Entire block at 1100 E. Fourth for sale

Larry Hayden stood in the 1100 block of East Fourth Street on Monday, watching part of his family’s history being razed.

He owns the entire triangle-shaped block bordered by East Fourth Street, Leitchfield Road and Breckenridge Street.

It’s for sale at an asking price of $895,000.

“It’s 100% rare to find an entire city block in Owensboro for sale, especially at that price,” Scott Higdon, vice president and business development director for Gulfstream Commercial Services, the listing agent, said Monday.

Hayden said three of the buildings on the property were being razed Monday and today to open up more parking or land for new development.

He said his grandfather, “Pappy” Otis Hayden, started selling furniture farther west on Fourth Street in the 1940s and built the store at 1100 E. Fourth St. in 1950.

His slogan was “Trade with Pappy and be happy.”

Hayden was a promoter who gave away small cedar chests to high school graduates.

And he hosted a Saturday radio show, “Pappy and his Playmates,” that featured singing, talking and all sorts of entertainment.

Hayden gave away silver dollars during the show.

John E. “Trading” Hayden took over the business from his father.

And in the early 1960s, while he was still in high school, Larry Hayden, the third generation, began working in the store.

He eventually took over the store and continued to operate it until he retired in 2015.

Back in the ‘60s, that part of Owensboro was known as “Gaslight Center.”

All the buildings had outdoor gas lights and it was a bustling area, Hayden said.

Demolition of some of the buildings opens up more parking and could even be used for new apartments, he said.

Higdon said he’s met with several people who expressed an interest in the property.

The demolition of some of the buildings “improves the property 100%,” he said.

The former furniture store, which was “right on the corner and right on the price,” according to its advertising, has nearly 12,000 square feet of space, Higdon said.

“We sold a lot of furniture there,” Hayden said

It burned in 1962 and was quickly rebuilt

The other buildings on the property were once an apartment house, an upholstery shop and Dempsey’s Ornamental Iron.

There are rumors that one of the buildings had tunnels leading to the river.

A church, By His Side, will remain on the property, Hayden said.

Most of the property has been vacant since August of 2023.