Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “History”
In 1977, Bob Green opened the Executive Inn Rivermont at the foot of Cedar Street. It was the second largest convention center in the state at that time. The Showroom Lounge started hosting big-name entertainment from Nashville, Hollywood, and Las Vegas. Jerry Lee Lewis, The Beach Boys, Keith Urban, Billy Ray Cyrus, and former Beatle George Harrison were just a few …
St. Joseph Church was organized in 1870 by the German members of St. Stephen. Their first building, built in 1871 at Triplett and McFarland (9th) burned by a fire caused by lightning. In 1878, they bought a lot at the southeast corner of 4th and Clay and completed their new building in 1880. When St. Stephen Church couldn’t accommodate the …
Address: 1301 Leitchfield Rd. Built: Early 1870’s Demolished: 2005 Felix Grimes came from Ireland to Pittsburgh, then Owensboro in 1867 and bought this property from a man who left town to go to California. He cut timber on the property about 1870 to build the two-story home. According to a Messenger-Inquirer article, it was a duplicate of his wife’s childhood …
The Owensboro Drive-In operated from 1961-1978. It was located where Best Buy, TJ Maxx, AT&T and TGI Fridays once was.
The Starlite Drive-In opened in 1947. The car capacity was listed at 400 cars. It was initially operated by Anderson Theatres and finally by Malco Theatres. At one time, Malco Theatres dominated the market in Owensboro. The drive-in closed in 1988 when the screen was set on fire by vandals. Aerials below are 1950 and 2021.
Two of the original founders of the Owensboro Wagon Company, J. H. Hickman and W. E. Ebbert, started the Hickman-Ebbert Wagon Company here in 1905. The business failed after only a few years and the building was then used by The Stenotype Company from 1910-1913. The Murphy Chair Company bought the building in 1917 and in 1961, it became the …
Downtown has changed drastically in the past 60 years. There have been several courthouse buildings since 1815. This image from 1951 shows the fourth courthouse building which was constructed in 1868 and served until 1964. For more information on the Courthouse, visit the Wiki Article here.
The first steps to acquire a city park (see note on Smothers Park below) started in 1894, when James H. Hickman suggested to the city council should purchase a wooded 24-acre tract of land south of the city. The owner of the land, Cam Riley, negotiated a price of $4,000 but the city agreed to only buy the land, not …
This is the fourth location of Daviess County High School. This location on New Hartford Road was completed in 1958-59. The Springbank subdivision is on the left side of the image.
The Cardinal Drive In opened in 1955 and had a capacity of 550 cars. It was operated by Malco until it was closed and demolished in the mid 1980’s. Glenn Funeral Home now sits on the property. Shown on the right side of the image is the Rosehill-Elmwood Cemetery.
