HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
An 1871 Bowling Green landmark where 'Mary,' who fell from a second-floor window, reportedly disturbs staff and is documented on the Heritage Walk historic plaque outside.
440 E Main Ave, Bowling Green, KY 42101
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Restaurant pricing; no cover for paranormal experience
Access
Wheelchair OK
Downtown ground-floor restaurant; paved sidewalks
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1871 · One of Bowling Green's Oldest Commercial Buildings · Heritage Walk Historic Plaque · Post-Civil War Warren County Architecture
The Getty Building rose in 1871 during Bowling Green's post-Civil War commercial rebuild, making it among the oldest standing structures in Warren County. Its brick facade along East Main Avenue has weathered multiple tenants over more than 150 years. The building takes its name from the Getty family, who owned it in its early decades. A Heritage Walk historic plaque installed on the exterior documents both the building's architectural significance and the resident legend attached to it.
The second floor long served as a residential apartment above the commercial ground floor — a common arrangement in 19th-century downtown buildings. A woman referred to in local accounts as 'Mary' lived there at some point in the building's history and died after a fall from a window; some accounts characterize the fall as a suicide, others as accidental. The plaque acknowledges her story without sensationalizing it.
440 Main restaurant now occupies the ground floor, and staff have described unexplained activity in a back closet where books are reportedly moved without explanation. A 2025 WBKO report covered the building's haunted reputation with interviews of current staff.
Sources
The Mary legend at the Getty Building has an unusual degree of official acknowledgment: the Heritage Walk historic plaque on the building's exterior references her story, giving it a civic imprimatur beyond the typical word-of-mouth ghost narrative. Staff interviewed by WBKO in 2025 described the closet disturbances as consistent and unexplained.
Accounts of Mary's death range from accidental fall to suicide, and without a documentary record establishing her full name or the exact year, she remains a partially documented figure — more than folklore but less than biography. The reported phenomena are mild by dark tourism standards: moved objects, occasional unexplained sounds, and a presence described as unsettling rather than violent. The building's age and the plaque's acknowledgment make 440 Main a credible inclusion in Bowling Green's documented haunted geography.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Lunch and dinner service in one of Bowling Green's oldest commercial structures. The Heritage Walk historic plaque outside documents both the building's 1871 construction and the Mary legend for passing visitors.
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