The Cherokee-Seneca neighborhood gets it's name for the two city parks that it encompasses. The hills of the neighborhood consist of the ridges along Bluegrass Creek and is bordered by I-64. One of the more dominant buildings in the area is the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary which was built in 1963.
The area is also famous for it's many mansion houses, built by some of the wealthiest families in Louisville. Many of them line Alta Vista. One such home was Gardencourt, built in 1906 by the daughters of George W. Norton. The property was landscaped by the Olmsted Brothers Firm--which also designed the parks--and included a greenhouse and a carriage house. In 1946 it was donated to the University of Louisville for the school of Music and a recital hall was built in 1962. When the school moved to the Shelby Campus in 1969, the property was eventually bought by the seminary in 1982 and is used for classrooms.
Cherokee-Seneca is one of Louisville's wealthier neighborhoods and the mansions are an impressive survey of architectural styles at the beginning of the 20th century. Beaux-Arts style homes can be seen at the same time as homes in the Italian Renaissance or Victorian styles as well. Some of the homes are even currently for sale. One home, Rostrevor, is selling for $7.5 million dollars--the highest price ever for a private residence in Jefferson County.
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