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Paducah City Hall Added to Historic Registry

Paducah City Hall Added to Historic Registry
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By West Kentucky Star Staff
Jul. 17, 2017 | PADUCAH, KY
By West Kentucky Star Staff Jul. 17, 2017 | 01:44 PM | PADUCAH, KY
Paducah's City Hall has been added to the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places.

The National Park Service officially listed City Hall on July 13.

Mayor Brandi Harless said, “City Hall is a piece of the heritage of Paducah that we feel a responsibility in honoring and saving.  This listing on the National Register of Historic places allows the city to apply for historic tax credits through the State of Kentucky which would be used to help fund Phase IA of the building’s renovation.” 
 
Architecture and Engineering firm Marcum Engineering is working with the city in the first phase of City Hall’s rehabilitation. Phase IA will include the rehabilitating and improving of City Hall’s roof, concrete overhang, façade, heating and cooling systems, and windows.  The estimated cost for design services and construction along with a construction contingency is approximately $4.9 million.  

The goal is to complete the design and bidding process so that Phase IA construction can begin in early 2018. 
 
Funds have been identified for the project using a combination of anticipated historic tax credits, the remaining funds from the City Hall visioning and design project with RATIO, and reserve funds from the General Fund and Solid Waste Fund. 

Downtown Development Specialist/Paducah Main Street Director Melinda Winchester submitted the nomination application for City Hall.  Winchester says, “I was thrilled to have the opportunity to develop the nomination for Paducah’s City Hall.  We are very fortunate to have a building that continues to portray its authenticity as a progressive modern structure of the 1960s.  Efforts are being made across the state and country to preserve these modern buildings that have been erected in the lifetime of many Americans but that do not seem old to most people, let alone historic or even significant.” 
 
Construction of Paducah’s City Hall began in 1963 with a dedication ceremony held February 28, 1965. Edward Durell Stone, one of the foremost architects of the mid-twentieth century, designed the building.  Stone also designed the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Radio City Music Hall, the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, and the U.S. Pavilion for the Brussels World’s Fair.  Several of his buildings have features that resemble Paducah’s City Hall.
 
The building was nominated under Criterion C, which focuses on design, architecture, and construction. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archeological resources.
 
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