DOWNTOWNTXK

Preserving The Beginnings And Investing In Renewals

Welcome to the Texarkana City Guide Magazine, your source for our Twin Cities’ information! Here you will find both Texarkana, Texas, and Texarkana, Arkansas, resources for a wide spectrum of programs and services, entertainment, and much, much more. However, if there’s still something you need, we’re always happy to be of assistance! Oh, and please tell our wonderful advertisers where you saw their ads! We are so pleased they continue to support Main Street Texarkana (MST) year after year.

One of the first things people notice while visiting Downtown Texarkana are many original old buildings. Instead of tearing them down and starting over, we have chosen to preserve the beginnings and invest in renewal of the cities’ origin (1873) using the National Main Street Four Point Approach™. Downtown is where Texarkana all began; activities and businesses stayed bustling in downtown until the urban sprawl of the 1950s and 1960s as well as the malls of the 1980s. In the last decade, though, there has been a resurgence of interest in the history, architecture, and beauty of a well-planned and revitalized downtown Texarkana. Main Street Texarkana actively supports preserving and re-purposing the past while leading a charge into a brighter and economically stronger future!

Texarkana – Texas and Arkansas – grew from humble buildings around the railroads into towering structures of commerce and industry. The buildings that still remain boast visible architectural embellishments, and some façades have been returned to their early 20th century appearance. Even a few of the “aluminum façades” of the ’50s are now historic.

Drive down I-30, and you could be in any city in the country. However, if you get off at State Line Avenue and drive south for a few miles, you will drive into Historic Downtown Texarkana with its one-of-a-kind U.S. Federal Courthouse and Downtown Post Office – the second-most photographed federal building in the country (second only to the Supreme Court). A must-do for any visitor is to stand in two states at the same time. How often can you say you have one foot in Arkansas and the other in Texas?

While you are downtown, you should check out several true historical treasures: the Perot Theatre, a 1924 fully-restored performing arts jewel; and the Regional Arts Center, the original location of the U.S. Federal Courthouse, developed by the Texarkana Regional Arts & Humanities Council into a premier art gallery, with the Women for the Arts “For Arts’ Sake” Gift Shop. A great piece of history, the Arkansas Municipal Auditorium was built as a multi-purpose center in 1928, and Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley played there. The Four States Auto Museum and its rotating selection of vintage vehicles is a tourist and local favorite, hosting group tours and annual car shows.

The Museum of Regional History is the oldest brick building in Texarkana, now owned and preserved with regional artifacts by the Texarkana Museums System (and a genealogist’s dream). The one-of-a-kind Draughon/Moore Ace of Clubs House is a site to see; built from the winnings of a card game, according to legend, the house is shaped like a club from a deck of playing cards. The Patrick J. Ahern House represents the best example of the Classical Revival style and is also part of the Museums System. The preservation of the house has allowed it to remain much as it was in 1905.

Other historical elements can be found outside of the museums. A multitude of beautiful historic churches, homes, and monuments make downtown walks perfect for any day. Broad Street offers something for everyone with retail shops, restaurants, and a multitude of wonderful “self-care” salons that offer relaxing experiences anytime you desire! Front Street Festival Plaza is the perfect location for outdoor special events, including food fests, music concerts, art shows, and parades including the ever-growing Main Street Christmas Parade.

For play, check out our parks downtown: Kidtopia and Skatetopia for youngsters (of all ages), the ever-changing ArtSpark, and the Kress Gap, full of locally-painted murals. The Scott Joplin mural, representing the Ragtime genius and Pulitzer Prize winner who hailed from Texarkana, is displayed across from the Perot Theatre. A beautiful mural painted on the side of TLC Burgers and Fries at East Broad and Olive Streets resembles a vintage Dr. Pepper advertisement and features a portrait of Corinne Griffith, the silent-era movie star of the 1920s who was born in Texarkana. Numerous new murals throughout the area make great stops for memorable photos of fun. For the athletes, check out Southern Athletic Baseball Academy, located on Texas Boulevard, offering an elite baseball training facility, and Wacha Resolution, a new specialized workout facility.

For shopping, there is truly something for everyone in downtown Texarkana! With some of the oldest continuously operating businesses in town – Ragland Piano Co.; GQ Look men’s store; and Logan Electric, a lighting fixture retailer that has been located in the same block of downtown for over 100 years and houses unique fixtures, lamps, and fans that you won’t find elsewhere – the personal service can’t be beat.

Living in downtown Texarkana is easy ... with its beautiful (plus some funky) loft apartments. With historic building projects ongoing, there will soon be more living spaces in the former Texarkana National Bank building, the Hotel Grim, and 2nd floor lofts. Attorneys, engineers, realty companies, banks, architects, CPAs, auto repair shops, insurance agencies, employment agencies, and specialty stores have found that working and living downtown is convenient with friendly faces around every day. On weekends, it’s not out of the ordinary to see races, walks, bicycling, festivals, car shows, and parades, all within the entertainment districts.

The Silvermoon on Broad is a multi-million-dollar events complex including a state-of-the-art theatre/conference space that saved almost an entire block of historic structures with loft apartments on the upper floors. Silvermoon Children’s Theatre camps and productions are hosted at this complex regularly. Crossties Event & Wedding Venue offers a multi-level event venue that hosts concerts/events and provides space for most crowds.

The Texarkana Gazette, the Texarkana Public Library, Wadley Regional Medical Center, and UAMS’s Texarkana All For Kids Pediatric Clinic are part of the downtown fabric, as well as both city halls. Of course, there’s the massive Bi-State Justice Center with law enforcement and courts representing both sides of Texarkana, too. The Texarkana Chamber of Commerce can be found on State Line Avenue, just before you get to the U.S. Federal Courthouse. The historic Miller County Courthouse is a few blocks from that on Laurel Street.

As we publish this 21st edition of the Texarkana City Guide, there are plans being made, buildings being bought, and dreams being imagined. Everyone is welcome. Join us downtown to see what is happening. The changes are as exciting as the history.

As you can see, live, eat and play, change is happening every day!