Don’t confuse Paducah with Podunk
Nestled between travelogues on rush weaving in England and the Italian island of Ischia, The New York Times Sunday Style Magazine served up the headline, “Salvation Army: How artists came to the rescue of an ailing Kentucky town.”
It’s the story of Paducah and its success in turning 20 blocks of urban decay known as Lowertown into an arts district that’s attracting the attention of other small towns with similar problems.
“Paducah isn’t Podunk these days,” the Times declares.
The cash cow for Lowertown’s success may surprise you.
“The place fosters regional art, far from the coastal cultural establishment, and its most thriving medium is quiltmaking,” the Times says. “In fact, the town is a mecca for quilters.”
One quilt, depicting a rising phoenix, is priced at $34,000.
Lowertown now has 22 art galleries and studios, and a slew of restored historic houses, but Paducah — population 27,000 — isn’t done.
The city is planning a $50 million facelift for its riverfront and the rehabilitation of its Fountain Avenue neighborhood, said Mayor Bill Paxton.
Artists and their businesses poured more than $35 million in Lowertown, Paxton added. Maybe they’ll do the same for Fountain Avenue.
