Talk of renovating the Four Six building at the corner of Locust and South Washington streets in downtown El Dorado, named after its original telephone number, has been circulating around town recently.
Local entrepreneurs Richard and Vertis Mason have commissioned a study of the building, which the city purchased last year for $46,000, to see if it can be saved from demolition.
Initially, the Four Six building was included in the master plan for the city’s new multi-purpose conference center that’s being built next to the old behemoth. More recently, however, city officials have said the Four Six building may need to be torn down to allow room for construction of the conference center.
The Masons hope the building can be renovated and used to compliment the center, perhaps as a staging area or an overflow space for trade shows.
Vertis Mason, also a city alderman, said that the El Dorado Economic Development Board will have the “final say” on what happens to the early 20th century structure.
But she is optimistic that it can be saved.
“I really see this place as an open air market, or a bazaar, like they have all across Europe,” Mason said Thursday as she toured the building with her husband and an architect and structural engineer from Little Rock.
Larry Waldrop, general manager of the El Dorado Water Utilities, and Robert Edmonds, director of the El Dorado Public Works Department, were there as well.
Having walked through the building myself, I think an effort should be made to save it. As a former parking garage, it’s constructed very soundly, with steel beams and concrete and brick. It could be a nice addition to downtown, along with the conference center.
Moving El Dorado forward is about more than just tearing buildings down to put new ones in their places. It should also be about saving El Dorado’s past, when possible.
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As you can tell from the above photos, the building is anything but pristine. With a little TLC, it would shape right up.
Below is an example of a bazaar in Turkey. It’s a concept that’s used in the U.S. at places like the River Market in Little Rock and the French Market in New Orleans.
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The Pike’s Peak Market in Seattle, Wash., above, has also been mentioned as a possible model for the Four-Six building. Vertis Mason said that she and Richard have toured this market, and that the buildings it’s housed in were “much worse off than” the Four-Six building.
Either it is going to be a market or an overflow it can’t be both. Are you going to run off the merchants every time thee is a need for overflow? Which would also be the best time for them to be open in the first place.
And just who are going to be the merchants that inhabit this market.
Richard and Vertis really need to figure out that this isn’t Santa Fe and never will be.
Knock in down and let’s get on with the progress.
It is sad to see buildings that have been here so long being torn down. If we are trying to preserve Historic Downtown El Dorado then lets quit taking all the buildings down that are historic even if they aren’t in pristine, it is still a part of history. I do agree with the Richard and Vertis comment above though, this is El Dorado not Europe. Let’s preserve the things El Dorado has been built around over the years.
Just because it is old doesn’t make it historic.
Where there is no vision the people perish.
It really doesn’t matter that is just my personal opinion.
I think the 4/6 building would make a great place for an open market.