Kentucky Charmer

What began as five 18th-Century buildings filled with original architecture and exposed brick became Laura Lee and Steve Wilson's 21c Museum Hotel when it opened in 2006, fusing their vision for bringing art into daily life with the revitalization of their hometown, Louisville, Kentucky. With a total of 90 rooms, the hotel is the first of its kind dedicated to world-class luxuries, Southern-style hospitality, contemporary art and a deep environmental awareness with a commitment to eco-friendly practices guiding their daily operation. Their motto? Always strive to be green.

"We put the pressure on ourselves internally rather than expect our guests to sacrifice their experience," says Sarah Robbins, vice-president of Operations. "We can make an impact in our own house operations - recycling, composting, converting grease into bio fuel, using local products and purchasing decisions, without impacting the guest experience." 

Yet 21c Museum hopes their guests take some green initiatives home with them so that they can lessen their own carbon footprint. "The most significant takeaway would be the importance of adaptive reuse in their own downtowns," says Robbins. "While we do have a strong green initiative, the biggest impact the property has made locally has been to help reinvigorate historic West Main Street. There is more foot traffic downtown and buildings that were once abandoned have new life." In fact, after seeing the ever-expanding urban sprawl, both Laura Lee and Steve sought to make downtown Louisville a more attractive place to work, live and play by breathing new life into this urban centre.

The hotel is one of many projects that have helped invigorate downtown Louisville. "Before 21c was built, there were many interesting things going on in this area but big empty spaces in between them. 21c draws travellers and locals alike to stay, dine and participate in a variety of cultural activities including poetry readings, film nights, artist talks, yoga with art, musical performances and life drawing classes." There is also the free use of bicycles for guests who can bike to art, bike to the park, and bike to lunch. It's also very close to Churchill Downs and Kentucky Oaks.

In the myriad of green initiatives found at this hotel, the recycled grease and adaptive reuse of abandoned buildings are unique to the property. "Our bio fuel is used to fuel equipment on the farm where produce is grown for Proof, the hotel restaurant; plus, we also do a lot of composting on the farm," says Robbins. "We use rabbit and chicken eggs from Duncan Farm and bison (a sustainable meat with more nutritional density) from our farm, Woodland Farm. We also grow a wide range of produce at our farm starting in the spring with lettuces and radishes. Then on to tomatoes, beets, eggplant, peppers and okra in the summer." The farm supplies 60 per cent of the menu produce in the growing season while it's supplemented with other local produce.

As going green is not an epiphany that happens overnight, yet a slow awareness that is cultivated over time, 21c wants to keep its message subtle. "It's a process of trial and error, especially when coinciding with an uncompromised luxury experience," says Robbins. "To succeed in our goals, we must work together - with our staff, our community, our world."