Tom Lundstrum was quick to admit that he and business partner Brian Moore weren't sure exactly what they were getting into when they purchased the building that had once housed the Apollo Theater on Emma Avenue in downtown Springdale.
"The Apollo is the most iconic building on Emma," the longtime Springdale resident said during a summit on the future of the city's downtown that was held at Jones Center last month. "There had been people who had talked about doing something with the building in the past, but nothing occurred. That was true of all downtown. There were a lot of false starts. Private investment was always lacking. When the Tyson family and the Walton family decided to invest, that made it real. We decided that the revitalization of Emma was really going to happen this time. Now, it's building on itself. I don't see a cap on what can happen down here."
My story on the cover of today's Perspective section details the Tyson and Walton efforts. A growing number of smaller investors such as Lundstrum and Moore also are putting their money into downtown Springdale, making it one of the state's most exciting revitalization efforts.
The Apollo opened in 1949. Lundstrum and Moore purchased what was left of the building for $50,000 in 2014.
"We basically bought four walls and a floor," Lundstrum said. "Frankly, we were tired of people saying, 'There's nothing to do in Springdale. We always have to drive to Fayetteville or Bentonville.'"
Due to a bad roof, the building had suffered extensive water damage. A new roof was put on, and the structure was stabilized. Renovation work began in August 2016. The theater's sign was restored.
"People will walk in the front door and not believe it's in Springdale," Lundstrum predicted when the renovations began.
What's now an upscale special events center known as The Apollo on Emma had its grand opening last August. The facility has a capacity of 495 in the auditorium and 42 in the outer lobby, inner lobby and VIP section. In addition to special events, it has become a popular location for brides to have photo sessions due to its art deco style.
Up and down Emma, there are stories of other projects in the works. There was a time not so long ago when finding a parking place on Emma was easy. That's changing quickly in a city that has been known more for the poultry industry, trucking industry and large numbers of immigrants than for modern downtown amenities. In 1872, residents of a community known as Shiloh petitioned for a post office. Informed that there was already a Shiloh in Arkansas, Sarah Reed Meek, a member of one of the community's prominent families, suggested Springdale, short for "springs in the dale."
"In 1882, the St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad announced it would pass directly through the town," Velda Brotherton wrote for the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. "The rich soil of the area produced good fruit crops. After the coming of the railroad, hundreds of carloads of apples, strawberries, peaches and grapes were shipped out by rail each year. During this time, the business center shifted from the area around what's now the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History to the area around the rail tracks and later to Emma Avenue. . . . In the 1930s, Springdale's industries included the region's only roller mill for producing high-grade flour, bran and feed; a grape juice plant; a winery and distillery; and canneries. Steele Canning Co., founded by Joe Steele in 1924, grew to be one of the largest privately owned canning companies in the world, partly as a result of the introduction of Popeye brand spinach in 1965.
"In the early 1930s, John Tyson started the predecessor to Tyson Foods, using his old truck to haul chickens out of the area to sell for farmers who owned hatcheries. Jeff Brown opened the first hatchery in 1921. By 1937, it was the largest in the state."
When rural electric cooperatives began supplying electricity to farms, the poultry industry took off. Poultry production in Arkansas increased by more than 300 percent from 1935-50. It increased another 300 percent during the 1950s. Springdale became Chicken City, the center of that booming industry.
"In 1962, Arkansas growers raised 25 million broilers," Brotherton wrote. "Washington County soon became one of the five most heavily industrialized in Arkansas. The cattle industry of northwest Arkansas grew with the use of chicken litter to improve pastures. The poultry industry spawned other businesses as well. Tyson Foods opened a hatchery, as did many others. George's Inc. and Jeff Brown built feed mills and increased the size of their hatcheries. Others soon followed. Locals, many of whom had left the area for work, found jobs that had not previously been available. Farmers who were hacking out a bare existence turned to raising poultry and cattle."
The trucking industry followed, led by Harvey Jones, who had started hauling goods with a wagon and two mules in 1918. By 2005, there were 26 truck lines with operations in Springdale.
Springdale now has what's shaping up to be a hip downtown that belies its image as an industrial town. That complements the growth taking off on the other side of Interstate 49 near Arvest Ballpark, home of the Texas League's Northwest Arkansas Naturals, and the new Arkansas Children's Northwest medical complex.
"We've been working on downtown for a long time," said Doug Sprouse, who's in his 10th year as Springdale's mayor. "The Razorback Regional Greenway was really the catalyst that led to other things happening. We uncapped Spring Creek in 2016 as part of that project, and there has been momentum downtown ever since. The investments being made downtown by Tyson Foods are huge for us. What we have to do now is to get people living downtown. I'm confident we'll soon see more downtown residential construction, but we're not going to rush it. We want to ensure that whatever goes in is a quality development."
Sprouse said the rebirth of downtown and development activity near the ballpark complement each other.
"It's not an either-or proposition," he said. "Both neighborhoods are important, and both will thrive in the years ahead. In the next five to 10 years, you're going to see an entirely new place."
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Rex Nelson is a senior editor at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Editorial on 07/15/2018