Preserving

by J.T. C RAWFORD

BY THE LATE 1970s, PADUCAH, and cities like it, were at a crossroads. The United States was showing its age. Wrinkles emerged in century-old buildings, manifested as cracks, peeling paint, and decaying wood. Since the close of World War II, the mantra had been to build new—make the city bigger, better, modern. To some, the buildings of our forefathers were an outdated notion of yesteryear and should be removed and replaced. Preservation was an uncommon notion.

In Paducah’s infancy, commercial activity brought forth the city’s original buildings from the river outward. Downtown developed as a walkable system of commerce, industry, public infrastructure, and residences. Dick Holland, an early pioneer of preservation in Paducah, says the layout