Editing Bowling Green, Kentucky (section)

===20th century===
In 1906, Henry Hardin Cherry, the president and owner of Southern Normal School, donated the school to the state as the basis of the Western State Normal School. The school trained teachers for the expanding educational needs of the state. This institution is now known as [[Western Kentucky University]] and is the second-largest public university in the state, having recently surpassed the [[University of Louisville]].

In 1906, Doctors [[Lillian H. South]], J. N. McCormack, and A.T. McCormack opened St. Joseph Hospital to provide medical and nursing care to the residents and students in the area.<ref name="Warren County Medical Society">{{cite web|url=http://www.warrencountymedicalsociety.org/Lillian%20South.htm |title=Dr Lillian Herald South |work=Warren County Medical Society official website |publisher=Warren County Medical Society |access-date=April 1, 2010 |location=Bowling Green, Kentucky |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728170535/http://www.warrencountymedicalsociety.org/Lillian%20South.htm |archive-date=July 28, 2011 }}</ref><ref name="Kentucky Medical Journal">''Kentucky State Medical Association''. (1913). Kentucky Medical Journal. Louisville, Ky: The Kentucky State Medical Association. page 160. [https://books.google.com/books?id=o5AMAAAAYAAJ&q=Lillian&pg=RA1-PA151 Accessed on 31 March 2010].</ref>

In 1925, the third and last [[Louisville and Nashville Railroad Station (Bowling Green, Kentucky)|Louisville and Nashville Railroad Station]] was opened. About 27 trains arrived daily at the depot. Intercity bus lines were also a popular form of travel. By the 1960s, railroad travel had dramatically declined in the face of competition from airlines and automobiles. The station has been adapted for use as a museum.

In 1940, a [[Union Underwear]] factory built in Bowling Green bolstered the city's economy significantly. During the 1960s, the city's population began to surpass that of [[Ashland, Kentucky|Ashland]], [[Paducah, Kentucky|Paducah]], and [[Newport, Kentucky|Newport]].

Downtown streets became a bottleneck for traffic. In 1949, the [[U.S. Route 31W]] Bypass was opened to alleviate traffic problems, but it also drew off business from downtown. The bypass grew to become a business hotspot in Bowling Green. A 1954 advertisement exclaimed, "Your business can grow in the direction Bowling Green is growing – to the 31-W By-Pass".

By the 1960s, the face of shopping was changing completely from the downtown retail square to suburban shopping centers. Between May and November 1967, stores in Bowling Green Mall opened for business. Another advertisement said, "One-stop shopping. Just park [free], step out and shop. You'll find everything close at hand." Between September 1979 and September 1980, stores in the larger [[Greenwood Mall (Kentucky)|Greenwood Mall]] came online. The city's limits began to stretch toward [[Interstate 65 in Kentucky|Interstate 65]].

By the late 1960s, Interstate 65, which runs just to the east of Bowling Green, was completed. The Green River Parkway (now called the [[William H. Natcher Parkway]] and renamed [[Interstate_165_(Kentucky)|I-165]] in April 2019), was completed in the 1970s to connect Bowling Green and [[Owensboro, Kentucky|Owensboro]]. These vital transportation arteries attracted many industries to Bowling Green.

In 1981, [[General Motors]] moved its [[Chevrolet Corvette]] [[Bowling Green Assembly Plant|assembly plant]] from [[St. Louis, Missouri]], to Bowling Green. In the same year, the [[National Corvette Homecoming]] event was created: it is a large, annual gathering of Corvette owners, car parades, and related activities in Bowling Green. In 1994, the [[National Corvette Museum]] was constructed near the assembly plant.

In 1997, Bowling Green was designated a [[Tree City USA]] by the [[National Arbor Day Foundation]].