As the urban village of downtown El Dorado settles into the 21st century, I believe its citizens can reflect back on a remarkable past, and look forward to the future confident that the strides made over the past 176 years will give its residents a quality of life that is rare in today’s society.
El Dorado was named by Spanish settlers, who came from Arkansas Post when the area was under Spanish control. The name was kept when the settlement became the county seat of Union County in 1845, and after a steady growth in agriculture and timber harvesting, the community reached a population of 3,500 in the 1920 census.
Then, with a mighty roar, South Arkansas and primarily El Dorado, was changed forever. The Busey-Mtichell Armstrong #1, on the edge of town, blew, showering the countryside with oil; and the towns-folks danced in the streets. Estimates of 20,000 to 30,000 barrels of oil a day were telegraphed nationwide, and the sleepy little village grew to over 40,000 almost overnight.
After several years of total lawlessness, a civil society took control of the growing town, the mostly wood-frame buildings around the red brick Victorian Courthouse were leveled, and a remarkable building boom took place. The fabulous wealth created by the oil boom was used by many of the men, after returning from World War I, fresh from seeing the magnificent buildings of Europe, to create some of the most remarkable and visionary buildings in the state, cumulating with the most majestic courthouse in all of Arkansas, the Union County Country Courthouse; Arkansas’ Parthenon. Along with the courthouse, almost all of the current historic buildings were constructed in the first ten years of the oil boom, including Arkansas’s last grand theater, the fabulous Rialto.
Today things are calmer around the courthouse. The historic buildings that once housed everything from a livery stable to assorted dry goods are now filled with specialty shops, reflecting everything from traditional Arkansas crafts to ladies fashion. Those shops, along with a half dozen quality restaurants, are all owned by local residents.
Twenty-five years ago several downtown developers began renovating a downtown with less than 15% occupancy. Over the years, they have been able to create the largest collection of downtown retail stores and restaurants in South Arkansas. During the resurgence of retail and restaurants presence downtown, the renovation process received invaluable help from the local, state and national Main Street programs. The result has been such that representatives from towns across the region have come to El Dorado to observe and pattern their downtown recoveries after El Dorado.
As this revitalization effort gained steam, several downtown developers not only renovated some 20 buildings, but they constructed three impressive buildings in the heart of downtown. Add to those additions a new 70 room hotel, the Haywood; the Griffin Restaurant; the First Financial Music Hall; and an 8,000 capacity Amphitheater, all in the Murphy Arts District, along with 54 new park benches, the planting of over 1,000 downtown sidewalk trees, the addition of 65 small box planters and four large courthouse corner planters, and it equals success.
Working with the Chamber of Commerce and Prescolite Lighting, the downtown received 20 replica turn-of-the-century street lights. The poles are hung with great looking banners, and later, as part of the commitment by the city to the Murphy Arts District, the sidewalks in the center of town were repaved with red bricks to reflect its historic past. As a result, downtown El Dorado has been called “the most beautiful downtown in Arkansas.” The exclamation point will be next week, when 2,700 tulips will bloom in the planters around the square.
As part of El Dorado’s downtown restoration program, Main Street set out as one of its goal to make downtown El Dorado the center of the city, and over the past 25 years, events such as MusicFest, a three-day music celebration, have resulted in attracting thousands of people to the center of town. For the past 12 years, heritage tourism has been used during the summer, with the annul reenactments of the historic gunfight between Marshal Tucker and the Parnell brothers. This historical drama is proceeded by an hour of live music and then the story is told as a real live drama unfolding against the backdrop of the classic Greek revival courthouse. As these, as well as numerous other events, have taken place in downtown El Dorado, Main Street has seen one of its major goals accomplished: today downtown is truly the center of the city, and everything of any significance is always planned around the courthouse square. It’s where everything either starts or finishes or both.
Or maybe you’d like something a little different: how about having breakfast in an 1878 railroad coach, which has one of the best breakfasts in the area? Or browse in Oil Heritage Park, a gorgeous green oasis in the middle of town with 9 foot bronze statues by John Dearing and several massive granite slabs, which tell the story of the oil boom? Or visit the oldest pool hall in Arkansas? Or be prepared to take in a Broadway play when Arkansas’ last grand theater, the Rialto, reopens? Or take in the best Christmas lighting display in South Arkansas? Or how about a visit to a below street level English Pub, called the Minkeye, named after the saloon in Hogskin Country once run by Marshall James Guy Tucker? Or swap a book in the two Downtown Book Exchanges, which are real old English red phone booths? Or, if you are in town around Memorial Day, the South Arkansas Symphony, the State’s oldest symphony orchestra, will be playing a patriotic concert on the Courthouse steps. Or take a look at what oil money in the pockets of Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians can do, and take in three knockout, gorgeous downtown churches. Or just stay in walking distance from everything in the Haywood, a new 70 room luxury downtown hotel just constructed, or in the Guest Quarters, and enjoy a historic setting in a hotel voted El Dorado’s finest. Or, how about letting your kids splash on a hot summer day around a huge red Razorback in Playscape, the largest PlayScape in the state?
And get ready for what is right on the horizon, a multi-floor fine arts museum. Of course, it will be in the downtown urban village. As success builds on success, downtown El Dorado has seen virtually every empty building occupied, or with working plans in place to renovate.
In 2009, at the National Main Street Award Ceremony in Chicago, downtown El Dorado received the feature award. Our downtown was recognized as the best Main Street Downtown in the United States.
However, instead of basking in past awards and successes, El Dorado’s principal downtown developers are looking forward to the future with renewed enthusiasm. But, there is always more to do, and a downtown that only basks in its success, without critical upkeep and the enforcement of all necessary city ordinances, will slowly revert back to its dismal past. City governments that ignore their downtowns are killing the soul of their city.
Richard Mason is a registered professional geologist, downtown developer, former chairman of the Department of Environmental Quality Board of Commissioners, past president of the Arkansas Wildlife Federation, and syndicated columnist. Email [email protected].