Paducah, KY

[Rural King]

This will only cover basically three streets- Jefferson, Monroe, and Broadway, so you can imagine there is quite a bit more to see beyond what you will see in this thread.

No stats, no figures, just pictures!!!!

The great old housing stock found up and down the 30 block stretch that is Jefferson Avenue.

This is where Jefferson Avenue becomes a divided as you head west away from downtown.This nice statue is of Chief Paduke of Chickasaw who used to hunt and live in the area...and of course who the city is named after.

A nice apartment complex, Charles Apartments I believe is the name, that is putting a old building to a very good use.

Another nice old building that is an apartment complex.

This is back towards downtown. This is an old railroad related building I think, but I don't know what purpose it served.

Hey look Paducah has some urbaness as we get near downtown. Some nice old apartments that have been redone recently as part of downtown's revitalization.

The next pictures are in the area of downtown being redeveloped into a district for artists to move to and open studios. Paducah has been recognized by PBS and others for this ambitous program to rehab its historic residential areas.

Some more nice urban apartments...these are north Jefferson Ave. on Ninth Street.

Looking back towards Jefferson on Ninth.

The old white building on the right is being rehabbed which is awesome. As you can tell we are nearing downtown.

Monroe and 7th.

Across the street from the last shot.

Mmmm I forget...somewhere over by Monroe and 7th. LOL.

More urbanisque apartments.

Vice President Alben Barkley's Museum on Monroe Ave.

Lowertown = Downtown- Everybody I know calls it downtown....so downtown it is.

Okay here are some shots of Paducah's little urban downtown- mainly just Broadway.

This is looking towards Broadway, on the right is the old Greyhound station.

The giganitic Executive Inn hotel. They should have built up!!!!!! Notice it sits BEHIND the flood wall.

The National Quilt Museum...sounds lame but it makes Paducah huge amounts of money each year with its convention. Its really a huge event. There is no telling how many thousand people come every year.

Whaler's Catch - A high end and occasionally nationally recognized seafood and steak restaurant. High-end place.

Looking towards the old Market streets with Broadway in the foreground.

The historic riverfront and Maiden Alley- a arts film theatre is located in it.

Right down here on the left. See the Four Rivers Center at the end of the alley in the distance?

Here is a picture of it from earlier in the day.

Here is the old Finkels which is on Kentucky Avenue across the street...had to get it in somewhere.

Broadway/Downtown at sunset.

The Bayou Cajun Restaurant- I ate here earlier in the day.

I ate some Red Beans and Rice with grilled shrimp. Ever noticed that I tend to eat Cajun food on my photo tours?

This was the view from my table.

Back to later in the day. This is one of the two market streets. On the left on this street (nearest the river, I forget their names since I never need to know them) is Kirchhoffs Deli and Bakery.

Kirchhoffs from earlier in the day.

Its an historic place.

Inside. I asked permission. If you ever come to Paducah...YOU MUST COME HERE. The best baked goods one could ask for can be obtained here. Its a real treat.

The street on the other side of the Market Bldg.

CC Cohen another high end eatery downtown is shown nicely in this pic looking towards the river on Broadway.

Jeremiah's- A very high end and rather limited dining establishment. ie frog legs etc.

I love the architecture of the old 3rd National Bank Building. I really like this type of architecture.

By far my favorite picture I took all day. The US Bank Building.

Sidestreet next to US Bank off Broadway.

Looking west on Broadway towards the old Irvin Cobb Hotel.

Carols Gifts has an awesome facade, actually this is the Weille Bldg.

Weille Bldg.

The old Arcade and Columbia Theatres are on the left, the Columbia was the first air-conditioned theatre in the South so I have heard.

Looking back east towards the Ohio River.

Again looking east down Broadway.

The Irvin Cobb Hotel- now Senior Citizen Apartments.

Methodist Church- beautiful structure!!!

Hmmm I forget what church this is...but its a nice one.

The old Post Office and Court House

Well this sticks out like a sore thumb, it sat empty for years, now its a behavioral treatment center.

Weille and US Bank Buildings

One last shot of the US Bank Building!!

Now its time to say goodbye!!!!

This is a late night post and its huge...so forgive any errors or oversights.

[NCB]

Great pictures, Rural King!

What a great way to start off the Kentucky forum!

[RiversideGator]

Wow!! Great photos, Rural King. As I said before, I really like Paducah. I need to go and do a tour of Kentucky. I have only been to Lexington, but there is obviously so much more to the state. Very impressive stock of historic bldgs. Good work!

[Jerseyman4]

Paducah is on my "to do" list to visit the state of Kentucky whenever im near by the area.

[Lexy]

Awesome pics Rural King. It reminds me of a smaller St. Louis.

[Spartan]

Nice pictures. Its interesting to see both the northern and southern influences on the buldings there.

[Nashnoize]

Ah Yes, you are taking me back to my teenage years. The Irvin Cobb was always my favorite. Probably one of the best looking smallar cities. IMO Thanks Rural, nice work my friend. Oh, and Lexy the St. Louis comparison is a good one. My family had a hard time making up their mind during my childhood. I think that it was because of the higher crime rate in St. Louis that finally drove all of us out. The Paducah area just felt so familiar and safer.

[Rural King]

@Nashnoize - Thanks for the kind words on my photos! Did you live in Paducah at one time? I completely agree that its a great small city, and its definately one of my favorite places. It has lots of amenities for its size, a nice urban downtown, nice neighborhoods, low crime, good planning, limited sprawl, etc. Just a great all around place to live or visit IMO.

[Nashnoize]

Hey Rural. As a matter of fact, I did live in Paducah for a short time. I was eighteen, and right before I moved to Nashville. My parents live in Benton, so after I graduated I thought that it was time to move out. Paducah was right there and much more urban then little Benton. I lived in a two story apartment (I think that is it in the Monroe photgraph, third building down) two blocks from the Catholic chuch seen above (that is a Catholic church that you were asking about). This was in 1994, when downtown was dead, d-e-a-d, dead. We would walk around and nothing was open. Well except Jeramiah's (we knew some people that would sneek us some underage drinks, ha). Now I'm jealous, it is so much more vibrant. But, we made our own fun, even if it was sometimes illegal. ha. I could probably tell some stories that Uncle Dave would even be proud of. hee, hee(why won't the smilies work for me). Anyway, I'm proud with how far Paducah has come, and now quite enjoy promoting it. GO VISIT PADUCAH NOW!!! BITohnevermind.

The apartment is in the "somewhere over by Monroe and 7th" picture.

[ZachariahDaMan]

Great pictures! Thanks for posting them.

[Vertigo]

IMO, Paducah is easily West Kentucky's best river town.