May 9--Tourism officials celebrated a triple whammy Thursday with the unveiling of the new theater at the Historic Railpark and Train Museum, the premiere of the new tourism channel, City Vision, and kickoff of National Tourism Week.

For some people, the event was the first time they had seen the renovated Old L&N Depot, which now houses a museum.

Attorney Lee Coleman was there for the dedication of the theater named for his partner, J. Marshal Hughes, and Hughes' wife, Judi.

Coleman said the only other time he had been in the depot was before its renovation and "it was a mess."

He said he was impressed with the work that had been done to the building, which now includes museum exhibits on two floors and has public spaces for rent.

"I'm not really a train aficionado, but I guess I might become one," he said.

Larry Bailey, chairman of the Friends of the L&N Depot, said the Hughes family made a substantial donation, enough to do the theater and more.

Bailey said the amount of the donation is confidential but he classified it as the largest gift the museum, a nonprofit organization, has received to date.

Hughes also donated his grandfather's pocket watch. His grandfather worked for the railroad in Muhlenberg County.

"The railroad has touched so many lives," Bailey told the crowd of more than 100 gathered for the event.

Judi Hughes' grandfather worked for the railroad and her father, Ken Givens, was the original voice of the Hilltoppers, who rode the train from Bowling Green frequently with the basketball team.

Bailey said photographs of such excursions will be displayed at the museum along with other memorabilia it houses.

Judi Hughes encouraged others in the crowd to donate to the museum.

Once the upstairs theater was dedicated, the crowd was treated to a showing of CityVision, the cable tourism channel that will be shown in Bowling Green's 2,000 motel rooms.

It featured advertorial content for restaurants, shops and area attractions in a 30-minute segment that will be aired continuously on the channels.

Bailey joked that the crowd would "want to get a room" to see more of the channel once they got a sneak preview.

Downstairs, 8-year-old Caleb Kratts, was anxiously pulling his grandmother, Julie Johnson, of Bowling Green along to see other exhibits.

"It's awesome," Caleb said, noting he had not yet decided which exhibit was his favorite.

Johnson said she had been to the museum before, but it was the first time she had seen the upstairs.

"It's wonderful in here," she said.

Johnson said she's not surprised that Bowling Green has such a museum but is glad that it does.

In the lobby of the depot, the crowd sampled movie popcorn, hot dogs and ice cream floats with Chaney's ice cream.

The theme of the week, which runs from Saturday to May 18, is "Discover Great American Traditions."

Tourism employs about 3,800 people in Warren County and generates $274 million in annual revenue, according to Vicki Fitch, executive director of the Bowling Green Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Nationally, tourism payrolls total $178 billion and tourism tax revenues total about $110 billion.

-- For more information about the train museum, go to historic railpark.com.

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