Until being demolished in June 2020, this likely was the earliest-surviving freestanding cylindrical commercial or residential tower in the country. This was a grassroots initiative to restore the promise of Gabe's Tower (1963) as a placemaking landmark for Owensboro, Ky. — a project to:
1 | Remind residents, diaspora and friends of Owensboro, Ky., what Gabe's Tower was — and what it represented
— in its 1960s and '70s heyday.
2 | Engage and mobilize this group as the vanguard of a movement to see that Gabe's Tower is preserved and restored — and that it is preserved and restored as part of a strategic vision and plan for upgrading the entire block and neighborhood of which the tower is a part.
3 | Brainstorm visions for how the Gabe's block — the whole block, including the tower — might be more imaginatively and sympathetically programmed and designed, so as to create a more hopeful future for the block and the neighborhood. July 2013
RECOMMENDATION THAT OWENSBORO ADOPT THE STRATEGIC REDEVELOPMENT AND RESTORATION OF GABE'S TOWER & BLOCK AS A "COMMUNITY PRIORITY"
Response to Public Survey Conducted Jointly by the City of Owensboro; Daviess Fiscal Court; the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation; and the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce
http://on.fb.me/12Lk7FP
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April 2013
LETTER OFFERING ASSISTANCE TO THE CITY OF OWENSBORO IN DEVELOPING OPTIONS FOR GABE'S TOWER
From American Institute of Architects-Central Kentucky
http://on.fb.me/11T5A6B
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March 2013
PRESERVATION KENTUCKY NAMES GABE'S TOWER ONE OF "KENTUCKY'S HISTORIC HIDDEN GEMS"
http://on.fb.me/XMFmU4
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January 2013
FULL-PAGE "SAVE GABE'S" HIGHLIGHT (link to pdf)
RPPN Connections | Winter 2013 issue
For best results, print in color on white paper. http://bit.ly/12gdvOJ
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November 2012
INVITED PHOTO ESSAY FROM DOCOMOMO US
http://docomomo-us.org/news/gabes_tower_a_photo_essay
Docomomo US is the U.S. chapter of Docomomo International, a nonprofit organization, founded in 1988, that is dedicated to "the DOcumentation and COnservation of buildings, sites and neighborhoods of the MOdern MOvement."
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October 2012
LETTER OUTLINING BLUEGRASS-SUPPORTING VISION FOR GABE'S TOWER, BLOCK & NEIGHBORHOOD
To Terry Woodward, Then-Chair of the
International Bluegrass Music Museum
http://on.fb.me/S1rBKW
LETTER FROM PRESERVATION KENTUCKY
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RACHEL KENNEDY
To Owensboro, Ky., Mayor Ron Payne
http://bit.ly/Ram1WV
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August 2012
STATEMENT OF "EMPHATIC SUPPORT"
from the Recent Past Preservation Network (RPPN)
http://www.recentpast.org/iconic-gabes-tower-threatened-with-demolition/
RPPN is a national nonprofit, founded in 2000, that champions works of architectural modernism that are 50 years old or less, including works designed by local and regional architects who — like R. Ben Johnson, the architect of Gabe's Tower — are less well-known nationally.
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The Save Gabe's project appreciates the support and assistance of the following preservation, advocacy and design groups and their leaders:
* Recent Past Preservation Network
* Docomomo US
* Preservation Kentucky
* Kentucky Heritage Council
* Society for Commercial Archeology
* American Institute of Architects-Central Kentucky
* Los Angeles Conservancy Modern Committee
* ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on 20th-Century Heritage
* KyModern.com
* Oklahoma Modern
* Modern Capitol
* Mid-Century Mundane
* Mid-Century Modern Rhode Island
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2-SIDED "SAVE GABE'S" FLYER (link to pdf)
For best results, print in color on white paper. http://bit.ly/UUZlio
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Previous Notes from the Save Gabe's page:
7 Oct 2016
GABE'S GARDENS | The Next Future for Gabe's Tower? http://ow.ly/s5uh3055Psf
4 Oct 2016
IS IT REALLY "NECESSARY" THAT THE CITY OF OWENSBORO ACQUIRE GABE'S TOWER IN ORDER TO RELOCATE THE CITY'S TRANSIT OFFICE? http://ow.ly/iWw9304TtI4
2 Oct 2016
CONDEMNATION ≠ DEMOLITION
http://ow.ly/GnTH304TtwY
30 Sep 2016
IDEAS FOR GABE'S TOWER
http://ow.ly/Y3EH304Ttm2
30 Jun 2016
HARD QUESTIONS FOR COPPERHEAD
http://ow.ly/nhKm304TtdU
19 Oct 2015
NEW INTERIOR PHOTO OF GABE'S TOWER CONFIRMS OUTSIDE-THE-BOX POTENTIAL
http://ow.ly/ciLS304TsFb
20 May 2014
THE MAYOR'S CODE | Inklings of a
Renewed Gabe's Demolition Crusade
http://on.fb.me/SyffAY
18 Dec 2013
"GOD IS IN THE DETAILS"
http://on.fb.me/18RUqlz
8 Aug 2013
THE ORIGINAL "HI, NEIGHBOR!" CAMPAIGN
http://on.fb.me/15SJPcQ
23 Jul 2013
GABE'S RANKS FOURTH IN PUBLIC SURVEY ON COMMUNITY PRIORITIES FOR OWENSBORO
http://on.fb.me/12hahw7
18 Jul 2013
THE MESSENGER'S DOUBLESPEAK ON GABE'S TOWER
http://on.fb.me/1bSoVeL
15 Jul 2013
IF THE NEVELE CAN RISE AGAIN, SO CAN GABE'S
http://on.fb.me/13tKSxj
12 Jul 2013
OF INTERIOR DEMOLITION AND EXTERIOR DIPLOMACY
http://on.fb.me/12x0pI4
27 Jun 2013
WANT TO SAVE GABE'S? USE YOUR EXISTING LOCAL INSTITUTIONS
http://on.fb.me/16FKuvi
19 Jun 2013
GABE'S & THE 2013 GREATER OWENSBORO COMMUNITY PRIORITIES LIST | Responses to the Public Survey
http://on.fb.me/12Lk7FP
11 Jun 2013
WERE THE ORIGINAL PASTELS OF GABE'S TOWER AN "OMAGGIO" TO ITALY AND ITALIAN FOOD CLASSICS? SEEMS A DECENT BET
http://on.fb.me/1a222Vh
6 Jun 2013
MOVE TWO LARGEST DISCOUNT RETAIL TENANTS FROM GABE'S SHOPPING CENTER BUILDING TO NEARBY HOSPITAL SITE
http://on.fb.me/10ZI9Lj
3 Jun 2013
HOW THE CITY COMMISSION COULD HAVE PUT BOTH THE COMMUNITY *AND* PROSPECTIVE DEVELOPERS IN A BETTER POSITION ON GABE'S TOWER
http://on.fb.me/13nD4KN
28 May 2013
GABE'S TOWER, TRIPLETT RENEWAL & THE NEW DOWNTOWN
http://on.fb.me/14r8aEb
22 May 2013
A BOURBON-FLAVORED GASTRO-LOUNGE ATOP GABE'S TOWER? http://on.fb.me/16PefwO
13 May 2013
AUSTIN GETS IT | Texas City Moves to Restore Iconic 1961 Tower — Even Without a Clear Use for It
http://on.fb.me/10mC1fl
7 May 2013
OWENSBORO MUST MAKE GABE'S TOWER, TOO — NOT JUST O's DOWNTOWN — "ONE OF THE DESTINATIONS FOR CULTURAL TOURISM IN THE U.S." http://on.fb.me/119GkrN
29 Apr 2013
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS / CENTRAL KENTUCKY OFFERS ASSIST TO CITY OF OWENSBORO IN DEVELOPING OPTIONS FOR GABE'S TOWER
http://on.fb.me/11T5A6B
25 Apr 2013
THE MESSENGER GIVES GABE'S A NOD (Sort of)
http://on.fb.me/ZpPIdj
31 Jan 2013
FROM EYESORE TO EYE CANDY | A Surprising New Life for A Battered St. Louis Power Plant
http://on.fb.me/YJf4DW
1 Dec 2012
GLIMMER FOR GABE IN A REVIVAL FOR RUDOLPH? http://on.fb.me/S4Sm6t
27 Nov 2012
THE SAVE GABE'S 225 | "Talk," "Reach," and the Untapped Potential of the Save Gabe's Page (As Revealed By Its User Data)
http://on.fb.me/10SwoFd
15 Nov 2012
FROM SMITH-WERNER TO GABE'S | What Owensboro City Hall Could Learn from Daviess County Fiscal Court
http://on.fb.me/RGaH6h
9 Nov 2012
OF WRECKING BALLS & LIGHTNING BUGS | Better Ways To Spend $500K+ of Taxpayer Money
http://on.fb.me/PKAEDa
26 Oct 2012
A ROLE FOR THE GABE'S BLOCK IN OWENSBORO'S ROOTS-MUSIC REVOLUTION? | A Letter to Terry Woodward (excerpt)
http://on.fb.me/S1rBKW
22 Oct 2012
THE ELUSIVE MR. HUDA
http://on.fb.me/VwMG6E
21 Oct 2012
FROM PRENTICE TO GABE'S | Lessons for Owensboro from Chicago
http://on.fb.me/Rl2XWd
20 Oct 2012
CAROL BRADY ♥'s GABE'S TOWER
http://on.fb.me/VrYQha
28 Sep 2012
THANKS, MESSENGER-INQUIRER ;)
http://on.fb.me/PignA1
12 Sep 2012
GABE'S TOWER IN THE ANNALS OF FABULOSITY
http://on.fb.me/SEXmik
6 Sep 2012
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO "SAVE GABE'S"? http://on.fb.me/RMV9Pb
23 Aug 2012
LOS ANGELES ARCHITECT AND WRITER CALLS ENDANGERED GABE'S TOWER "A RIGHTEOUS WORK OF MODERNISM"
http://on.fb.me/Qzligb
17 Aug 2012
GABE'S TOWER | A Test Case for Preservation in Owensboro, Ky. http://on.fb.me/OzhDQf
14 Aug 2012
BRINGING BACK GABE'S | An Idea for the Mayor
http://on.fb.me/R32biv
8 Aug 2012
A GABE'S TOWER PRIMER
http://on.fb.me/TA2O5i
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"Often the best way to get a good new building is to grab a great old one, give it a good hard shake, and reinvent it for another era." — Boston Globe architecture critic Robert Campbell
"A community uninterested in preservation is a community that is not proud of its past." -- Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Bill Cunningham
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Contact John Lumea | [email protected]
