Properties nominated for National Register of Historic Places

Five Washington County properties are among 16 statewide nominees for the National Register of Historic Places.

The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program's state review board on Wednesday recommended adding Fayetteville Fire Station No. 1, former Fayetteville Fire Station No. 3, the David and Mary Margaret Durst House, the historic section of the Prairie Grove Cemetery and the Prairie Grove Airlight outdoor telephone booth to the National Register.

The register is the National Park Service's official list of the country's historic places that are worthy of preservation. Properties generally must be at least 50 years old to qualify. They are evaluated on their age, integrity and historic significance. The Park Service is expected to decide in the next eight weeks whether to add the Arkansas sites.

Mark Christ, community outreach director of the Historic Preservation Program, said the primary benefit of National Register listing is "honorific."

"By making people aware of the significance of their property it makes that property's preservation more likely," Christ said.

He added that properties owned by government entities and nonprofit groups can become eligible for certain grants after they're placed on the National Register. Privately owned properties can qualify for state and federal tax credits.

According to research by the Historic Preservation Program, both Fayetteville fire stations were designed by architect T.E. Shelton.

Fire Station No. 1 at 303 W. Center St. was finished in 1964 under a $146,000 contract with Shirley Construction Co. It was one of three fire stations built in Fayetteville using money from bonds voters approved in 1962.

The 15,000-square-foot, two-story brick building still houses administrative offices for the Fayetteville Fire Department.

"We like the tradition of it, and we like that it's an old fire station," Chief David Dayringer said Wednesday. "It's just kind of part of our culture."

The former Fire Station No. 3 at 4140 S. School Ave., just north of the terminal building at the Fayetteville Executive Airport, no longer houses fire trucks. The department still uses it for training exercises, however. The one-story brick building was finished in 1964 under a $70,000 contract with Tune Construction.

The David and Mary Margaret Durst House at 857 Fairview Drive, near the University of Arkansas' Harmon Avenue Garage, was designed by John G. Williams for David Durst, former chairman of the university's art department, and his family.

Williams founded the Fay Jones School of Architecture and was Jones' first architecture professor before Jones came under the tutelage of Frank Lloyd Wright.

The Durst House is an example of mid-century modern architecture. It features a flat roof, large back deck and cantilevered front and rear sides over a poured concrete foundation.

"The most important thing about the house, I think, is ... the location," said Dana Durst, David Durst's daughter, on Wednesday.

"The whole idea of that particular kind of architecture is to be at one with nature, to be able to see what's going in the natural world around you and to have the beauty of that influence your life," she added.

The most unusual of Wednesday's nominations was the Prairie Grove phone booth.

"It's a bit out of the ordinary," Christ said. "But we've done some fairly odd property types in the past."

The Prairie Grove Telephone Company considered removing the phone booth in front of the Colonial Motel, 505 E. Douglas St., after it was struck by an SUV in June. An outpouring of support on social media prompted David Parks, company president, to repair the booth instead.

Staff at the Historic Preservation Program recommended placing it on the National Register for its "local significance." According to their research, the booth was installed around 1960 and was advertised at the time as "mighty attractive and comfortable." The telephone's number is 479-846-9314.

The Prairie Grove Cemetery, just west of Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 202 W. Buchanan St., includes more than 3,000 burials dating to 1818. It contains the graves of many early settlers, including the Rev. Andrew "Uncle Buck" Buchanan and his stepson, Col. James Preston Neal, who founded Prairie Grove.

Mayor Sonny Hudson said both Prairie Grove properties deserve National Register listing and could be a boon for the city.

"It gets it out there and lets people know that they're there," Hudson said.

The five properties, if selected, would join more than 120 other sites in Washington County on the National Register. The sites include Old Main, Fayetteville's old post office building, the Rabbit's Foot Lodge in Springdale, Prairie Grove Battlefield Park and an 11-sided barn on Appleby Road near Farmington.

NW News on 04/02/2015