Downtown Owensboro has changed drastically over the past few years.

Carey Ellis, from McLean County, stated “It is a lot better than it used to be!”

Downtown Owensboro recently opened up a 68 million dollar attraction for children called the Lazy Dayz Park. The BatWing was also recently developed. This landmark is used as one of five stages during the free summer concert series, Friday After 5.

Some downtown restaurants attract many people. For instance, the newly opened Mellow Mushroom and Feta.

Jennifer stated “I like Mellow Mushroom pizza, but I would prefer to eat at a Mexican Restaurant. Just like the one we used to have.”

In the past, Owensboro had a Mexican restaurant placed right on the riverfront. However this building was recently knocked down.

On a positive note, Jennifer and her son Evan enjoy how peaceful the river seems to be after dark.

“I would rather be here at night,” Evan said.

There are some landmarks that one may be interested in when walking the riverfront. For example, the Colonel Charles E. Sheldon Memorial. This landmark represents local troops from a bygone era. Or one may be interested in the Owensboro Museum of Science and History, which has a mammoth skeleton named Colombo.

“If someone has never been to the museum, they really need to go check it out” says Wayne Oost.

Overall, the downtown area has new renovations that attract more people to the city. Oost stated

“I love it now compared to how it used to look,” said Oost. When Oost asked how downtown Owensboro used to look, he said, “Very nasty, the air even smelled dirty.”

Come see for yourself the new and improved riverfront.