The Kaintuckeean

Railroad Depot, Catlettsburg, Ky.

Catlettsburg was once called where the “river meets the rail.” The Catlettsburg Rail Depot, originally part of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, is no longer an active station. Until 1998, Amtrak used to stop at CAT on its Chicago to NYC Cardinal train, but the line now stops in Ashland. Amtrak also utilized Catlettsburg as the termini of the Hilltoper line (a line that operated from 1977 to 1979 – check out this story (and pics) of riding the line in 1979) It served as an active C&O passenger station from 1904 to 1958.

In his rail journal dated 2004, Dan Chazin called the abandoned Catlettsburg station a “small, unattractive station.” To be sure, it is an old (1904) station and its yellow brick is certainly not the most asthetically appealing rail station I’ve ever seen. That said, it is a classic rural rail station from that era. Given the loss of rail traffic – and rail stations – nationwide, the structure is significant. This is why I’m so glad to see that it has been, since 2006, the Russell E. Compton Civic Center and Museum. From the picture, you can see that work is being done to expand the role of the center in the community.

At the time of my visit, a rusty caboose sat next to the station. Within months, the caboose was restored and painted a bright red with sharp yellow trim. From the pictures at Ashland’s Daily Independent, they’ve done a great job restoring the caboose.

A number of my flickr Catlettsburg photos were taken at the depot.

Paramount Arts Center, Ashland, Ky.

Ashland’s Paramount Arts Center is an amazing facility with an incredibly full schedule – Broadway Live, concerts, classic films, and so much more. With a seating capacity of over 1,400, it is one of Kentucky’s largest indoor entertainment venues.

Planning for the Paramount began in 1928; the design was specifically for the popular silent films of the era. By the time the Paramount opened in 1931 (the first show, Silence, was a talkie), technology and entertainment demand had changed. So too had the national economy – the Depression was in full force. In fact, Paramount (the movie company) wanted to drop the project altogether but locals provided the support to go forward with the local project. Paramount’s reluctance to go forward is understandable – the company’s plan was to build one of these grand theaters in each of the fifty states (Ashland was chosen as it was then viewed as a locale with tremendous promise of growth and increased visibility).

Today, only twelve Paramount theaters remain. Other than the Ashland, Kentucky location, the theaters are in Denver, Colorado; Aurora, Illinois; Oakland, California; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Abilene,  Texas; Bristol, Tennessee; Seattle, Washington; Charlottesville, Virginia; Anderson, Indiana; Austin, Texas; and Springfield, Massachusetts. Many (if not all) of these facilities closed for decades as multiplex movie houses became en vogue, only to be reopened after extensive upgrades and restoration.

This was the case with the Paramount Arts Center. It closed in 1971 as a movie house, but soon thereafter was reopened as an arts center. Extensive restorations continued for decades and the facility is as beautiful today as it was when it first opened nearly 80 years ago. I was lucky enough to be given an off-schedule tour of the facility during my quick trip through Ashland, but unfortunately my pictures don’t sufficiently show off the Paramount’s beauty. You can see them here on flickr.

Carl D. Perkins Federal Building & Courthouse, Ashland, Ky.

Although Catlettsburg is the county seat of Boyd, it no longer houses a Federal courthouse for the Eastern District of Kentucky. The “Ashland Division” has existed since 1985 when the move was made from Catlettsburg to Ashland’s Carl D. Perkins Federal Building and Courthouse.

If you’ve accepted student loans, you’ve no doubt encountered Carl D. Perkins before. His “Perkins Loans” are a great help to struggling students. He served in the House of Representatives from 1949 until he died in 1984. The building constructed in his honor is very typical of a 1980s government building; utilitarian in design with clean lines and generous use of windows but void of either warmth or individualistic style.

Perkins worked tirelessly for the underprivileged, particularly those in eastern Kentucky. He brought many national leaders, including the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, to the area to gain support for efforts to improve the lives of Kentuckians. At the end of the video of Sen. Kennedy, Rep. Perkins is seen sitting next to the Senator.