Mellwood Arts & Entertainment

Mellwood will always hold special meaning to me since my husband and I got married there a little over a year ago. We always loved Mellwood because of it’s quirkiness and vintage/​industrial vibes. The courtyard and hallways are perfect with the unique shops, studios, and businesses that offer various art work and yoga classes. We knew with the artsy atmosphere it was perfect for our wedding, and perfect does not even begin to describe our day. Mellwood helped make our dream wedding come true and did so on a decent budget.
We love to visit Mellwood on a regular basis and visit the shops and café in the courtyard. There’s a Mellwood Art Fair hosted each September that is worth the time to see a ton of local artists. Mellwood is definitely a Louisville landmark that shouldn’t be missed!

One of the finest Italian restaurants in all of Louisville is about to open. Le Gallo Rosso. Bella!

Nice place. Full of interesting shops. It’s unfortunate that the shops and food are hardly open when certain events don’t have food internally. But it’s a great location.

Artfully Crafted Venue.
Summation: Mellwood Arts Center is a refurbished venue that leases its space to artists, businesses, and local events.
Mellwood has two parking areas at the bottom of the hill on Mellwood Ave and up the hill on a side lot. There are three major event spaces that can be rented out beside the local artist booths and store fronts. The upstairs (or up the hill) has a small alley of storefront clothing shops and a coffee shop. Inside there are mostly independent art «cubicles» that you can walk around and discover artists painting or grab a business card for future use. Near the parking lot there is another event space, but I have not been on this side of the building.
The basement (or down hill) can be accessed from Mellwood Ave street. So far I have only seen the Flee Off Market in this space for the winter time. The basement is not remodeled, slightly open to the elements outside, and not very pleasant. However, it still works and I am told his a cheaper option to sell items.
Overall it is a great space for events and an even better space for a local artist to retreat into an Art Cave. I will say the booths are a little pricey. We saw prices ranging from $ 400/​month to $ 950/​month.
Look forward to supporting more local art!

So here’s an update 4 years later…
The promotion of this space has improved. I can’t recall if the Frankfort Ave trolley hop was happening at the time of my first review, but is is in full gear now and that brings visitors by at least once a month. There seems to be more active work space here with nail and hair salons, yoga studios, tattoos studios, and other service oriented businesses. There are also many art and craft studios to wander past with a wide assortment of art styles available.
It feels more active and full than it did although it still can feel a bit empty on occasion as one wonders through the large building.
The director and staff are great. They were wonderfully helpful in working with me to set up a rescue dog adoption booth during a recent trolley hop. We (the rescue group) had a nice indoor space available and everyone was very welcoming.
I’ve seen several wedding receptions happening here and for all of them it looked to be going really well. I can totally picture it as a great venue for weddings and big parties.

I booked this place for my wedding. I had been to other weddings and wanted this
place for my own. I would have gave 5 stars but the rental person lost one of my
payments and I was furious to have to go to the bank and get records to «prove»
I had paid. The check had cleared 2 months before and I had already switched banks
so I was highly angry to have to drive around and get all the proof. BUT, this is place if
you want to do whatever you want for your wedding. We could bring all our own alcohol
in, decorate however we wanted, it was perfect.

I guess I was expecting a little more based on the other reviews. The facility, however, appears to be a work in progress, so I will try again on my next visit. The courtyard area was nice with live music but only one restaurant that I could see.

Went to the Heros and Horses Fund raiser which raised money for the Eric Hall Memorial Foundation, named after a great American who is buried at Arlington National Cemetary. Regional breweries such as three Floyds, Brownings, Dogfish, and Kentucky Ale offered their products. The Kentucky Ale Bourbon Barrel was my suprise favorite as the three Floyds Scotch Ale was an expected favorite. Terrific food was provided by Tony Boombozz-​Chicken/​chipolte pizza and a portobella pizza;Rocky’s Pizza spicy meatball;Buckhead’s bison chili;and Zanzabar’s wings and smoked salmon in puffed pastry. Great event and a great time.

I am a big fan of adaptive reuse of buildings and factories are at the top of my list. I’ve seen some interesting things along those lines in Emeryville, CA, San Francisco, NYC, and Chicago. This is a former bacon makin’ factory and I didn’t foresee it turning out so nicely when it was first announced. At that time, I had just arrived back in town and was very keen to find signs of life in my old hometown so I went by the grounds to check out the possibilities. It looked grungy. You could still smell the bacon fat so to speak.
Two years later, I am very pleased with the way that the Mellwood Arts & Entertainment Center has turned out. Who wouldn’t be? This is a major shot in the arm for Louisville’s arts scene and connects well to what has been happening on East Market St. and Frankfort Ave.
It’s imaginative, apparently well-​financed, and has the look and feel of a successful artist’s colony. There are lots of art galleries, a restaurant, and a spacious exhibit hall (organizations set up booths in here during Forecastle). The musical performances by Sleater-​Kinney and Apples in Stereo in the outdoor pavilion area were proof of concept for larger events that may want to locate here.