An earnest effort to revive downtown began about a decade ago, Mosko said. Some had the help of a special loan program from local banks and federal money. It has clearly worked, especially on Saturday nights. Jana Kim Medlin came to a Saturday night celebration with her husband, her grandson and her parents. Crowds number from 3,000 to 5,000, said Louis Kirchhoff, chairman of Paducah Main Street, an agency that promotes downtown and doles out state and federal money for it.
Music can range from country-gospel to metal.
And the Elvis impersonator's set may include a Prince song or two. Maybe it says something about a place when a musician picks his mandolin on the sidewalk on a Sunday morning. That's the case in Asheville. This city of about 70,000 has idyllic mountain views and the Biltmore mansion, the ornate Vanderbilt family home. Its downtown is full of sidewalk cafes, a couple of brewpubs, art galleries, record shops and several Art Deco buildings that predate the Depression.