[brajohns81]

Since no city got over 50% of the vote in my "Which Arkansas city has the best downtown area??" poll, there will be a run-off of the top three. Here we go:

Little Rock



Eureka Springs

http://www.reserveeurekasprings.com/blog/uploaded_images/EurekaSpringsToday-728395.jpg (broken link)

Fayetteville

http://www.realestate-inarkansas.com/images/fayetteville_downtown.jpg (broken link)

[Dr. Foosball]

They all have their strong points, but Eureka Springs should win this in a landslide.

[bluenoter]

Comparing these three downtowns is like comparing apples, oranges, and watermelons. Fayetteville is a college town, Eureka Springs is a cool tourist town, and Little Rock is a traditional type downtown.

[North Pulaski Player]

Originally Posted by bluenoter

Comparing these three downtowns is like comparing apples, oranges, and watermelons. Fayetteville is a college town, Eureka Springs is a cool tourist town, and Little Rock is a traditional type downtown.

Finally, someone hit the nail on the head. BTW, that picture of LR must be old because I don't see the Rivermarket Tower nor the 300 Third Tower.

[Arkansas Red]

Eureka, because of it's urban fabric. Little Rock for it's modernity.

Fayetteville's downtown is nothing but a 70s modernist nightmare with a few gems haunted by the ghost of failed projects (*cough*Renaissance Tower*cough*)

[thewizard16]

Originally Posted by Arkansas Red

Eureka, because of it's urban fabric. Little Rock for it's modernity.

Fayetteville's downtown is nothing but a 70s modernist nightmare with a few gems haunted by the ghost of failed projects (*cough*Renaissance Tower*cough*)

The comment about Fayetteville is a bit ridiculous, have you been paying attention in the last 15 years? Have you even noticed Dickson Street, the Farmer's market, or the new projects in the area that did get finished? And on the subject of the 70s architecture, how is that different than quite a bit of Little Rock's downtown? Most of Little Rock's most visible downtown towers are from the same era and style you're complaining about in Fayetteville, and the Ren. Tower was another victim of the economic downturn, hardly an indication of downtown's viability. Personally, I think an empty parking lot is still better than a boarded up, collapsing old hotel frequented by vandals.

Anyway, Bluenoter was exactly right. There's really no comparing these downtowns, they're all excellent in their own way and are in completely different settings.

Little Rock does have more density and urban feel than anywhere in the state and since they started revitalizing downtown, things are looking up for it's future. Great residential potential, the River Market is nice, and hopefully the plans to reconnect Main Street with the River Market will take off and that area will start to fill in and be active once again. For as many empty buildings as there are outside of the immediate Markham Street area, everything is pretty clean and the burnt out looking industrial sections have been removed or at least cleaned up. The downtown area is pretty nice, but there's so much vacant commercial space (some of which has been mothballed for the better part of 20-30 years) and empty lots outside of the River Market, it doesn't yet feel like a downtown district again. I think in the next 15-20 years things will continue to improve and we might even see more new towers built on the empty lots and the empty spaces start to fill back in.

Eureka is a fun little town with a lot of activity, but solely because of the tourist appeal. It's a fun little victorian village in the middle of nowhere, but it's beautiful and has been preserved very well. It is an excellent downtown, but it doesn't have the resident traffic of the other two. That's to be expected in a town that small, I just have trouble classifying a town that probably only still exists due to tourist novelty as the best downtown in the state.

Fayetteville has two very nice areas in it's downtown- the Dickson Street area which is still the most active arts and entertainment district in the state, and the square, which hosts and impressive farmers market, has some beautiful old buildings, and some taller 1970s buildings that are in various stages of renovation. The downtown area is very clean and has been given new life in recent years with redevelopment (a common theme in most areas it seems). There are some empty lots, like Little Rock, but as residential interest in the downtown area has picked up and the city is beginning to connect Dickson street and the Square once again with the new Block Avenue revitalization project. Dickson Street is a jewel for the city, and the square has that potential with the recently finished renovations and slowly picking up commercial interest, but they need to get these connected with the Block Ave. project before it feels like one downtown again. Like Little Rock, interest in the downtown area is strong (particularly for a city of it's size), and I think it's a matter of time before a project like the Ren. Tower is completed and Block Avenue and the square starts filling in with new commercial and revitalized residential.

Personally, I don't think any of these are the best downtown in the state (see my comments in the previous thread), but of the three I have to give it to Little Rock due to the strength of the high-end residential market and the way it's managed to keep growing (at least some) in the recession.

[Arkansas Red]

I don't really think of Dickson Street as of downtown though I pretty sure eventually it will be interconnected with the square and part of downtown.

[thewizard16]

Originally Posted by Arkansas Red

I don't really think of Dickson Street as of downtown though I pretty sure eventually it will be interconnected with the square and part of downtown.

Ah, well that does change perception then. Due to the nature of Dickson, I often consider it downtown, since it and the square are the "main" old business district in town, they're just not as interconnected as most downtowns normally are. Fayetteville does have that strange disconnect which you normally only find in cities where downtown has gone downhill and rundown buildings were razed, leaving a gap in downtown (like Little Rock, Saint Louis, etc.), but nothing's been removed in Fayetteville. It does seem a bit strange, but it seems like it's probably due to the University. The square may technically be the oldest part of town, but the University is 139 years old and Dickson street clearly grew and developed partially due to its location, which is why I consider it downtown as well. I'm eager to see if some redevelopment will occur along Block Avenue now that the city is making it's walk-ability and streetscape a priority. With the successfully completed renovations downtown and increase in new commercial space on street level around the square in the last few years, it seems likely that the square will start filling back in and that might spark interest in Block as a logical connector between the square and Dickson. I'm optimistic that this will happen sooner than later, but we'll have to wait and see. With the city continuing to grow, the University continuing to grow, and new interest in downtown residential areas (hopefully those condo buildings will start filling up in the next few years, but even high-end housing in the area has been a strong market lately- have you seen the Mark Zweig renovations and house refabs in the area? They're selling before he's finished with them, and at what seem like really high prices, but they are some of the most impressive historic renovations I've ever seen as far as houses go), it seems logical that Dickson Street and downtown Fayetteville will prosper in the next few years. And, hopefully, the Ren. Tower is merely a delayed vision for the square and not a failed one.

[northbound74]

Eureka Springs may be touristy, but it's the only place I've seen in the state of Arkansas in recent years with a somewhat legitimate downtown that's fully embraced and utilized by pretty much every one in it's community.
It's been a little while since I've lived in Little Rock, but I'll take a wild guess and say that there's still a very large percentage of the population that refuses to have anything to do with downtown.

[bagelw]

Originally Posted by thewizard16

Ah, well that does change perception then. Due to the nature of Dickson, I often consider it downtown, since it and the square are the "main" old business district in town, they're just not as interconnected as most downtowns normally are. Fayetteville does have that strange disconnect which you normally only find in cities where downtown has gone downhill and rundown buildings were razed, leaving a gap in downtown (like Little Rock, Saint Louis, etc.), but nothing's been removed in Fayetteville. It does seem a bit strange, but it seems like it's probably due to the University. The square may technically be the oldest part of town, but the University is 139 years old and Dickson street clearly grew and developed partially due to its location, which is why I consider it downtown as well. I'm eager to see if some redevelopment will occur along Block Avenue now that the city is making it's walk-ability and streetscape a priority. With the successfully completed renovations downtown and increase in new commercial space on street level around the square in the last few years, it seems likely that the square will start filling back in and that might spark interest in Block as a logical connector between the square and Dickson. I'm optimistic that this will happen sooner than later, but we'll have to wait and see. With the city continuing to grow, the University continuing to grow, and new interest in downtown residential areas (hopefully those condo buildings will start filling up in the next few years, but even high-end housing in the area has been a strong market lately- have you seen the Mark Zweig renovations and house refabs in the area? They're selling before he's finished with them, and at what seem like really high prices, but they are some of the most impressive historic renovations I've ever seen as far as houses go), it seems logical that Dickson Street and downtown Fayetteville will prosper in the next few years. And, hopefully, the Ren. Tower is merely a delayed vision for the square and not a failed one.

I totally agree. One of my concerns with the square and Dickson is the lack of major streets to get to them. I suppose that's some of the charm of Fayetteville but I wish there was a larger road that brought people into the Dickson area. Downtown is not as bad and I believe there are plans to improve getting to downtown with the 2025 plan. Dickson on the other hand requires you to drive thru small residential streets unless you're coming from College. Years ago there were talks of widening Gregg along the railroad tracks all the way from North St to Dickson but that fell thru since too many people complained that it would disturb the creek bed along the road. I'm not sure what could be done since it's fairly dense surrounding Dickson but with the amount of growth that area is seeing it seems like it will just become a congested mess in the future.