A once-in-a-lifetime experience brought thousands of people to the Bluegrass state.
PADUCAH, Ill. (WSIL) --- A once-in-a-lifetime experience brought thousands of people to the Bluegrass state.
The Kentucky Governor's office estimates 150,000 visitors were in the western part of the state for the Solar Eclipse. Paducah was among the popular tourist destinations across the U.S. for the solar eclipse.
"We saw the eclipse yesterday, and we're here to shop," Kenny Allord said, visiting with his family from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Many people were exploring Paducah's downtown, including Desiree Cortes, who brought her family from Florida to see the murals.
"I have been coming here since 1995 when the murals were first being painted," Cortes said.
A day after the eclipse, the stores on Broadway Street were busy.
The Paducah Antique Mall had a lot of shoppers, and vendors like Susan Smith were happy to see all the foot traffic.
"There's a lot of things here that people from out of town don't know that we have. And it's been great to bring people in," Smith said.
She hopes those who visited will come back again and stop by the antique shop.
"Everybody here has something here for every taste. We've got so many vendors here. It's just been great for Paducah," Smith said.
Liz Hammonds with Paducah's Visitor Bureau says the eclipse was a big event for them.
"It was bigger than 2017; it seemed like there were a lot of people out and about," Hammonds said.
Connie Carrington watched the eclipse in Carbondale, Illinois, but made sure to stop in Paducah on her way back home to Huntsville, Alabama.
"Things are always changing, so it's nice to come and see what's new," Carrington said.
Carrington said she wanted to visit the Yeiser Art Center to see the Fantastic Fibers exhibition.
Hammond said many businesses had a successful weekend with the eclipse.
One employee from the With Love, From Kentucky gift shop on Broadway Street says their security cameras counted over 1,000 people coming in and out of the store over the eclipse weekend.
The store's owner, Crystal Housman, told us by phone that their sales over the weekend far exceeded their January sales. She said many people told her they had plans to visit Paducah again.
