The El Dorado Commercial Historic District encompasses the historic commercial heart of downtown
El Dorado, Arkansas
El Dorado, founded by Matthew Rainey, is a city in, and the county seat of, Union County, on the southern border of Arkansas, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 18,884.
El Dorado is headquarters of the Ark ...
. The city serves as the seat of
Union County, and experienced a significant boom in growth during the 1920s, after oil was discovered in the area. The business district that grew in this time is anchored by the
Union County Courthouse, at the corner of Main and Washington Streets, where the
Confederate memorial is also located. The
historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...
listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 2003 includes the city blocks surrounding the courthouse, as well as several blocks extending east along Main Street and south along Washington Street. Most of the commercial buildings are one and two stories in height and are built of brick. Notable exceptions include the
Exchange Bank building, which was, at nine stories, the county's first skyscraper, and the eight-story Murphy Oil building. There are more than forty contributing properties in the district.
See also
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References
Colonial Revival architecture in Arkansas
Buildings and structures in El Dorado, Arkansas
Buildings designated early commercial in the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas
National Register of Historic Places in Union County, Arkansas
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