Which cities downtown architecture do you like better

[Mith242]

Thanks for the pics. I'll have to check out the website to see if there's some info on it, like how long it was closed before it was closed.

[Arkansas Student]

This was a tough choice for me. Fort Smith is great, but I really like Texarkana, too. And Pine Bluff has that "echos of greatness" feel. There's a huge vacant hotel across from the Arkansas Band Museum in Pine Bluff -- anyone know what I'm talking about? The lobby has the original marbel and some old fixtures.

I'm also a big fan of Hot Springs. The downtown there really has that "outdoor room" vibe.

The town square @ Harrison is pretty nice, if anyone has ever seen it. The Main Street Harrison program has done some amazing work there over the past 20 years.

And, of course, I have to give a shout out to my hometown: Mountain View. It's much smaller than any of the places in the poll, but if you want to see great examples of Craftsman Style architecture using native materials (mostly local sandstone), it's a can't miss. I've never seen another place like it in Arkansas; truly unique.

Here's a shot of the Stone County Courthouse (in Mountain View) @ Christmas; I'll try to find some daytime shots if anyone wants to see them.

[Mith242]

This was a tough choice for me. Fort Smith is great, but I really like Texarkana, too. And Pine Bluff has that "echos of greatness" feel. There's a huge vacant hotel across from the Arkansas Band Museum in Pine Bluff -- anyone know what I'm talking about? The lobby has the original marbel and some old fixtures.

[masons_dad1]

From looking over a couple hundred pictures from various sources on the web I break it down like this:

1. Jonesboro has a lot of really nice buildings in downtown with very little in the way of urban decay. In many ways Jonesboro is as nice looking, if not nicer than Fayetteville or any other city in NWA for that matter. The new Turtle Creek Mall is much nicer than any mall in NWA.

2. Fort Smith is slightly behind Jonesboro because, while nearly as nice, it has less of everything that Jonesboro has and some urban decay is noticeable in some parts of the city. Fort Smith also doesn't have as much urban density as Jonesboro.

3. Pine Bluff, while having some pretty nice buildings, has much less to offer than Jonesboro or Fort Smith. Pine Bluff doesn't seem to have much in the way of urban decay, probably because there's not as much urbanization as the other cities. I did find the murals in downtown of how nice Pine Bluff used to be very charming. Lots of potential there.

4. Texarkana. What can I say about Texarkana? I'll just skip over the "urban decay" part and say that there isn't quite as much potential there as in the other 3 cities.

[Mith242]

From looking over a couple hundred pictures from various sources on the web I break it down like this:

1. Jonesboro has a lot of really nice buildings in downtown with very little in the way of urban decay. In many ways Jonesboro is as nice looking, if not nicer than Fayetteville or any other city in NWA for that matter. The new Turtle Creek Mall is much nicer than any mall in NWA.

2. Fort Smith is slightly behind Jonesboro because, while nearly as nice, it has less of everything that Jonesboro has and some urban decay is noticeable in some parts of the city. Fort Smith also doesn't have as much urban density as Jonesboro.

3. Pine Bluff, while having some pretty nice buildings, has much less to offer than Jonesboro or Fort Smith. Pine Bluff doesn't seem to have much in the way of urban decay, probably because there's not as much urbanization as the other cities. I did find the murals in downtown of how nice Pine Bluff used to be very charming. Lots of potential there.

4. Texarkana. What can I say about Texarkana? I'll just skip over the "urban decay" part and say that there isn't quite as much potential there as in the other 3 cities.

[friend of idlewild]

Well I'm ready to say that Jonesboro is nicer than NWA cities.

[Mith242]

Well I'm ready to say that Jonesboro is nicer than NWA cities.

[masons_dad1]

I realize that pictures don't replace actually visiting these cities, but some people seem to think that pictures speak a thousand words. Anyway, I put together a couple collages of Jonesboro and Fort Smith with the best pictures I could find of each city. While I do think based on the pictures that Jonesboro looks a bit nicer than Fort Smith, the latter city does have a lot of to be proud of. I was going to post a collage of Texarkana, but I'm too tempted to post a collage entitled "Texarkana: Views of a Post-Apocalyptic City." That's not to say Texarkana doesn't have some wonderful buildings... I just couldn't find enough pictures of any.

Jonesboro

Fort Smith

[Arkansawyer]

From looking over a couple hundred pictures from various sources on the web I break it down like this:

1. Jonesboro has a lot of really nice buildings in downtown with very little in the way of urban decay. In many ways Jonesboro is as nice looking, if not nicer than Fayetteville or any other city in NWA for that matter. The new Turtle Creek Mall is much nicer than any mall in NWA.

2. Fort Smith is slightly behind Jonesboro because, while nearly as nice, it has less of everything that Jonesboro has and some urban decay is noticeable in some parts of the city. Fort Smith also doesn't have as much urban density as Jonesboro.

3. Pine Bluff, while having some pretty nice buildings, has much less to offer than Jonesboro or Fort Smith. Pine Bluff doesn't seem to have much in the way of urban decay, probably because there's not as much urbanization as the other cities. I did find the murals in downtown of how nice Pine Bluff used to be very charming. Lots of potential there.

4. Texarkana. What can I say about Texarkana? I'll just skip over the "urban decay" part and say that there isn't quite as much potential there as in the other 3 cities.

[idlewild]

Well I'm ready to say that Jonesboro is nicer than NWA cities.

[masons_dad1]

That assessment of Pine Bluff is way off the mark. Pine Bluff has been a big city in Arkansas for much longer than Jonesboro or Texarkana, and is more urban. To give you an idea, in 1970 Pine Bluff had a population of 57,389, while Jonesboro had a population of 27,050. Unfortunately, Pine Bluff probably has more urban decay for a city of its size than any city in Arkansas. There are some wonderful old buildings there that are falling apart.

[Mith242]

Correction noted. I guess it's just hard to find any decent pictures of Pine Bluff and I'm pretty good at Googling. I think the same can be said of both Pine Bluff and Texarkana, except there are tons of pictures on the web of Texarkana's "post-apocalyptic" looking buildings... pretty artistic pics too I might add.

[friend of idlewild]

Is crime out of control in Pine Bluff or what? What are the reasons for it's decay?

[Mith242]

I think it started in the 70's with the lose of a number of jobs. Just seems like unemployment and crime kept creeping up and things just never got any better. High schools graduates pretty much never stick around. They either go to college somewhere else and never come back or they go somewhere else to look for a job. I think some of it might be the bigger overall problem of population loss going on in most places of eastern Arkansas. Jonesboro has been a nice exception to this. But I'm not sure if there are too many other cities in eastern Arkansas that are doing well like Jonesboro.

[masons_dad1]

I think it started in the 70's with the lose of a number of jobs. Just seems like unemployment and crime kept creeping up and things just never got any better. High schools graduates pretty much never stick around. They either go to college somewhere else and never come back or they go somewhere else to look for a job. I think some of it might be the bigger overall problem of population loss going on in most places of eastern Arkansas. Jonesboro has been a nice exception to this. But I'm not sure if there are too many other cities in eastern Arkansas that are doing well like Jonesboro.

[Mith242]

Thanks for the link to your pics of Pine Bluff. Unfortunately, most really pics on the web aren't tagged and even the most advanced Googling wouldn't locate them. I believe your pics represent Pine Bluff as a economically challenged city that has been able to control urban decay quite well, considering the circumstances. Pine Bluff sure is a very clean looking city with great potential. Now if I can only find some good pics of Texarkana that aren't all urban decay pics.