'Streetscape' Among Hallmarks of Main Street West Memphis

Craig Ogilvie, travel writer
Arkansas Tourism

Editor's Note: The following is one in a series of features on Main Street Arkansas, which this year is celebrating its 20th year of service to 17 towns across the state.

WEST MEMPHIS – After surviving several fires and a wind storm during the past two decades, downtown West Memphis today boasts an active revitalization program, capped by one of the best street beautification plans in the Arkansas delta.

"We call it streetscaping," explains local Main Street Executive Director Deborah Griggs, "because it creates a warm welcome for everyone driving along Broadway...which serves as our 'Main Street.'"

Working with a local architect, city engineer, planning office and business owners, the streetscaping program started, in phases, during the mid-1990s. Utilizing several funding sources, the pay-as-you-go project has been completed along 15 blocks of Broadway, the entire Main Street district.

Quality-constructed sidewalks (accented with brick), greenery, colorful banners and attractive lighting grace planned parking areas and business fronts to make a striking difference. "It's a friendly touch for visitors and also boosts business interests in the downtown area," Griggs adds.

A prime example of revived interest in downtown is the new West Memphis Police Headquarters, located in a refurbished bank building. After some thought of re-locating elsewhere in the city, officials decided to keep its departments in a progressive downtown.

West Memphis joined the Main Street project in 1990, with Michele Mahas serving as the first director. Local leaders who worked tirelessly to bring the program to town included Sherry Deacon, Jack Hogan, former Mayor Keith Engram, Gary Masner, Bill Barbour, Philip Para, and Linda Avery (who served as the second director). Only four persons have directed the West Memphis program, with Griggs heading the project since 2002.

A part of the state's Historic Preservation agency, Main Street Arkansas provides technical assistance and design services to help create economic development in downtown areas. A basic yearly grant is distributed to all 17 Arkansas towns currently served by the program. The remainder of each town's Main Street budget must be raised on the local level.

In addition to the streetscaping design, the West Memphis program has assisted numerous businesses with remodeling plans, ranging from awning and signage to facade design and off-street parking. Main Street also sponsors two festive annual events. The "Taste of the Town" celebrates good food and refreshment in August and "Fall Festival on Broadway" brings live musical entertainment, crafts, exhibits, foods and a chili cook-off to the middle of old downtown every September. Both serve as fundraisers for the self-help Main Street program.

Long-range plans for downtown are intriguing. "We have never had a downtown square, like many historic cities around the state," Griggs notes. "So, we hope to incorporate our 1930s City Hall building into a public square." The stately structure, built by FDR's Public Works Administration (WPA), will face a public square surrounded by shops, offices and restaurants. The old building, currently awaiting inclusion on the National Historic Register, will be restored to house a museum and public support offices, including the Main Street Program. A drawing of the planned square is displayed in the Main Street office at 218 E. Broadway.

The West Memphis area has a long history that reaches back to the 18th century, when Spain claimed the Mississippi River Valley. It was near here (at Hopefield) that Arkansas railroading began years prior to the Civil War, and the roots of Blues music may also be found in the history of this area.

Hardwood timber played a major role in the founding of West Memphis. Zack Bragg came to the region about 1904, established a sawmill and started harvesting the vast forests of the delta. The settlement was first called Bragg, but the named was changed to take advantage of higher lumber prices from the Memphis market. The little community of Hulbert was the actual railroad center and remained an incorporated town until annexed to West Memphis in 1955.

West Memphis was one of the state's first cities bypassed by the construction of Interstate 40, during the early 1960s. Prior to that time, U.S. 70 (the major highway between Memphis and Little Rock) carried all traffic through the downtown district. While U.S. 70 still follows its old route along Broadway, heavy highway traffic now uses I-40 and I-55. More than 28,000 people reside in West Memphis today.