Here’s where I officially age myself, but I’m sure I’m not alone. If you’ve lived in Owensboro all your life or for a really long time, you can relate. How many times have you been driving through the city and thought, “I remember when (fill in the blank) used to be on that corner.” Or this one, which seems very popular, “That (street, area, neighborhood) has changed so much, I can’t even remember how it used to look.” Highway 54 gets that one a lot.
Defunct Owensboro Landmarks
Off the top of my head, I’ve come up with eight Owensboro landmarks that, if you are a long-timer, you probably thought would never disappear. It’s how I feel about the following, and I still miss some of them.
Gabe’s Tower
It’s hard to pick what might be considered number one, so these are in no particular order. But I had to start with Gabe’s Tower. This unique luxury hotel opened in the early 1960s and immediately became a destination. The swimming pool was on the top floor, and a swank restaurant occupied the floor below.
Unfortunately, time took its toll, and it no longer was even safe to be in the building. (My last visit was in 2002 when that restaurant near the top of the hotel became a nightclub.)
After years of not knowing exactly what to do with it, Gabe’s Tower was demolished in 2020.
Executive Inn
Here’s another iconic hotel and a serious entertainment complex. The open-air lobby in the seven-story structure was a first for Owensboro, and the Showroom Lounge (part of which you can still see behind the Convention Center) drew some of the biggest names in entertainment. George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, and Merle Haggard were just a few of the icons who graced its stage. Future superstars like Jason Aldean, Keith Urban, and Brad Paisley also made early appearances in the 2000s…