The Executive Inn is Falling Down, Falling Down

This week I decided to give you a different perspective on the demolition of the Executive Inn in Paducah. Caryl Bryer Fallert's studio/shop/home is located just two blocks from the Executive Inn. I visited Caryl to see how the hotel looked from her home.

Note: You can make the photos larger by clicking on them.



From Caryl Fallert's second level back porch, you can see the first and second floors
of the hotel disappearing from the last remaining section - the pool end of the hotel.

This view is from behind Caryl's home, shot with a wide angle lens.
You can see one small section still there on the left - this is where the adjoining wall
with the Convention Center is being worked on so they haven't yet removed all of that
section of the hotel. The restaurant, shops, and the center lobby sections  of
the hotel have been completely removed now.

I asked Caryl how she felt about the Executive Inn coming down. She said, "it can't come down fast enough. It is so nice to be able to see across the (Ohio) river into Illinois. It will be nice for the people of Paducah to have use of that section of the riverfront. The river is a great asset for Paducah and the new marina there will make a big difference."

This week on Facebook I saw a picture of the demolition that was taken by photographer Glenn Hall; he gave me permission to share his photo which he titled A Room with a View... and here it is.

This view is from the convention center looking toward the pool end of the hotel. You see piles of rubble where the building has been torn down. They are recycling as many materials as they can from this huge building, including the concrete.

Next, I stopped in Schultz Park to give you a view from the pool end of the hotel.


You can see the first and second floors of the pool section disappearing from this angle.

That's all of our photos for today. Soon we should be able to show you photos without any hotel at all. What happens next to this property? During the quilt show in April we will be using this area for additional parking. After the demolition is complete, the City will be entertaining proposals from developers to build a new hotel in downtown Paducah.

Don't forget to register for the Paducah quilt show. You can register online or call 270-898-7903 and ask for Quilt Show Registration.

If you still need lodging for the Paducah show, the AQS Home Bed & Breakfast application is now available. Click here to go directly to the online AQS Home B&B application form. This program is coordinated by the Paducah-McCracken County Convention & Visitor's Bureau - if you have questions about the program, call 1-800-PADUCAH.

Bonnie Browning
Executive Show Director

And the Executive Inn Continues to Tumble Down

The demolition crew is making good progress in knocking down the Executive Inn. I stopped on Friday evening and snapped a couple of photos. It is getting harder to get everything from the convention center to the far end of the hotel in one photo. I went across the street this time to try to give you some perspective on the progress.

From this photo you can see what's left of the restaurant end of the hotel on the left. The restaurants and shops section are gone, and so is the lobby section of the hotel. When you see that big hole now, you realize how long this hotel was... and they aren't quite done yet.

This photo will give you some perspective on what is left of the hotel. The white building on the left is part of the Pavilion, and the street in the center is the main entrance to the hotel. All that is left now is the swimming pool section.

By the time you arrive for the Paducah AQS Quilt Show, this will be a bare lot; we'll have some additional parking on the grounds this year. We are working on the parking entrance and shuttle bus routes now and will post a map on our website as soon as it is finished.

We are looking forward to seeing you in Paducah -- have you registered yet? Classes are filling, so don't delay in getting your registration to us.  Don't miss seeing the movie "Stitched"; Quilter's Fun Night; the Evening with Charlotte Angotti; the National Quilt Museum's annual quilt auction; or the Ricky Tims Concert, Quilts & More.

You can register for Paducah online here, or call 270-898-7903 and ask for Quilt Show Registration.

Bonnie Browning

Executive Show Director

Progress Report - Big E Demolition

Work continues on the demolition of the Executive Inn in Paducah.

This photo was taken this morning from the Jefferson classroom in the convention center. You can see that the whole center section where the shops were located is gone now and you can see across the Ohio River into Illinois.

There will be additional parking for the quilt show in this space when the Executive Inn is gone. Yeah!

Stay tuned for more on the demolition progress...

Progress on Executive Inn Demolition

We are seeing more progress on the demolition of the Executive Inn now. Here are some photos that I took this week.

You can now see that they have removed a whole section of the building, with part of the roof hanging precariously on the back section. There are gates around the hotel so only the workers (with hard hats) can be in the demolition zone.

They have punched holes in the front of the next section too.

The Silver Saddle is now nearly gone - just a few supports and the roof. They will be making a new entrance into the convention center along the wall where these two buildings were joined.

We will be posting a map of the AQS Bus Stop and additional parking areas as soon as it is finished.

We'll post more photos as the demolition progresses so you can see too!

Demolition of the Big E Begins

Last week the exterior demolition of the Executive Inn started with the cutting of a beam and removing the Big E from the top of the building.

Here's a pictorial view of what happened: (you can make the photos larger by clicking on them)

The crane lifts the "E" from the top of the Executive Inn. The E's were auctioned off during the 54th Telethon of Stars produced by WPSD and the Lion's Club of Paducah this past weekend..

And it came down all in one piece. What a piece of history!

Ready to begin...

Taking the first bite....

And then a bigger bite...

Making a big hole in this section of the hotel.

Bonnie Browning took this photo on Saturday showing how they have demolished the side walls of the Silver Saddle (view from where the Pavilion site).

Caryl Bryer Fallert was at the celebration of the demolition of the exterior of the Executive Inn on Tuesday. Thanks Caryl for sharing your photos.



The demolition will take from 90 to 120 days and will be completed prior to the AQS Quilt Show in April.,