Fayetteville Historic Square
Encyclopedia
The Fayetteville Historic Square (usually shortened to Fayetteville Square or just The Square) is a place in Fayetteville
, Arkansas
that includes the original Fayetteville post office
built in 1911; the Old Bank of Fayetteville Building, the Lewis Brothers Building constructed in 1908, the Mrs. Young Building built in 1887, and the Guisinger Building. The listed buildings located on the Square are listed in the National Register of Historic Places
, although there are several more recent buildings located on the Square.
The district is defined by the blocks adjacent to Center Street on the north, Mountain Street to the south, Block Avenue to the west and East Avenue to the east. The block contained within these one-way streets contains the Old Post Office (and formerly the County Courthouse).
Courthouse until 1905, when a new structure
was built 1½ blocks away. The building has been renovated and now serves as a restaurant and private club.
styles, the building held the Bank of Fayetteville and First National Bank upon their merger in 1915. The Bank of Fayetteville has since moved, it's main branch is now located across the street in the Lewis Brothers Building.
styles, the building housed the Lewis Brothers Hardware Store upon the family's purchase of the property in 1912. The hardware store has since closed, and the building now contains the main branch of the Bank of Fayetteville. The brick exterior of the building was filmed in the TV show Evening Shade
.
style in 1887, is one of the older building on the Square according to National Register of Historic Places
information.
in the 1870s. She was a photographer
, and her husband was a travelling dental surgeon. She purchased a lot for a home in 1881, and after receiving a divorce in 1883, Mrs. Young built a two-story studio on the town square in 1887. The second floor was home to her photography studio with the first floor being rented to various tennants such as a grocerey and earlier a bank. With the money from her business plus the rent, she retired and continued to rent the building.
base, and pressed tin ceilings
. It was constructed by William Crenshaw, a Fayetteville native in the hardware business. Now housing a law firm, the building was recently remodeled.
Global Campus offices are located on the northeast corner of the square. The East Square Plaza constitutes the east side of the Square. The east half of the south edge of the Square hosts the Fayetteville Town Center. Constructed in 2001, the Town Center hosts weddings, business events, and various special events throughout the year. For events, the Town Center will close the Municipal Parking Garage for use by event patrons.
Two blocks west of the Square on Mountain Street is the Fayetteville Public Library
(Blair Library). The LEED
certified building was built in 2004 and named Library of the Year in 2005.
's 2010 change to pay parking. Nearby pay lots are available for Square patrons who plan on staying over two hours.
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville is the county seat of Washington County, and the third largest city in Arkansas. The city is centrally located within the county and is home to the University of Arkansas. Fayetteville is also deep in the Boston Mountains, a subset of The Ozarks...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
that includes the original Fayetteville post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
built in 1911; the Old Bank of Fayetteville Building, the Lewis Brothers Building constructed in 1908, the Mrs. Young Building built in 1887, and the Guisinger Building. The listed buildings located on the Square are listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, although there are several more recent buildings located on the Square.
The district is defined by the blocks adjacent to Center Street on the north, Mountain Street to the south, Block Avenue to the west and East Avenue to the east. The block contained within these one-way streets contains the Old Post Office (and formerly the County Courthouse).
Old Post Office
The Old Post Office, built in 1911, is the centerpiece of the Historic Square. The lot formerly contained the Washington CountyWashington County, Arkansas
Washington County is a county located in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2010, the population was 203,065. The county seat is Fayetteville. Washington County is Arkansas's 17th county, formed on October 17, 1828, and named for George Washington, the first President of the...
Courthouse until 1905, when a new structure
Washington County Courthouse (Arkansas)
The Washington County Courthouse is a courthouse in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States, the county seat of Washington County, built in 1905. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The courthouse is the fifth building to serve Washington County, with the prior...
was built 1½ blocks away. The building has been renovated and now serves as a restaurant and private club.
Old Bank of Fayetteville Building
The Old Bank of Fayetteville Building anchors the northwest corner of the Historic Square. Built in the Queen Anne and Romanesque revivalRomanesque Revival architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...
styles, the building held the Bank of Fayetteville and First National Bank upon their merger in 1915. The Bank of Fayetteville has since moved, it's main branch is now located across the street in the Lewis Brothers Building.
Lewis Brothers Building
The Lewis Brother Building located directly south of the Old Bank Of Fayetteville Building was constructed in 1908. Built in the Queen Anne and Classic revivalNeoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
styles, the building housed the Lewis Brothers Hardware Store upon the family's purchase of the property in 1912. The hardware store has since closed, and the building now contains the main branch of the Bank of Fayetteville. The brick exterior of the building was filmed in the TV show Evening Shade
Evening Shade
Evening Shade was an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from 1990 to 1994. The series starred Burt Reynolds as Wood Newton, an ex-professional football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who returns to rural Evening Shade, Arkansas to coach a high school football team with a long...
.
Mrs. Young Building
The Mrs. Young Building, built in the ItalianateItalianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
style in 1887, is one of the older building on the Square according to National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
information.
Eponym
Mrs. Young and her husband came from IllinoisIllinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
in the 1870s. She was a photographer
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, and her husband was a travelling dental surgeon. She purchased a lot for a home in 1881, and after receiving a divorce in 1883, Mrs. Young built a two-story studio on the town square in 1887. The second floor was home to her photography studio with the first floor being rented to various tennants such as a grocerey and earlier a bank. With the money from her business plus the rent, she retired and continued to rent the building.
Guisinger Building
The Guisinger Building is located in the southeast corner of the Fayetteville Historic Square. Built in 1886, the building consists of brick walls, a marbleMarble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
base, and pressed tin ceilings
Tin Ceiling
A tin ceiling is an architectural element that was very popular in Victorian buildings in North America in the late 19th and early 20th century.-History:...
. It was constructed by William Crenshaw, a Fayetteville native in the hardware business. Now housing a law firm, the building was recently remodeled.
Non-NRHP listed buildings on the Fayetteville Historic Square
The University of ArkansasUniversity of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
Global Campus offices are located on the northeast corner of the square. The East Square Plaza constitutes the east side of the Square. The east half of the south edge of the Square hosts the Fayetteville Town Center. Constructed in 2001, the Town Center hosts weddings, business events, and various special events throughout the year. For events, the Town Center will close the Municipal Parking Garage for use by event patrons.
Two blocks west of the Square on Mountain Street is the Fayetteville Public Library
Fayetteville Public Library
The Fayetteville Public Library is a library in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver-certified library was named "Library of the Year" in 2005 by Library Journal and an "American Landmark Library" by TravelSmart.-History:Fayetteville Public Library was...
(Blair Library). The LEED
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
certified building was built in 2004 and named Library of the Year in 2005.
Parking on the Square
Parking is free for any consecutive two hours within a four hour time period, despite nearby Dickson StreetDickson Street
The West Dickson Street Commercial Historic District, known as Dickson Street is an area in downtown Fayetteville, Arkansas just off the University of Arkansas campus. It is lined with multiple bars, restaurants, and shops unique to the area. Many large condo projects are now under construction as...
's 2010 change to pay parking. Nearby pay lots are available for Square patrons who plan on staying over two hours.
See also
- Dickson StreetDickson StreetThe West Dickson Street Commercial Historic District, known as Dickson Street is an area in downtown Fayetteville, Arkansas just off the University of Arkansas campus. It is lined with multiple bars, restaurants, and shops unique to the area. Many large condo projects are now under construction as...
, Commercial Historic District a few blocks from the Fayetteville Square - Washington County CourthouseWashington County Courthouse (Arkansas)The Washington County Courthouse is a courthouse in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States, the county seat of Washington County, built in 1905. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The courthouse is the fifth building to serve Washington County, with the prior...
, built in 1905 very close to the Fayetteville Square - Old Washington County Jail, built in 1896 one block from the Fayetteville Square
- Maxine's Tap RoomMaxine's Tap RoomMaxine's Tap Room is a historic bar in Fayetteville, Arkansas, located on 107 N. Block Ave. It is one of the oldest bars in Northwest Arkansas. Marjorie Maxine Miller opened the bar in 1950 when she was 24 years old with money she borrowed from her parents. She managed to pay her parents back...
, located north of the square on Block Avenue