The Last Streetcar, Fort Smith

So one day I was about to leave downtown Fort Smith when the orange apparition of a lost transportation network materialized before my eyes and asked me if I had a dollar. 

Ghost Signs, Fort Smith

While taking a jaunt through the back streets of Fort Smith via streetcar (about which more later), I snapped a few shots of some old, industrial ghost signs. The above advertises the "Atkinsons-Williams Hardware Co." on the side of a building that's likely abandoned. The company evidently "dominated the tinware trade in the region." Another ghost sign after the jump.

Orphaned Frisco Passenger Depot, Fort Smith

Google Map

 Just near the edge of the Arkansas River sits this relic of the old Frisco line. Trains still rumble by along the river, but no one's going for a ride these days. The building is in good shape and is used as temporary offices for the planned U.S. Marshals Museum. More pics after the jump.

Former Movie Theater, Carlisle

What was it like to watch a movie in downtown Carlisle? I don't know, and this building isn't telling me anything, except for the obvious ticket booth on the front. It may have had a neon sign, or a huge canopy, and maybe long lines down the street, but I don't know, and not even Cinema Treasures has any wisdom for me. So it goes.

Marooned Passenger Station, Carlisle

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Carlisle, Arkansas, is located right along the old Rock Island Railroad. In 1931 (to pick a random year), you could board a train in downtown Little Rock and go straight to Carlisle. Now, the town is bare of railroad, but the old passenger station remains - in remarkably good shape. Some more photos after the jump.

Lonoke County Courthouse

Google Map

Ah, the stories that are contained within every small town courthouse. This one bucks the trend by actually being in the city that goes with the name of the county. Ever notice that about Arkansas? Searcy isn't in Searcy County. Hot Springs isn't in Hot Spring County. Conway isn't in Conway County. And so on...

Anyway, the point is, old courthouses are beautiful, this one included.

Strange Abandoned Church, Lonoke

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Here's an artifact of a building I spotted as soon as we drove into town. We stood on the corner for a while, pondering over it. It's in a strange, rambling craftsman/tudor style that I've never seen used on a place of worship. Turns out it's listed on the National Register for Historic Places, and it was built in 1916. More after the jump...

Restored Rock Island Depot, Lonoke

Google Map

Our drive along Highway 70 paralleled the old Rock Island railroad. Many of the towns along the highway had beautiful depots in outstanding conditions. Lonoke's in particular was in excellent condition and had been turned into a modest museum with meeting spaces. It's a 1915-or-so structure built to replace a late 1800s depot that burned. A photo of the interior after the jump.

Under the Harahan Bridge

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Here is a place left abandoned by humans for more than half a century...

Former Bald Knob Hotel

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I know it's been a while. I'm sorry. I've been more active over here.

Anyway, this is the old Bald Knob Hotel. It's located near the railroad in what was once Bald Knob's "Skid Row," a strip of bars, brothels, and boarding houses. This one was probably all three at one point. The real business was upstairs, if you get me. As the current owner says, it really put the "Ho" in "Hotel."

Geyer & Adams Building

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The Geyer & Adams Co. building is one of a couple of old industrial company buildings rescued by CALS in the early 2000s. It, and the one next to it, now hold the Arkansas Studies Institute. 

Going up? Maybe in 1906...

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Another artifact of the Cox Building, its original elevator machinery sits outside on its own little dais, like an altar to a dead god. The plaque nearby says the "drum type traction hoisting machine" was an early example of its kind and was installed in 1906. When it was removed in 2001, it was still functional. Almost like the building's heart was surgically removed while still beating - but that's a bit morose. The Cox building currently hosts a used book store and cafe, which is one of my favorite places to visit on my lunch break.

More photos after the jump.

DO NOT PARK ON TRACKS

Google Map

There are no tracks near this sign. Nor do I think the modern Little Rock police would hand-paint a sign like this. This is the Cox Building - part of the Central Arkansas Library System. All of the buildings around this one are ancient, re-purposed. This week we'll explore them.

My City: Then and Now

A while ago I showed you a photo of Little Rock in 1905, a view from across the river. This is that same view, in 2012. Shall we compare?

Stone and Glass

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The late 19th century Pulaski County Courthouse faces down the 1986 Stephens Inc. building - a monster of glass and steel representative of the faceless skyscrapers present in every American city. Even though the courthouse has the illusion of size here, the Stephens building is actually one of the tallest in town.

Here's a historical shot of the courthouse from 1905 - before the neoclassical addition (seen here at left) was built around 1915.

To Dome, or not to Dome?

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Here's Little Rock City Hall in 2012, appearing much as it did 100 years ago. Except there's something missing.

Bye-bye, Broadway Bridge

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Here is a 1920s bridge that is slated, in the next few years, to be demolished. The bridge is apparently in fine condition, but officials would rather pay for a new one than upkeep. There has been chatter of an "iconic" replacement, but I would not be surprised if what we end up getting is just another strip of concrete.

Hall of Justice

Google Map

If it weren't for the tacky "NO SMOKING" signs, you'd think this were a fortress somewhere in Europe. But nope, courthouse, Arkansas.

Houses in Hillcrest V

I see this one every time I drive home along Markham. It's a good example of all the larger craftsman houses in this part of Hillcrest.

Houses in Hillcrest IV

I love little craftsman houses with the dormers that look like an eyelid in the process of opening. One house like that was torn down in Searcy just a year or two ago. Photo of that one after the jump.