Please see the Historic Tour Map for exact locations of these sites of interest. You can also visit our main historic tour here.
1-4) Central City Library
The library occupies land that previously contained 4 separate storefronts/buildings. From west to east, previous sites of interest in these buildings include:
Bryson Studio
Wells’s Dry Goods
Selba Theater, State Theater
J.C. Penney
This is included as Tour Stop A; please see the main driving tour for more information.
5-7) Stellian’s restaurant
Stellian’s occupies 3 separate storefronts. Previous sites of interest in these locations include:
Winnie’s Grill, Tony Maroni’s Pizza (both in the westernmost 2 stores)
Green Lantern (circa 1932-33)
Canary Tea Room
Grayson Hotel (upstairs)
May-Rudd Shoes, Russ Designs florist, Bennett & Lawson florist (circa 1929-30), Suzie Adkins florist (in easternmost storefront)
Stewart & Beck Insurance (exact location uncertain but was in this area)
8) Vacant storefront
Previous sites of interest in this location include:
D&W Café, Tommy’s Pizza, Tennessee Watkins’s restaurant, People Plus
9) Vacant storefront
Previous sites of interest in this location include:
Beck’s Barber Shop
American National Insurance
10) Flower Barn II
Previous sites of interest in this location include:
Star Records, Marshall Moore’s farm equipment store, Sears, Corner Fashions
11) First United Methodist Church
The Methodist and Catholic Churches are included as Tour Stop B; please see the main driving tour for more information.
12) St. Joseph Catholic Church
The Methodist and Catholic Churches are included as Tour Stop B; please see the main driving tour for more information.
13) Industrial storage
Previous sites of interest in this location include:
Kentucky Utilities, Southern Ice Company
Along with the building at #14, this is included as Tour Stop C; please see the main driving tour for more information.
14) Workshop
Previous sites of interest in this location include:
Ideal Pure Milk
Along with the building at #13, this is included as Tour Stop C; please see the main driving tour for more information.
15) Parking lot for St. Joseph Catholic Church
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Home of T.Q. Fortney, a planing mill operator and creator of the town’s first electrical power plant (circa 1907) – this house was demolished in the 1960s
16) House at 403 Broad Street
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Coffman’s Market (exact location uncertain but was in this area), Wilcox Market, Williams’ Swirl & Curl beauty shop
17) Martha’s Apartments
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Home of J.T. May, a saloon owner and police judge (this house was purchased at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis and moved to this location)
18) House at 509 East Broad Street
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Home of J.P. Walton, doctor who practiced medicine from 1908 (with a horse and buggy) until 1962 and delivered more than 6,000 babies
19) House at 516 East Broad Street
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Home of Congressman Robert Y. Thomas
This is included as Tour Stop D; please see the main driving tour for more information.
20) Railroad facility at end of South 8th Street
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Illinois Central Railroad yard office
21) House at corner of 8th Street and East Broad Street
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Wortham’s Boarding House frequented by visiting train crews (exact location uncertain but was one of the homes at the intersection of 8th and Broad Streets)
22) Fairmount Cemetery
The cemetery is included as Tour Stop E; please see the main driving tour for more information.
23) Muhlenberg Manor Apartments
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Central City High School (moved to new location in 1925), Central City Graded School (same building as high school but lower grades remained after high school moved; building demolished circa 1981)
24) First Baptist Church
The Baptist Church and Tucker Funeral Home are included as Tour Stop F; please see the main driving tour for more information.
25) Tucker Funeral Home
Tucker Funeral Home and the Baptist Church are included as Tour Stop F; please see the main driving tour for more information.
26) Awakening Community Church
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
First Christian Church (beginning in 1916 when this building was built)
27) Starla Renee Photography
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Yellow Cab Company
Music Unlimited
Lord & Luticia music shop
Bus station (exact location unknown; was in area between photography studio and church)
Telephone company (exact location unknown; was in area between photography studio and church)
28) Masonic Lodge
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Humphrey’s Sinclair gas station, Phillips 66 gas station
29) Clinic Pharmacy
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
City Hall
Clinic Pharmacy and First Kentucky Bank are included as Tour Stop G; please see the main driving tour for more information.
30) First Kentucky Bank
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Jerry’s Café, bus station, Helen Vincent’s beauty shop (upstairs)
First Kentucky Bank and Clinic Pharmacy are included as Tour Stop G; please see the main driving tour for more information.
31) Signal 5 Restaurant
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Numerous other restaurants, Added Touch Florist, Texaco gas station (circa 1940s), Edisonian Silent Movie Theater (circa 1906)
32) Coffee Central
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Telephone Company Exchange (before 1931), Kentucky Utilities, Sam Daniels Grocery, Crandall Bastin’s Firestone Store, Edwards and Simmons Firestone, Ingrid’s Fabric Store
33) Central Hemp Dispensary
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Kick Ash Vape 2, Bryson Studio, Winkler’s Market, Sam Sears’s (or Malcolm Sears’s?) grocery
34) Vacant storefront
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Depot Gifts and Corner Fashions, Ben Franklin Five and Dime store, Shelly Depoyster’s Variety Store, Brenda’s Thrift Store, Ramsey’s Shoe Repair
35) Depot Gifts and Corner Fashions
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Broadway Jewelers (open for more than 50 years beginning in 1948), IGA, Eades’s Bakery (circa 1907)
36) Keith Nunley Way
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Kentucky Finance Company, music store, Martin Moore’s mortuary (upstairs over music store; first mortuary in Central City), Vick & Howerton blacksmith shop (behind Martin Moore’s store)
37) Festival Square (portion along East Broad Street) (under construction as of August 2023)
Many different storefronts were previously located along this block. Previous sites of interest in these buildings include:
J.J. Newberry’s, Gish Apartments, G.T. Westerfield’s Livery & Stable (circa 1907), Dollar General, Red Front Grocery, A&P Grocery, Perry’s Ice Cream Parlor, pool room (numerous owners), Wallace Hardware, Central City Drug Company, telephone office, First National Bank
This block is included along with the next block as Tour Stop H; please see the main driving tour for more information.
38) Vacant storefront
Previous sites of interest in this location include:
2 Southern Ladyz, Pendley’s Western Auto, Molden & Hughes grocery, Charlie Winkler’s grocery
39) Charming Chicks and Amore Nail Studio
Previous sites of interest in this location include:
What’s the Scoop ice cream shop, Muhlenberg County Home Health, Muhlenberg County Baptist Association, UMWA headquarters, Lawton Insurance, Gish Opera House, Gish Banking Company, J.F. Robertson Drugstore
This location also housed (along First Street): Paul Noffsinger’s shoe shop, a pool room and the post office (circa 1906).
40) The Courtyard Assisted Living
Previous sites of interest in this location include:
H.F. Storer Jewelers, Hendrick’s Jewelry Store, Buddy’s Hardware, Modern Gift Shop, Brand’s Corner Drug, D.G. Miller’s drugstore, Raymond Perry’s drugstore, Donovan’s drugstore, Dempsey’s, Dr. Willis’s dental office, Gish Hardware, Barnes Mercantile, City Hall (behind the current building circa 1901-1907)
41) Poole’s Pharmacy
Previous sites of interest in this location include:
Offices of Dr. Paul Todd and Dr. J.P. Walton
42) Parking lot for Holly J’s restaurant (portion along West Broad Street)
Many different storefronts were previously located along this block. Previous sites of interest in these buildings include:
Crescent Coal Company Commissary and Company Store, McDowell Hotel, Neal Barnes’s saloon, Rubenstein’s Dry Goods, Cohen’s Dry Goods, Freeman Hershberg Dry Goods, McGehee’s Dry Goods, Miller’s Drugstore, Durham Drugstore, Perry’s Drugstore, offices of Doctors Hannephin, David and Paul Todd, Miss Ida’s Music Store, Boggess TV, Stovall Appliance, Bennett Clothing Company, Vaught’s, Mod Shop, Modern Gift Shop, M&R Shoppe, Corner Fashions, bandstand
This block is included along with the previous block as Tour Stop H; please see the main driving tour for more information.
43) Lawton Insurance
Previous sites of insurance at this location include:
Bennett Clothing Company, P.N. Hirsch department store, Charles’s department store
44) Vacant storefront
Previous sites of insurance at this location include:
Dennis Winters’s law office, Kentucky Utilities, Patty Perkins’s shoe/children’s store, Mike Poulas’s Ideal Café, Clarence Batsel’s restaurant, Anderson Funeral Home (upstairs)
45-46) Red Elephant Studio
The photography studio occupies two storefronts. From east to west, previous sites of interest in these buildings include:
Studio III Photography (in both storefronts), Villine’s Furniture Company
Peerless Café, Broadway Café
47) Underwood & Connors Dentistry
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Laveen’s Dry Goods, J.F. Robertson’s Drugstore, Jenkins Qwik-Print, Sears, Roebuck & Co.
48) First Southern National Bank
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
“Negro tenements” (circa 1907, according to historical maps), First National Bank (after building was constructed in 1968), railroad depot – former Central City resident Bob Lawton remembered the circus unloading animals here
49) United States Postal Service
This building was constructed in 1932 as a WPA project, on land that had been purchased nearly 10 years earlier in March 1913 for $7,500. Prior to this, the post office had been located along the eastern side of South 1st Street (circa 1906) and on Maiden Lane (circa 1931).
50) Vacant storefront
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Ray’s Mortgage, Greenwood’s Grocery, J.W. Vincent’s Grocery, Citizen’s Union Bank, Central City Deposit Bank (closed in 1915 as a result of bank president Eli Gregory being accused of forging loans)
51) Mandi Cecil’s Winds of Change Marriage and Family Therapy
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Times-Argus newspaper office, Central City Chiropractic Office (circa 1960s-70s)
52) Jitterbug Energy & Nutrition
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Kentucky Check Cashing, Joy Dozer’s dress shop, grocery
53) Ellison’s Barbershop
Ellison’s barbershop has now been open for more than 50 years. Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Wells’s shoe shop
54) Empty lot (remains of old foundation visible)
The building previously located at this site was demolished several years ago, but a partial outline of the foundation is still visible. Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Colonel Anderson’s restaurant (Colonel’s Grill), Daisy’s Beauty Shop, Miss Tansie’s Café
55) David S. Morehead Family Dentistry
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Dental offices of Doctors Dukes, Beverly Shaver and Penrod Eaves, Raley’s Service Station, Willis’s Standard Oil Station
56) “Sinister on Center” haunted house (seasonal)
A mural on the side of this building pays homage to its history. Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Osteen’s Furniture Store, Oates Brothers Chevrolet dealership, Gish Chevrolet Company
57) Pride Johnson Heating and Cooling Company
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Henry-Cisney garage, Central City Planing Mill (behind this building circa 1907)
58) Apartments at 109 Center Street
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Water company (circa 1931), hay/lime/cement warehouse, Miller Milling Company flour mill (north of this building on 1st Street from 1923 through the 1930s)
59) Vacant factory/warehouse building
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Patricia Creager’s law office, Cowden sewing factory, Livingston’s grocery warehouse (circa 1931), Electric Light Company office (circa 1912)
60) Vacant factory/warehouse building
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
RC Cola plant, Livingston’s grocery (circa 1931), Underwood Brothers’ flour and grist mill (behind this building circa 1931)
61) The Bible Way Holiness Church
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
First Presbyterian Church
This is included as Tour Stop I; please see the main driving tour for more information.
62) House at 106 West 2nd Avenue
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Home of disgraced Central City Deposit Bank president Eli Gregory (circa 1906), later owned by J.W. Bastin (circa 1917) and his daughter Kate Bastin Purvis (circa 1939) and used as a boarding house in the 1920s
63) House at 109 West 2nd Avenue
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Home of Herman Raabe, owner of the Raabe Hotel and Restaurant and a member of the inaugural Board of Directors for First National Bank (circa 1902)
64) Sherry’s Country Style Grooming and Edge Door & Hardware
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Todd’s Furniture, Central City library, Cumberland Presbyterian Church
Along with Shaver’s Body Shop at #65, this is included as Tour Stop J; please see the main driving tour for more information.
65) Shaver’s Body Shop
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Coca-Cola Bottling Company
Along with the building at #64, this is included as Tour Stop J; please see the main driving tour for more information.
66) Shaver’s parking and storage
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Brown’s Pest Control, Gulf Oil plant, Galilee School (aka the “Tall Building,” the first school in Central City, also used as the meeting place for religious congregations including the Christian Church congregation), St. Martin’s Catholic Church
67) Central City Convention Center
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Central City High School
This is included as Tour Stop K; please see the main driving tour for more information.
68) House at 303 Walnut Street
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Home of Thomas Coleman DuPont of the world-famous DuPont family, home of Jake Ruby (wholesale grocery owner)
69) House at 204 Walnut Street
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Home of S.F. Howey, a member of the first city council in 1894
70) House at 202 Walnut Street
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Home of Everett and Adrian Barnett McRee, owners of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company
71) Vacant factory building
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Flynn sewing factory, Illinois Central Railroad freight yard
72) Pace Tire Center
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Lila Jean School of the Dance (upstairs), Raymond Rich Dodge, Neal Barnes’s Garage and Cab Service, filling station (circa 1931)
This block is included as Tour Stop L; please see the main driving tour for more information.
73) Vacant lot
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Ford Liberty service station
This block is included as Tour Stop L; please see the main driving tour for more information.
74) Vacant storefront
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Root 66 hair salon, Freymeyer’s Electrical Shop, Dukes and Yonts grocery, water company office
This block is included as Tour Stop L; please see the main driving tour for more information.
75) Vacant lot
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Woodwright’s shop, First Federal Savings and Loan
This block is included as Tour Stop L; please see the main driving tour for more information.
76) Vacant lot
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Bivins Furniture, Red Front grocery, bakery and flour warehouse (circa 1931)
This block is included as Tour Stop L; please see the main driving tour for more information.
77) Post office parking lot
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Central Coal and Iron Company office (namesake of town)
This block is included as Tour Stop L; please see the main driving tour for more information.
78) Lu-Ray Park
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Lu-Ray Hotel
Sandusky House
This site is included as Tour Stop M; please see the main driving tour for more information.
79) First Southern National Bank parking lot
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Mike Poulas’s Café, Bishop’s Tombstones, Wallace Hardware Warehouse, Skinny Gish’s barbershop
80) Vacant building
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Central Amusement Company
81) Top Fuel Raceway
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Sanitary Cleaners and Fur Storage (opened in 1935)
82) Vacant storefront
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Dink and Maude Tatum’s D&M Café
83) Residence at 119 Locust Street
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
D&M taxi service
84) Vacant building
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Central City Colored High School
This site is included as Tour Stop N; please see the main driving tour for more information.
85) Ashelynn Andrews Tattoos/Tae Kwon Do studio
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Dennis Winters’s law office, Barbara Ann Creative Accents, Lockery Cleaners, Troy Cleaners, Union Church (which housed all Christian denominations in town until individual groups began building their own facilities in the late 1800s)
86-87) Central City Lumber Company and Tri-City Auto Parts
The lumber company is one of the city’s oldest businesses; it opened in 1906. The auto parts portion of the business was added later when motor vehicles became popular.
88) City Hall
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
First Federal Savings and Loan (circa 1962), First Kentucky Bank
89) Central City Police Department
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Municipal water office, Central City Tourism Commission
90) Element Salon & Spa
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Morehead family cemetery (behind the building); Central City was originally known as Morehead’s Horse Mill. Nothing from this cemetery is now visible, unfortunately.
91) Vacant building
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Federal Savings and Loan
92) Central City Tourism Commission Office, Muhlenberg Music Museum & Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
SMR Labs (circa early 2000s), Lester Motors (circa 1952), Barnes Auto Company (circa 1924)
This site is included as Tour Stop O; please see the main driving tour for more information.
93) Farmer’s Bank and Trust
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Telecommunications company, Fresh Start Youth Center, Central City library, Dave Cohen’s A&P store, Starr Grocery
94) Farmer’s Bank parking lot
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Home of Dr. James McDowell, first mayor of Central City
95) Holly J’s restaurant
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Sara Michaels restaurant, Purple Onion restaurant, Kirtley’s Furniture Village, Ed Pulley’s Farm Supply, Ruby Distributing wholesale grocery company
96) Holly J’s parking lot (portion along South 1st Street)
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Cinema III/Cinema IV (1990-2015), Towne Cinema, Argus newspaper office (1920s)
97) Festival Square (portion along South 1st Street)
Previous sites of interest at this location include:
Dave Cohen’s electronics store, office of Dr. Crowder, Empress Theater (1922-24)
