Peek Behind The Curtain

Architecture Crawl gives look inside downtown Springdale buildings

The old Famous Hardware building, 113 Emma Ave., marks another stop on today’s Architectural Crawl in downtown Springdale.
The old Famous Hardware building, 113 Emma Ave., marks another stop on today’s Architectural Crawl in downtown Springdale.

A behind-the-scenes tour of downtown Springdale today will sate those of curious mind and empty stomach.

photo

NWA Democrat-Gazette file photo

This large mirror hanging inside the lobby of the Apollo Theater, 302 W. Emma Ave., was a feature of the 1949 theater. The venue is being renovated and is one stop on today’s Architectural Crawl in downtown Springdale.

"Behind The Facade: An Architecture Crawl of Downtown Springdale," organized by Downtown Springdale Alliance, will take patrons on a five-stop tour of buildings in various states of renovation in the re-emerging downtown area. The evening also includes a three-course progressive dinner from Jeff Wetzel of Le Bouvier Chef Services.

FAQ

Behind The Facade: An Architecture Crawl of Downtown Springdale

WHEN — 5:30-9 p.m. today

WHERE — Tour begins at Shiloh Square, 106 W. Emma Ave.

COST — $45

INFO — amber@downtownsprin…

FYI

Architecture Crawl Properties

• Shiloh Square, 106 W. Emma Ave.

• The Apollo on Emma, 302 W. Emma Ave.

• The old Famous Hardware building, 113 W. Emma Ave.

• 101 W. Emma Ave.

• Watson’s Furniture Building, 111 S. Main St.

• Black Apple Crossing, 321 E. Emma Ave.

FYI

Progressive Dinner Menu

Jeff Wetzel of La Bouvier Chef Services will provide dishes for the progressive dinner. Offerings include:

• Whipped goat cheese crostini wth a blistered grape and fig balsamic reduction.

• Herb cold-boiled shrimp, sea salt and lime juice; marinated watermelon shooter; fayetteweiss.

• Grilled Teras major and roasted turnip kabob with pickled radish and chimichurri served over a summer vegetable rice pilaf.

Downtown Springdale Alliance has also partnered with Apple Blossom Brewing Company, the new Emma Avenue Bar & Tap and Core Brewing and Distilling Company to offer beer. Black Apple Crossing will offer a flight-size glass of three kinds of ciders, as well as a tour of its brewing area. Bottled water will be available at each location.

"By the time they are done, we want everyone to feel full," says Amber Perrodin, programming director of Downtown Springdale Alliance.

Beer from local brewers and bottled water also will be available at each stop.

The self-guided tour will start at Shiloh Square, where ticket holders can check out a bicycle from Phat Tire Bike Shop to bike the tour instead of walking it. Buildings on the tour include The Apollo on Emma, Watson's Furniture building, Black Apple Crossing and two others. While there is no specific order to the tour, Perrodin encourages people to end the tour at Black Apple Crossing.

"We want to keep people downtown once the architecture crawl is over," she says.

Besides food and drink, each stop also will have an architect on site to talk about the structure and answer questions. Live music will be performed at three locations.

The idea behind this event, Perrodin says, is to celebrate the past, present and future of these buildings. Four of the five buildings on the tour are empty, but "instead of that being a thing that we lament, we want to show people what these buildings look like in their current state, knowing these buildings are going to change soon."

Although the new visions for all of these buildings aren't public knowledge, Perrodin says, the building owners all have one goal in mind: "to contribute to downtown revitalization."

The ongoing renovations at some of these building will prevent sightseers from walking through every inch of the property. Portions will be roped off, Perrodin says, but "all are safe enough to allow people to walk through safely and comfortably." Hard hats will not be required for any buildings, she says.

Many people have connections to these building -- they might remember seeing certain films at the Apollo Theater or they might still own furniture purchased from Watson's -- and that connection has generated a lot of excitement about this event, Perrodin says.

About 100 tickets have already been sold, she says.

"Everyone has a story associated with most of these buildings," Perrodin says. "... I think a lot of people have lost patience that they would never see these buildings come back to life. But there is some immense hope in the situation. Downtown Springdale is certainly not dead. It has been resting for a little while, and now it's getting its second wind and coming back to life."

NAN What's Up on 06/17/2016

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