has become Louisville's most photographed landmark. The bat was installed in 1995 and has survived tornadoes, windstorms, and the constant vibration of downtown traffic. It's structural steel, painted to look like wood, the world's largest bat - and possibly the world's largest piece of sports equipment. You will take a picture with it. Everyone does.

Visiting the Louisville Slugger Museum

The Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory is located on Main Street in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. Tours run regularly and include the factory floor, exhibits on baseball history, and a free mini-bat souvenir. The big bat is outside 24/7 and free to photograph. The museum displays game-used bats from historic players - Williams's last game bat, Ruth's World Series bat, relics of moments that mattered. Louisville's downtown has other attractions nearby including the Muhammad Ali Center. The Derby Museum at Churchill Downs is across town. Louisville International Airport is 15 minutes away. Baseball fans should allow 2-3 hours; the factory tour alone is worth the trip.

From the Air

Located at 38.26°N, 85.76°W in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. From altitude, the 120-foot bat is visible leaning against the museum building on Main Street - it's the most distinctive landmark in downtown Louisville, immediately identifiable. The Ohio River flows north of downtown, separating Kentucky from Indiana. Louisville spreads along the river valley; Churchill Downs is visible to the south. The terrain is Ohio River valley - relatively flat, urban development concentrated along the river. The bat is absurd from ground level and still absurd from altitude - a giant's baseball bat propped against a building, declaring that something important happens inside.

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