From Gatsby to Gangsters – the roaring ‘20s in Kentucky

Since it opened in 1905, the Seelbach Hotel in downtown Louisville has been recognized as one of the premier luxury hotels in the country. With its ornate 20^thcentury charm and grand ambiance, the Seelbach has attracted some of history’s most famous and colorful figures from all walks of life.

Perhaps no one has left their mark on the building more than author F. Scott Fitzgerald. Before he rose to worldwide literary acclaim with his novel, “The Great Gatsby,” Fitzgerald was an Army Second Lieutenant stationed at nearby Camp Taylor.

During his brief stint in the area, Fitzgerald frequently visited the Seelbach’s famous subterranean bar, the Rathskeller. It should also be noted that he enjoyed himself immensely during these visits and at one point was banned from the establishment for being too drunk.

Despite his banishment, Fitzgerald never seemed to hold it against the bar and made one of the main characters in his novel, Daisy Buchanan, a Louisville native. He even went as far as to make a fictional hotel, “the Mulbach Hotel,” the setting of her wedding.

The Seelbach is just one part of Kentucky’s contribution to the roaring ‘20s. Even with Prohibition in full effect from 1919 to 1933, places like Louisville, and Northern Kentucky were important hubs when it came to supplying alcohol to a thirsty American public.

As a central location on the Ohio River, one of the nation’s busiest transportation waterways, Newport and Covington became a hot bed organized crimes like bootlegging and gambling.

With the 1920s and prohibition several decades in the rearview mirror, Kentucky has cooled it quite a bit with its links to the crime underworld. However, that doesn’t mean we have completely forgotten about it.

There are plenty of places to learn more about prohibition, such as museums, bars and speakeasys that serve food, cocktails, and nuanced accounts of one of the nation’s most “spirited” decade.

Now officially dubbed the Seelbach Hilton Louisville, the hotel is still features all its décor, restaurants, and luxury amenities. complete with all of its classic décor. In fact, the Rathskeller still has all of its original Rookwood pottery adorning its doors and arches.

Starting in April 2025, the city of Louisville and the Seelbach will celebrate the 100^th anniversary of The Great Gatsby with a series of events at some of the city’s most historic attractions, along with the unveiling of a new Gatsby Suite at the hotel.  The newly renovated two-room suite is embellished with Art Deco décor reflecting the opulence, bold colors, and glamour of the era. The two rooms of the suite were designed to highlight the contrast between The Great Gatsby characters Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchannan.

In Northern Kentucky the Newport Gangster Tour takes visitors on a two-hour walking tour, unveiling what the city was like during Prohibition. See historic buildings that once served as casinos and brothels. Guides will captivate their audience with stories of fortune and downfall that shaped Newport’s past and laid the foundation for the modern gaming industry.

The B-Line in Northern Kentucky is a self-guided bourbon tour and an official gateway to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. The B-Line is comprised of seven Kentucky Bourbon Trail Distilleries, nine Bourbon Bars, all of which must have at least 100 bourbons in stock - and 10 Bourbon-centric Restaurants. All 26 stops are located throughout Covington, Newport, Independence, Burlington, Sparta, Augusta, and Maysville, Kentucky.

For as intriguing as this era was in the Commonwealth’s is, it barely scratches the surface of all it has to offer.