When the Phoenix Building — one of Hopkinsville’s oldest landmarks and downtown’s most glaring eyesore — is demolished in the next few weeks, the hole left on the landscape will pose a potential threat to a much wider area.
That blank spot in the heart of downtown could amplify negative opinions that already exist about our community’s capability to sustain a downtown revival.
But it would be a huge mistake to allow the Phoenix to become a symbol of failure for all of downtown.
The facts don’t support such a defeatist view. Not by a long shot.
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Right now within the 52 blocks that comprise the downtown business district, there are more than 25 businesses that have opened within the last 10 years.
I don’t know how anyone in good faith could look at this list of businesses and still deny that something worthwhile is happening downtown and there is a reason people want to be there. The businesses I’m talking about include Milkweed, Stella’s Soap Co., Hopkinsville Brewing Co., Clayton’s Downtown Diner, Lacy Studio, The Mixer, Baked, The Local, White Flowers, Butter and Grace, HipHoptown USA, 6th Street Antiques, Big Fella’z, The Apron Wife, 6th Street Boutique, Hopkinsville Nutrition, Dark Star Hobbies, WB Express, The Corner Coffeehouse, Hopkinsville Bourbon Society, Dreamfield Lending, Bella Marie Boutique, F&M Bank, Capturing Memories, S&S Bookkeeping, Heirloom Table Home and Hoptown Chronicle.
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Also in the last 10 years, I know of five established businesses that left another part of town to set up shop downtown. Those are The Peddler, Terry Lacy at Lacy Studio, Michael Venable’s State Farm Insurance, Williams Advertising and the Kentucky New Era.
Among all of these businesses, at least 15 went into a building that had some level of renovation and/or restoration to accommodate the new venture.
In addition to the ones I’ve listed (and a few that I’m sure I will learn I overlooked), a large office building and two event venues have opened up in the past decade — Forbes Place in the former First City Bank building on South Virginia Street; The Studio 3 at Ninth and Virginia streets; and Venue on Main in the former Main Street Tavern location.
Also notable, Planters Bank has extended the reach of its campus and now has several buildings along 14th Street from Bethel Street to South Virginia Street. The bank is essentially an anchor to the south end of the downtown district.
I’m not finished.
The last decade also saw the completion of the new Hopkinsville Municipal Center and major capital improvements to the Alhambra Theatre and the Pennyroyal Area Museum.
In between city hall and the old courthouse, two buildings in the 600 block of South Main Street are undergoing restoration work, and one of those is slated to be a residence on its upper floors.
And soon to open are two real estate companies in downtown buildings that are undergoing rehab — Byers & Harvey and 1st Choice Realty. Both are on Ninth Street.
I was motivated to give an accounting of downtown’s progress in the last 10 years because of some comments I read on Hoptown Chronicle’s Facebook page after I wrote a story about the Phoenix demolition bids that were unsealed Friday morning at city hall.
The number of people commenting on and sharing the story demonstrates this community’s interest in downtown. It has been a lively discussion. Many of the comments are thoughtful and informed. Everyone is entitled to express an opinion as long as they keep it civil and stay on topic. But when I read a comment that described downtown as a slum, I knew I had to respond.
Hopkinsville, like every town, has problems in its downtown. Vagrancy and homelessness are issues that demand our attention and compassion. We have some buildings that owners have neglected, and we’ve failed as a community to ensure the preservation of some of our most important historic places, including the L&N Train Depot.
I took a drive through downtown Saturday afternoon to look closer at the streets, sidewalks and buildings that I pass every day in the business district. I wanted to test my opinion about the overall state of downtown before I wrote this column.
Heading up Ninth Street on my way home, I saw three people working on a building that was last home to the watering hole called DT’s Last Call. I remember it as the home of Union 1776, a clothing store for teenagers in the 1970s.
I stopped to ask what was planned there and met Christina Hale, who is opening 1st Choice Realty. While I watched, Hale and her husband and another helper installed a new large window in the front of the building. The interior has new drywall and awaits painting.
Hale will probably be moving into her new office space about the time the Phoenix is coming down. Her view of downtown will include the vacant place at Ninth and Main streets where the Phoenix once stood.
I confess that I’m worried about the Phoenix property being developed into a use that doesn’t complement downtown. But it will take some time — probably longer than we would like — to learn what will fill the place that the Phoenix once held. In the meantime, there are many other places that are taking hold downtown.
We should not allow one loss to fuel a negative view of downtown. The evidence of our downtown revival does not support such a cynical outlook.
If you know of a business established downtown within the last 10 years that I did not include, please email me at editor@hoptownchronicle.org.
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.
