In 1906 Henry Hardin Cherry, the president and owner of Southern Normal School, donated the school to the state as the basis of the Western State Normal School. The school trained teachers for the expanding educational needs of the state. This institution, now known as Western Kentucky University, is the second largest public university in the state of Kentucky , having recently grown larger than the University of Louisville.
In 1906, Doctors Lillian H. South, J. N. McCormack , A.T. McCormack opened St. Joseph Hospital to provide around the clocknursing and medical care to the residents and students in the area.
In 1925, the Kentucky Street Rail Depot was opened . About 27 trains arrived daily at the depot. Local bus lines were also a well-liked form of getting from place to place . By the 1950s, both of these forms of transportation had dramatically declined as highway construction was subsidized by the federal government and the the primary means of travel became the private car .
In 1940, Bowling Green’s ecomomy wsa signifigantly bolstered by a Union Underwear factory . During the 1960s, the city’s population began to surpass that of Ashland, Paducah and Newport.
Downtown streets became a bottle-neck for traffic. Roln ute 31W Bypass was opened in 1949 to alleviate traffic problems but it also drew off business from downtown. The bypass grew to become a business hotspot in Bowling Green. A 1954 advertisement exclaimed, “Your business can grow in the direction Bowling Green is growing — to the 31-W By-Pass”
By the 1960s, the face of shopping was changing completely from the downtown square to suburban shopping centers . Between May and November 1967, stores in Bowling Green Mall were opened for business. Another advertisement said, “One stop shopping. Just park free, step out and shop. You’ll find everything close at hand.” Between September 1979 and September 1980, stores in the larger Greenwood Mall came inline. The city’s limits began to stretch toward Interstate 65.
By the late 1960s, Interstate 65, which runs just to the East of Bowling Green, was finished . The Green River Parkway (now called the William H. Natcher Parkway), was completed in the 1970s to connect Bowling Green and Owensboro . These vital transportation arteries drew many industries to Bowling Green.
In 1981, General Motors moved its Chevrolet Corvette assembly plant from St. Louis, Missouri to Bowling Green. In the same year, the National Corvette Homecoming event was created, becoming a large gathering of car parades Corvette owners and related activities in Bowling Green each year. In 1994 the National Corvette Museum was constructed near the assembly plant.
In 1997, Bowling Green was designated a Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation.
Twenty-first century initiatives
In 2002 the city undertook a feasibility study on ways to revitalize downtown Bowling Green area. The Downtown Redevelopment Authority was created to plan redevelopment. Plans for the project built on Bowling Green’s waterfront assets and historic center and streetscape around Fountain Square. It also proposed a new building for the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce, construction of a Riverwalk Park where downtown borders the Barren River, creation of a new public park called Circus Square, and installation of a new retail area, the Fountain Square Market.
As of the Spring of 2009, the new Chamber of Commerce, Riverwalk Park, and Circus Square have been finished . The Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center, a facility for arts and education, broke ground in October 2009. Ground has not yet been broken for the Fountain Square Market.
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