Hotel Metropolitan

Dating back to 1908, the Hotel Metropolitan located in the Upper Town district of Paducah was the city's first African American owned hotel providing accommodations for African American travelers and visitors to the city in the days of segregation. It was a place of rest and comfort for entertainers and musicians traveling the "Chitlin' Circuit" of the south. Its guest list is a Who's Who of famous African American's including  Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, B.B. King, and Ike and Tina Turner, Justice Thurgood Marshall and more. After desegregation, the hotel became a rooming house. In recent years, the property was donated to a local preservation group, rehabilitated and now serves as a museum of African American heritage. It is open by appointment.