Hopkinsville’s first gas station, Sudden Service at Ninth and Campbell streets, was dedicated Friday following a renovation project that had been fueled by in large part by volunteer labor.
The building now has two public restrooms and the location will be a trailhead for a walking path that connects downtown the Greenway System. The Local Development Corp., a city agency the oversees public improvement projects, owns the property.
The cost to renovate the building was first estimated at approximately $228,000 in the fall of 2016, but the final cost was $91,511. Downtown Renaissance Director Holly Boggess estimated 1,728 volunteer hours were contributed from businesses and their employees who didn’t want to see the historic site destroyed.
Sudden Service was built in 1919 at 12th and Main streets and moved to Ninth and Campbell in 1935. It was a service station until 1978. The renovation included demolition of two wings that had been added to the building. The structure is now closer to its original footprint.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
