The Fayetteville Square Is Still The Heart And Soul Of Downtown

Editor’s note: This article appears in the latest magazine edition of Talk Business & Politics, which you can read here.

From 1947-72, Wes Gordon led the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce. He took over the organization at a time of rapid growth for the city. World War II veterans headed to the University of Arkansas in droves to take advantage of the GI Bill. In the 1940 census, Fayetteville had just 8,212 residents. By the 1950 census, the city’s population had grown to 17,071.

When Gordon retired, there were more than 30,000 people living in Fayetteville. The home of the state’s flagship university now has more than 75,000 residents, making it Arkansas’ third-largest municipality behind Little Rock and Fort Smith. One thing hasn’t changed, though, since the Wes Gordon era at the chamber. The Fayetteville Square continues to represent the heart and soul of downtown.

When chamber officials decided more than a decade ago to present an annual award to honor those who have contributed significantly to the quality of life in Fayetteville, they chose to name the honor the Wes Gordon Golden Deeds Award. A rail bordering the gardens surrounding the Old Post Office building in the middle of the square was constructed to honor award recipients. Honorees receive medallions along the railing that are inscribed with their names. Past recipients include such noted Arkansans as Frank Broyles, John Lewis and Fred Vorsanger.

“I used to worry about my dad when I was young because I thought all he did was drink coffee at the dime store,” says Nancy Allen, Gordon’s daughter. “I didn’t realize at the time that it was a big part of his job.”

Allen is among the many longtime Fayetteville residents who have a special affinity for the square. Her wedding reception (her husband is the well-known Arkansas sportswriter Nate Allen) was in the Old Post Office building. There’s life again in that building following the decision last year by Fayetteville-based online retailer Acumen Brands to place an apparel store known as Country Outfitter there. The Old Post Office building was on the market from 2009-13, when it was purchased by Jim Huson, a Heber Springs native who owns Doe’s Eat Place franchises in Northwest Arkansas. Huson bought the 102-year-old building from Ron Bumpass for $1.5 million and then leased it to Acumen Brands.

John James started Acumen Brands as a way to pay for medical school. The company has boomed, raising more than $90 million in venture capital last year. The Old Post Office building is the company’s first brick-and-mortar retail location. Acumen’s Country Outfitter western clothing and accessories brand has built a Facebook following of millions of “likes” and is believed to have grown its fan base faster than any retailer in the history of the site. Acumen has been touted by Google as one of the principal drivers of economic development in the state. James, in fact, gave up his medical career to concentrate on growing the business.

“We want to create a $1 billion business,” James told Google. “We want to create something that is of significance for Arkansas.”

Certainly his presence downtown is significant for the future of the Fayetteville Square.

“I’m not moving,” James says of the place he calls home. “I can’t move. Fayetteville is home. It’s an honor to open our flagship store downtown. The square is one of my favorite places in Northwest Arkansas, and the Old Post Office is my second favorite building next to Old Main at the University of Arkansas.”

The Fayetteville Square – which is bounded by Center, East, Block and Mountain streets – has been a hub of commercial activity since the city was founded. What’s now known as the Old Post Office building was constructed in the center of the square in 1911. When the Fayetteville post office moved to the intersection of Dickson and St. Charles streets in 1974, the building on the square was put up for sale. A local investor purchased it in 1979, and it has housed a succession of restaurants through the years.

The center of the square was the home of the county courthouse from the 1830s until 1905. A brick courthouse that was built in 1854 was burned during the Civil War. A new brick courthouse was built in 1868 and was used until the present Washington County Courthouse at the intersection of College and Center streets was completed in 1905.

“The worst years were those when it was empty,” Nancy Allen says of the Old Post Office building. “We just hated not having that building used.”

The Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission had attempted to purchase the building in March 2012 for $730,000, but the offer was rejected by Bumpass. Prior to Acumen Brands moving its Country Outfitters retail operation there, the building had most recently been occupied by a restaurant called Urban Table. That restaurant closed in January 2009.

The Old Post Office building had been slated for demolition in 1974 as part of an urban renewal plan, but a group of Fayetteville residents began a petition drive to preserve the structure. They succeeded in having it placed on the National Register of Historic Places in August of that year. A project began in 1977 to transform the building into a restaurant and club. It later housed everything from the Hog City Diner to Stogie’s Fine Cigars & Tobacco.

The Fayetteville Square has had its ups and downs through the decades. A document from the Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission notes that the square has been “burned down, shot at, blown away and even deliberately destroyed in the name of progress.”

In the 1960s and 1970s, retailers began deserting downtown for strip shopping centers and the Northwest Arkansas Mall. Urban renewal resulted in the loss of a number of historic buildings in downtown Fayetteville. There are still gaps, even in buildings built after the demolition debacle. For example, the ground floor of the East Square Plaza building, commonly known as the Bank of America building though it was long ago abandoned by the bank, remains largely unoccupied. The University of Arkansas has plans to utilize the space eventually. Just off the square, the lot where the Mountain Inn once stood (the hotel closed in 1998) remains vacant.

Fayetteville historians will tell you that the square had two periods of destruction. The first was in 1862 when Confederate Gen. Benjamin McCulloch ordered all commercial buildings to be burned. The second came in the 20th century due to urban renewal.

“To be fair, in the 1970s the square was dying,” reads the document from the Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission. “Many retail businesses had moved out to Highway 71 (College Avenue), and new suburban developments like the Evelyn Hills Shopping Center made the old square seem antiquated and useless. At one point the occupancy rate on the square was said to be only 20 percent. Buildings were empty, windows were boarded up and some had already been demolished, creating giant gaps.

“Thinking the old, long, skinny spaces would be hard to fill with modern retail, the federal urban renewal program decided to tear down buildings and clear lots in hopes that they could be sold and redeveloped by private interests. But that didn’t happen. The vacant lots only made the area less desirable, especially for the few remaining businesses. The city’s business leaders decided to take drastic action, starting with McIlroy Bank. Its decision to stay on the square was seen as a watershed moment. The University of Arkansas and First National Bank also committed to building new facilities on the square. … Buildings were purchased and torn down to make way for what they hoped would be a revival of the square.”

The McIlroy Bank building was completed in 1977. In 1986, what’s now Arvest Bank made its first foray outside of Benton County by purchasing McIlroy. Five buildings had once occupied the space now used by Arvest.

The facility built to house the University of Arkansas Center for Continuing Education was completed in 1981. It was designed by modernist Fayetteville architect Warren Segraves, who designed several public buildings in the area. Segraves had graduated with a degree in architecture from the UA in 1953 and established his own firm in 1956. He was a champion of the International Style of architecture, and more than 4,000 of his drawings are stored at the university.

Also in 1981, First National Bank (later to be purchased by Bank of America) completed its building. Two additional stories were added to the building in 2006 to create downtown living spaces.

At the time, Lewis was a proponent of urban renewal. Years later, he said the city’s business leaders thought they were doing the right thing but later came to realize just how wrong it was to demolish so many historic structures.

In 1979, a group of Fayetteville’s leaders developed a plan to beautify downtown. Don McEneny was hired to design, plant and maintain gardens around the Old Post Office building. Following McEneny’s death in 1985, Susan Regan began managing the gardens. In 1995, the Fayetteville Advertising & Promotion Commission took over funding for gardening supplies and Regan was hired by the city.

The gardens were placed under the control of the Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Department in 2002. In 2007, a deteriorating water feature was replaced with an upgraded version resembling a real waterfall. Brick retaining walls were redesigned and replaced with natural stone. Sidewalks were enlarged and electrical systems were updated to accommodate new landscape lighting. Benches and trash receptacles were replaced.

Alan Hill, a 37-year-old Fayetteville native, manages the business Terra Tots on the square and is the president of the Block Street Business Association. Terra Tots offers everything from cloth diapers and baby clothing to toys and baby carriers.

“It is the community,” Hill says of the Fayetteville Square. “I’ve see the square at some of the highest points and lowest points in regard to traffic, revenue and events. I think that right now the square is probably as strong as it has ever been as far as the mix of vendors, shops and restaurants. … I actually got married just across the street from my store. I love looking out the window and seeing where I got married. The retailers down here take the time to not only sell you an item but also explain where it came from and how it’s made.”

Liz Fulton owns the Town & Country Shop, a well-known women’s specialty store, on the west side of the square.

“The square is truly the heart and soul of the community because there are events such as our farmers’ market that draw attention to the square,” she says. “When this store opened, there was no mall. This was the only shopping area. When the mall opened, a lot of businesses moved that direction. Now we kind of have this resurgence of interest in and appreciation of the square. It’s exciting to see that, especially among the younger generations. This is what people are looking for today – something more than just a place to hang your hat. They want a place where you can feel a part of a community.”

Each Saturday morning from April through November, the Fayetteville Farmers Market brings thousands of visitors to the square. There are people walking dogs, pushing strollers and filling baskets with their purchases. On the first Thursday of each month from March through October, the square is transformed into an arts district featuring live music, street performers and the work of dozens of visual artists for what’s known as First Thursday Fayetteville. The farmers’ market began in 1973. It now offers fruits, vegetables, flowers, crafts, fine art, eggs, honey, baked goods, plants, meats, jams and jellies. It has received national awards in recent years.

“The farmers’ market has been an important part of the downtown economy for more than four decades,” says Teresa Maurer, the market coordinator. “Growing from just six vendors per market day to 70 on Saturdays, the market attracts thousands of residents and visitors to downtown. In the past two years, several businesses have relocated to the Fayetteville Square just to take advantage of the market’s draw.”

In 2002, the $8.2 million Fayetteville Town Center was completed on the square. It included 25,000 square feet of new construction, 14,000 square feet of which is exhibition and convention space. A 200-car parking deck was constructed below the building.

Another positive step for downtown came in the fall of 2012 when the 15-story hotel just off the square that first had opened as a Hilton in 1981 reopened as the Chancellor Hotel following a $15 million renovation. The Hilton had given way to a more downscale brand, the Radisson, in 2001. The Radisson, in turn, became known as the Cosmopolitan in 2006. With each change, the hotel lost more of its luster. By the time the hotel fell into receivership in 2010 when financing dried up for owners Richard Alexander and John Nock, six of its 15 floors were unusable.

As the Great Recession began to wind down, developer Ike Thrash of Hattiesburg, Miss., teamed up with construction executive Sam Alley of Little Rock to redevelop the hotel. Alley and Thrash were both bidding on the hotel when they decided to join forces.

One of the top restoration efforts on the square is the building that houses the Bank of Fayetteville. The building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, was constructed between 1904 and 1908 and housed Lewis Brothers Hardware for many years. The hardware store was owned by the family of John Lewis, a former chief executive officer of First National Bank of Fayetteville. Lewis, who often was referred to as Mr. Fayetteville, was among the organizers of the Bank of Fayetteville in 1986.

Following extensive renovations, the bank moved into the building on the square in December 1987. The building had been designed by New York native A.O. Clarke, who moved to St. Louis to study architecture and then moved to Rogers in 1904 to help Coin Harvey build the Monte Ne resort. Clarke went on to design buildings in downtown Rogers. Thirteen of his buildings are listed on the National Register.

Lewis stepped down as bank president in 2004, and Mary Beth Brooks took over.

“The square always has been and continues to be the heart of our community,” Brooks says. “Some of the businesses and events may come and go, but the square remains a place that makes you feel at home. Whether you come to the square for events or for shopping and business, you get a true sense of what it means to live and work in Fayetteville.”

Brian Bailey owns The Mustache Goods & Wears at 15. S. Block St. It’s a boutique shop that features shoes, T-shirts, books, local art and jewelry.

“The square is like connecting back to what cities were like when people walked everywhere and knew their neighbors,” Bailey says. “We live two blocks from the square. It’s where we want to live. It’s the lifestyle we want to be a part of.”

Bailey said he’s not about to criticize the businesses that line College Avenue and other parts of town: “They’re vital to our economy, but that just doesn’t attract us as a family.”

So what’s the future hold for the Fayetteville Square?

“There are only so many buildings, and there’s not much occupancy available,” Bailey says. “I think that as we continue to go back to that era when people wanted to know the owners of the places they shopped and contribute to the local economy, stores like ours will thrive.”