HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
An 1873 riverside landmark where a woman's fatal 1927 catwalk plunge gave rise to one of Owensboro's most persistent apparitions.
101 Daviess St, Owensboro, KY 42303
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Admission varies by performance; check website for current schedule and ticket prices.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Indoor performing arts facility on the Owensboro riverfront.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1873 · Ohio River Commerce · Western Kentucky Performing Arts · 19th Century Commercial Architecture
Built in 1873, the Turley Building anchors the Owensboro riverfront along the Ohio River, predating most of the city's downtown commercial district by a generation. Its riverfront position made it a natural gathering point for commerce, entertainment, and the transient populations that moved through Kentucky river towns in the industrial era.
The building's most documented dark history centers on a 1927 incident in which a woman jumped from the interior catwalk into the Ohio River below, dying from the fall. The catwalk — an architectural feature running high inside the structure — was a functional part of the building's stagecraft infrastructure and a liminal space accessible to few people in ordinary operations.
Today the building operates as RiverPark Center, a professional performing arts facility that hosts touring productions, local theater, and community events. Rich Jorn, the venue's executive director, has publicly acknowledged the building's reputation, placing it on a local list of the five most haunted sites in Owensboro. The building's combination of age, documented tragedy, and active public life makes it one of the more unusual haunted venues in western Kentucky — a working theater with a ghost in the catwalks.
Sources
The apparition associated with the Turley Building follows a consistent pattern across accounts: a woman dressed in white, water visibly dripping from her clothes, observed walking the high interior catwalk. Witnesses who have seen the figure describe her moving normally until she becomes aware of observation, at which point she disappears.
The specific detail of dripping clothes — unusual in haunting accounts, which more commonly describe dry apparitions — is thought to reference the 1927 death in which a woman fell from the catwalk into the river. That the figure appears wet rather than dry is the kind of specific, uncomfortable detail that sustains the legend locally rather than dismissing it as generic ghost-story embellishment.
Local media and the city's tourism board have included the RiverPark Center on official haunted-location roundups, and Visit Owensboro cited the venue as one of the city's five most haunted buildings in 2023. For most visitors, the theater functions entirely as a performance space; the ghost, if present, keeps to the catwalks.
Notable Entities
Local ghost tour operators include the RiverPark Center / Turley Building as a primary stop, covering the 1927 catwalk death and subsequent sightings of the dripping-wet woman in white. Check Visit Owensboro and local tour listings for seasonal availability.
Attend a performance at RiverPark Center to experience the historic 1873 Turley Building, a working venue on the Ohio River with a reputation as one of Owensboro's most haunted sites.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Ashland, KY
The Paramount Arts Center opened September 5, 1931 in Ashland, Kentucky as one of the first movie palaces purpose-built for sound film. Designed by Rapp and Rapp, the theater closed in 1971 and was rescued from demolition by the Greater Ashland Foundation, reopening as a performing-arts center in 1972.
Bowling Green, KY
Van Meter Hall opened in 1911 as Western Kentucky University's first building, serving as the anchor of the institution's historic hilltop campus. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Jonesboro, AR
Built in 1926 as the Strand Theatre, the Forum Theatre has operated as a downtown Jonesboro performance venue for nearly a century. The Foundation of Arts, a non-profit arts organization, has managed it for decades and continues to produce community theater and musical productions.