PADUCAH PRESERVING

“The thing about preservation is when you have a success, it’s usually a big success—like the Coke plant. Something like that is a huge challenge, trying to figure out what to do with it. The Musselmans had a great vision here, and it worked. It’s easy to point to and get some attention.” For Growth, their restoration of a building along market square for their offices, C.C. Cohen, and the bank turned law firm gave Paducah tangible symbols.

Growth, Inc. moved beyond downtown to help save such buildings as Angles, the home of Vice President Alben Barkley, and Whitehaven, an 1860s southern mansion that is now used as a state rest stop and showcase for some of Alben Barkley’s personal effects. The buildings, which were reaching critical points of disrepair, have now become icons of the city.

Now, in 2020, there are plenty more examples to look to. And the work continues. Dick applauds the current work of the Market House Theatre in saving and using historic spaces downtown for creative uses. He also loves what Jorge Martinez and Paul Gourieux have done in creating the 1857 Hotel and The Johnson Bar.

“They have been key in ongoing efforts,” says Dick. “The Johnson Bar is an example. Sometimes it seems easier to tear down a building and start over. It’s really not. It’s better to have an empty building that is still standing than to have a vacant lot. We’ve learned that it is much easier to develop. We have plenty of vacant lots that have been that way for a long time. But we saved many buildings. People now understand that it is more likely for a business to go into a historic building than for a business to build one on a lot. People are now passionate about these buildings. I think Paducah has always been a leader in preservation.”