Paducah Real Estate Lowertown/Downtown (Louisville, Buckner: crime, homes, neighborhoods)

[greasycheeseburgers]

Hi.
I've looked at some Paducah listings online and I have a couple questions -

They call Jefferson St. "The most prestigious street is Paducah" - opinions?

If you live by lowertown/downtown is it safe to walk there at night?

What are the bad areas to avoid by lowertown/downtown?

[kentuckydad95]

Depends on which end you are talking about. Closer to downtown on Jefferson is a bad area, imo. Of course I wouldn't live anywhere in Paducah below 28th st.

[Hey_Hey]

In the past it may have been, but it has probably been overtaken by Buckner Lane. The exclusive areas of Paducah are largely off of Buckner. Jefferson is probably the most historic street in terms of residential and one time definitely served as the most prestigious, but I think that's changed over the years. Once you get into the 20s along Jefferson I would feel completely safe. Below that (and outside Lowertown) it's not quite as safe, although I wouldn't say it's a bad neighborhood by any means. I would feel completely safe owning and living in Lowertown. It's a really nice area, although to many people it will never be "safe" since it has a history. Of course many of the great neighborhoods in the US have had rough histories in the recent past (Canton and Fell's Point in Baltimore, Wicker Park in Chicago, Old Louisville, Central West End in St Louis, etc). Of course Lowertown doesn't compete with any of them in scale except Old Louisville. Downtown is safe at night, especially is you stay between Kentucky and Jefferoson and below 7th or 8th street. That's where the restaurants are shops are concentrated, so there's more people out and about. I've always pictured the area a few blocks south of Kentucky around 5th through 13th as the worst area of Paducah.

The other thing is, of course, that all things are relative. A bad neighborhood in Paducah wouldn't qualify as such in St Louis or Cincinnati or Memphis or Cleveland. These are the worst areas in the Purchase Area for sure, but the level of poverty and hopelessness in Paducah's worst neighborhoods doesn't touch what can be found in large cities.

[stx12499]

Originally Posted by Hey_Hey

In the past it may have been, but it has probably been overtaken by Buckner Lane. The exclusive areas of Paducah are largely off of Buckner. Jefferson is probably the most historic street in terms of residential and one time definitely served as the most prestigious, but I think that's changed over the years. Once you get into the 20s along Jefferson I would feel completely safe. Below that (and outside Lowertown) it's not quite as safe, although I wouldn't say it's a bad neighborhood by any means. I would feel completely safe owning and living in Lowertown. It's a really nice area, although to many people it will never be "safe" since it has a history. Of course many of the great neighborhoods in the US have had rough histories in the recent past (Canton and Fell's Point in Baltimore, Wicker Park in Chicago, Old Louisville, Central West End in St Louis, etc). Of course Lowertown doesn't compete with any of them in scale except Old Louisville. Downtown is safe at night, especially is you stay between Kentucky and Jefferoson and below 7th or 8th street. That's where the restaurants are shops are concentrated, so there's more people out and about. I've always pictured the area a few blocks south of Kentucky around 5th through 13th as the worst area of Paducah.

The other thing is, of course, that all things are relative. A bad neighborhood in Paducah wouldn't qualify as such in St Louis or Cincinnati or Memphis or Cleveland. These are the worst areas in the Purchase Area for sure, but the level of poverty and hopelessness in Paducah's worst neighborhoods doesn't touch what can be found in large cities.

Lowertown on a scale of Old Louisville? I think not. Also, none of those neighborhoods you listed are dangerous in true urban terms. Lowertown is not even remotely in the same league even scale wise. Old Louisville is the third largest historic preservation district in America, and the largest single collection of Victorian homes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Louisville


To be honest, CWE in STL and Old Louisville are nothing like Wicker Park in Chicago or Baltimore's Fells Point. I do see alot of similarities between CWE and Old Louisville. One was developed on the site of the World's Fair, and the other, on the site of the Southern Exposition, the world's fair of the South. Both were home to each city's elite at their peak only to decline in the 1960's and see a rebirth starting in the 1980's that continues today, with corner markets and bars and Victorian Mansions, set among urban parks and the arts. Of course CWE is on a much grander scale, with Forest Park and its amenities nearby. Also the crime in Lowertown is not comprable to crime in urban neighborhoods in bigger cities.