Downtown Bentonville is the historic business district of Bentonville,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. The region is the location of Walmart Home Office; city and county government facilities; and most of Bentonville's tourist attractions for the city and contains many historically and architecturally significant properties. Downtown measures approximately and is defined as the region between Tiger Boulevard to the north, Highway 102 (AR 102) to the south, Walton Boulevard ( U.S. Route 71B) to the west and J Street to the east. Similar to other central business districts in the US, Downtown has recently undergone a transformation that included the construction of new condos and lofts, renovation of historic buildings, and arrival of new residents and businesses. Upon opening of

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is a museum of American art in Bentonville, Arkansas. The museum, founded by Alice Walton and designed by Moshe Safdie, officially opened on 11 November 2011. It offers free public admission. Overview ...

the increased tourist traffic related to the museum has made Downtown Bentonville one of the state's most popular tourism destinations.

Master plan

In the early 2000s, Bentonville adopted a

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

study that outlined a renovation of the downtown area. Input meetings were held in 2003 with residents and merchants communicating their visions to city administration. Committees selected identified the vision and implementation strategies. In 2004, the Master Plan went into effect. The Master Plan for rehabilitation of Bentonville's downtown includes creating gateways to the district, adding public art, trees, street furniture, parking, and trails while removing overhead utilities and unsightly areas. The plan also suggests maintaining historic architecture and restricting future constructions.

Crystal Bridges

Alice Walton Alice Louise Walton (born October 7, 1949) is an American heiress to the fortune of Walmart. In September 2016, she owned over in Walmart shares. As of October 2022, Walton has a net worth of $59 billion, making her the 19th-richest person, and ...

led the Walton Family Foundation's development of the

, a premier museum dedicated to American art and artists. The museum includes walking trails and educational opportunities in addition to displaying over 450 works covering five centuries of American art. The museums is the most popular in the state, with 604,000 visitors in 2012, its first year. The

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

(LEED) building was designed by world-renowned architect

Moshe Safdie Moshe Safdie ( he, משה ספדיה; born July 14, 1938) is an architect, urban planner, educator, theorist, and author, with Israeli, Canadian, and American citizenship. He is known for incorporating principles of socially responsible desi ...

. Trails connect Crystal Bridges to the Bentonville Square while giving tourists an opportunity to explore the outdoors in

the Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant portio ...

. A total of six trails feature educational opportunities to learn about native Arkansas plant life as well as public art.

Bentonville Square

The Bentonville Square (sometimes Public Square) is a

town square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true square, geometric square, used for community gathe ...

in Bentonville that includes the several historically and architecturally significant properties surrounding Public Square Park. The Square is anchored by the Benton County Courthouse on the east side and Walmart Visitor's Center on the west side.

Confederate Soldier Monument

The

Bentonville Confederate Monument The Bentonville Confederate Monument was installed in Bentonville, Arkansas, United States. It was removed in September 2020. Description and history Placed in the center of Square Park, the granite statue of a Confederate soldier standing at pa ...

, installed in the center of Square Park, was added to 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 ...

(NRHP) in 1996. This monument was removed to a privately owned plot of land in 2020.

Benton County Courthouse

The Benton County Courthouse has been the home of Benton County government since it was built by Albert O. Clark in 1928. The

Classical Revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

structure features keystones, round-topped windows, and the inscription "Sovereignty rests with the people" in a large concrete block above the main entrance. The structure was added to the NRHP in 1988, along with many other historical structures in Benton County.

Bogart Hardware Building and Roy's Office Supply Building

The Bogart Hardware Building (112 E Central) and Roy's Office Supply Building (110 E Central) were built c. 1885 on the south side of the Bentonville square. The original appearances of the buildings has remained intact more than any neighboring structure on the square. The Bogart Hardware Building's original

corbelled In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the st ...

brick

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

remains in good condition. Roy's Office Supply Building, built with

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

style, was constructed with two different storefronts in order to accommodate two distinct tenants. Even the original floor remains intact. Together, these two structures have retained the largest amount of original storefront that was typical of the Bentonville square at the turn of the century. Both structures were added to the NRHP in 1988.

Hotel Massey

Hotel Massey is a former hotel in downtown Bentonville, built in 1910 in the Renaissance Revival architectural style. Occupying an important corner in Bentonville, Hotel Massey replaced the Eagle Hotel, which had stood on the site since 1840. Home to many notable businesses on its first floor, the building is considered an important historic landmark by the community. The hotel's architectural style is also uncommon in Arkansas, and especially the Ozarks. Due to its dual significance, Hotel Massey was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Terry Block Building

The Terry Block Building is a commercial building on the west side of the Bentonville square built in 1888. Built by Colonel William A. Terry, the building is the largest on the square and communicates message of the prosperous 1880s economy. Terry owned and operated a dry goods store and was president of the Benton County Bank, also located in the building. Today the building is owned by

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

and operated as a retro 1950s soda fountain and ice cream parlor.

Events

Downtown Bentonville plays host to many annual events, including Winter Wonderland in December and

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

events in July. Pickin' on the Square, a gathering of local musicians playing country, blues, and bluegrass music, and the Bentonville Farmer's Market both take place weekly between May and October. "First Fridays" takes place April through November include different themed events sponsored by downtown businesses. Beginning in 2015, Bentonville has hosted the

Bentonville Film Festival The Bentonville Film Festival (BFF) is an American film festival held annually in Bentonville, Arkansas that focuses on diversity. Foundation Bentonville Film Festival was founded by actress Geena Davis and ARC Entertainment executive Trevor Dr ...

each May.

Parks

Downtown Bentonville currently contains five parks. * Square Park, * Dave Peel Park, formerly the JayCee Park * Train Station Park, * Bogle Park, * Town Branch Park,

References

{{Reflist

External links

Downtown Bentonville Master Plan

Bentonville History Blog
Bentonville, Arkansas Historic sites in Arkansas Squares in the United States Bentonville