Downtown Pine Bluff...the little town that was.

I only seen certain sides of Pine Bluff, Arkansas when I visit my sister and her family.  When Walter and I drove through town, the Downtown area caught my eye, so we made a point to go back after our afternoon exploring the Delta Rivers Nature Center.

This is the old 1924 Saenger Theatre - looks like it is 4 floors worth of stories and places to explore.  This can be said of all these old buildings, it's just such a shame none of them are in use.  It's such a gorgeous building.

 

Notice the murals painted on the walls of the building.  My previous post showed the larger murals that decorated the town buildings and here are even more.  There's one person in the photo who is not part of the mural.  Can you find him? 

 

 

Apparently Pine Bluff was a burgeoning railroad town (there is a railroad museum nearby we didn't have time to visit) and like so many places, it dried up as trains made way for automobiles and other industry replaced agricultural life. But Pine Bluff has always been a paper mill town and still is.

Murals painted on the buildings followed us all the way to the corner of the street.  Below is a great one:

 

Below is a great old art deco theatre where many a resident stood in line to see the latest picture show.  For whatever reason, I didn't take a better photo of the aviation mural on the side of the movie house.

 

It's times like these, that I wish very hard to be independently wealthy so I buy and revitalize these lovely old gems.

 

 

Ah, current movie prices.  If only!

 

Pine Bluff had a film festival at one time.  Would have been a great place to experience an indie flick.  (Who knew the word "today" used to be hyphenated?)

 

 

 There's the courthouse in the distance.  It's really a pretty Downtown.

 

Cool old drugstore sign.  It looked like it might still be open for business.

 

Pop's Barber Shop was still open for business.

 

What draws you to explore a town or city? 

Next time we head that way, we're going to visit the Railroad Museum.  It looked really cool!

City Murals

Or town murals, depending on your point of view.


Hope you are having a good Monday.  We are having a great time in Dallas right now - I have so much to share with you from our trip!  But first...


Changing the topic back to Mississippi:  when we were in Grenada for Mother's Day, I was drawn to the lovely murals on the sides of Downtown buildings.  What amazes me is both the scale and the skill!  Murals are definitely eye catchers and I have to get a closer look whenever I run across them (I've been taking pictures of them in Dallas, too.)


Murals are such a colorful and meaningful way to personalize a city or  community.  They give the area new life and share a bit of personality with outsiders.  It always makes me feel like I'll be amongst kindred spirits!

Nearby were more murals, located across the street from Orleans Bistro on Main Street that included old town scenes and businesses.

Another view:

And, below, during my recent trip to the "Fair City" of Philadelphia.  Right now I'm realizing perhaps it would have been a good idea to do a little research and find out who painted these lovely pieces...ah, hindsight!  (I'll ask and report back!  Promise!)

My sister lives in Pine Bluff, Arkansas and the Downtown area is a veritable ghost town - what a shame!  Walter and I explored the streets and came across some terrific murals that depicted scenes and people of historical significance for the town.

Arkansas has some major Delta areas, too, and below is the man who invented the mechanical cotton picker.

A Closer look at what the wall says:

Here are some other historical figures.  Not every wall explained who they were but it's something worth looking up and discovering why they were chosen to be immortalized on the buildings (at least, it is to me...and no, haven't done that yet).  The lady on the left looked like she was an early doctor. 

I liked this mural a lot.  These two men below are apparently part of movie history.

Here's a closer look at their names and the faces

A mural for the early 20th century car club...
what a novelty cars are! 

And on the building in the same park is another mural of old Pine Bluff.  These murals were commissioned and done in 1992.  It would be great if another revitalization could happen there.