With the weather warmed up and the sunshine lighting up the sky, it’s time to feature all the beautiful outdoor spaces we have right here in Owensboro! We just posted a blog highlighting all the different parks in our area with playgrounds and fishing ponds, so today we’re focusing in on the #1 Most Frequented Place our out-of-town visitors come to see while they’re here. And that place is our downtown riverfront.
Just a few fun facts about Smothers Park and the Owensboro Riverfront as a whole:
–Owensboro’s downtown riverfront was constructed with the idea of bringing people downtown to enjoy our absolutely stunning views of the Ohio River, promote economic development, and to create a walkable, open environment for people of all walks of life to enjoy.
–The waterfront district includes iconic entryways, traffic calming roadways, two parks (Smothers Park and English Park), a scenic overlook, open air pavilions used for relaxing or holding events, a world-renown playground that’s been ranked as one of the best on Earth, a cascading waterfall, swinging metal benches, clean restrooms, free WiFi and three enormous fountains that steal the hearts of everyone who sees them.
–The waterfront project also brought with it several new entertainment venues and two hotels. The Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum and Owensboro Convention Center joined the iconic RiverPark Center as new venues, while the Holiday Inn Riverfront and Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown Owensboro/Waterfront were built to give visitors amazing waterfront views during their stay.
–Between 2008 and 2013, Owensboro’s newly updated riverfront generated a $1 billion economic impact for our city.
Another one of the great things about our downtown riverfront are the memorials that have been erected to pay tribute to the men and women who sacrificed their lives for all of us. Shelton Memorial and the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument serve as two places for loved ones of fallen soldiers to sit, reflect, and pay homage.
While we can try our best to describe this amazing area, there just aren’t enough words to emulate the beauty of downtown Owensboro and its updated riverfront. We see visitors all the time who travel to Owensboro JUST to experience Smothers Park and its surrounding area, and never has anyone said the trip wasn’t worth it. It’s just simply that stunning.