Murphy Arts District

MAD, as it's called, short for Murphy Arts District, is a two-phase creation of an entertainment district aimed at revitalizing downtown El Dorado. It involves turning the 1928 Griffin Auto Co. Building, once a fuel station and showroom for Model T Fords, into a restaurant, flanked by a cabaret stage and a 2,000 person music hall with a stageside elevator, multiple bars, a VIP loft, a concession area, dressing rooms and a patio adorned with a 110-foot statue of an oil derrick, a bombastic homage to the black gold from which El Dorado sprang. The lawn outside MAD has been carved into an outdoor amphitheater that can accommodate 8,000 people, with an adjacent seasonal farmer's market and two-acre, free-admission "destination playscape" for kids.