I visited downtown Texarkana Texas and Arkansas and was surprised at what I saw. A place that looked straight out of a post zombie apocalypse movie. Travel Vlog #110
My grandmother (born 1898) was born in Texarkana....her grandmother migrated from Ireland.....her father was railroad engineer for Kansas City Southern (KCS) between Texarkana and Port Arthur, Tx., where she met and married son of retired sea captain and lived through 60's. Grandmother's sister lived in house they were born in (Beech St.) until she died in 1983....house was sold and is now gone...only one rental property they owned is left across street still standing. Got to ride the KCS train to Port Arthur around 1960....beautiful huge train station...Texarkana was main hub of railroad for many years.....believe closed in 60's. ....the beginning of the end of downtown Texarkana. My great aunt would straddle the state line in her car for fun...visited her and her pharmacist husband several times when we lived in Dallas. Haven't been back since my uncle was buried in family plot at Calgary Cemetery in 1984. Ahhh, memories....
I lived in Texarkana 22 years ago. The downtown was even worse then. The cities have made efforts to clean it up and get things going. It is one of those places which succumbed to malls and big box stores taking over. The downtown has yet to comebackbut maybe it will, which would be great because it is a great place in many ways.
Yeah, let's move some illegal immigrants in there and give them "free housing", but with the stipulation they stay in their houses for a minimum of 10 years.
I remember when Texarkana was a booming town. The demise of the town is when the businesses moved into malls around Interstate 30. That is the story of many of empty towns around the country. The Texarkana metropolitan area is still thriving. The businesses just shifted to I 30. There are very nice neighborhoods in that area. It is sad. I love downtowns.
This is what happens when you build interstates away from downtown. Car traffic is going to stay on I-30, so businesses shift there away from downtown. But people complain about neighborhoods if the interstate is built to go through downtown. Can't have it both ways.
I lived there all my life until about 8 years ago and to further show what you said, the demise started with what you said but also when the jail was put in the Bi-State building.
I am a Texarkana Native. Yes, our downtown has definitely went down since the 90s; BUT, they are currently working to revitalize and rebuild it. Unfortunately, You literally filmed some the worst residential neighborhoods in town. Back to downtown...There are lots of things that go on downtown at night. That area is being redone as an Arts & History district! You done your tour on a Saturday morning at 11am when its 100° out, lol. You should have came back down there Saturday night on Broad Street. Also, had you been there during the week, downtown is busy as there are lots of offices in that area. Yes, it looks bad now, but it's a work in progress and will be revitalized. Texarkana is a very busy town everywhere but downtown, lol. I'm not going to lie though, we could use more businesses besides hotels/motels and restaurants.
"some of the worst residential neighborhoods"??? Uh, you do realize ALL residential neighborhoods in Texarkana are run down right? Why do you think everyone is moving OUT of Texarkana?
@@stevenmarin2426 No, not all are run down. My neighborhhod and surrounding neighbohoods aren't. I live on Texas side, and I have grown children who live on Arkansas side, and their neighborhoods aren't run down either. And yes, people are leaving Texarkana due to the rising crime rate. Texarkana is getting to be as bad as Shreveport.
@@rosetaah4120 The part of Broad street by Crossties. Yes it is a bar, but they do hold concerts, have family movies nights on the outsides wall with bounce houses, and the Frozen Rail. My point is, that couple of blocks of Broad Street are usually always busy on a Saturday night, regardless of it being "a bar" area.
As an Aussie streetcar/trolley/tram nerd, I enjoy watching videos from places where streetcars once ran. Texarkana had a system that was replaced by buses around 1934. The workshop and car barn/ carhouse still exists on the corner of East Broad St and Pecan St, indeed the tracks can still be seen, running out of the building, on the Pecan St frontage. Not bad for tracks that haven’t seen a streetcar in 88 years.
I grew up here. It is hard to explain to people who still live in Texarkana, how dead the town truly is, until they leave. I now live in Northwest Arkansas and the downtowns in Fayetteville and Bentonville (really anywhere up here) are real representations of a thriving city. Downtown Texarkana died because over the past 50 years, it has been a better business decision to build closer to the interstate than to redevelop downtown. Also crime outside of the loop around the city is significantly lower, so most families with resources moved out.
Finally someone who gets it. Interstates are bypasses. An interstate went right through Feyettevill just in the west side. So yes this is what happens.
Hard to believe how the metro area has grow in NW Arkansas. Had a Missouri football fan once tell me he didn't understand why anyone would want to go to U of A because there is nothing there' "Have you ever been there" I ask. Of course not. I told him the quad cities of Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Benton has a population nearing 300,000 and you can't tell when one city ends and the other starts. If they merged would be by far the largest city in Arkansas, nearing the size of Tulsa and more than twice Columbia. If you think there's nothing there you haven't looked.
I have lived in Texarkana since 1996, coming from the nice suburbs of Chicago. When I came here, I thought it is so run down, it just needs a facelift. That's life. Everything gets old. People just have to realize the potential. I told my husband that and he began buying one house at a time and remodeling them, then selling. It just helps bring up the neighborhood. I lived in those kind of neighborhoods for many years. It made a difference. I saw a book in the library on the history of Texarkana. I was amazed how the "empty original downtown" you showed was a very busy place and awesome. Texarkana has many people interested and busy working on renovating old buildings there but it takes money, and a lot of time for that to come to pass. I was one of those people until my husband suddenly passed. But things are slowly coming to life all around. It will just take time. There are lots of offices and more in the remodeled buildings that you haven't seen. I've been down there hearing and seeing the noisy work going on. There's beauty all around Texarkana. I haven't given up on the vision of old things becoming new. It's just a process.
Hi! Denis, I’m glad to hear you say something positive about Texarkana my son moved there 8 months ago from expensive , out of control, high population of southern Cal. He wanted a slower pace & honestly a right wing state. He bought a farm, cash, raising chickens & he’s also investing in buying property to build affordable rentals. He’s really enjoying it there, it’s not for me as I like the dryer weather of SoCal but will visit. I hope & do think bc ppl are fed up with CA their moving there for its more economical & hopefully the y”young blood” will help revitalize Texarkana. Best wishes to you, God Bless, sending love. 👍👋🥰❤️🙏
@@pattil7947 Lived in Southern California for 51 years. Bought a family home in NE Louisiana surrounded by family members. Yes its hot and humid but I will take family over Comunisim and taxation without representation any day. The democrats have ruined CA. The homeless and crime is completely out of control and cost of living is unbearable and I'm in a red state that I can help keep it that way.
As a Texarkana resident, it's really disappointing to see our town like this. Just driving around is often depressing. What's worse is that those who have great ideas to make the town better, bring life back to downtown or even purchase those big abandoned houses dont have the funds to do so. We are all broke. It seems like those who do have the ability to make a difference want to hoard their money or spend it on building more restaurants, banks and car lots. This town and it's people deserve more. Maybe one day a change will come but until then we all sit in this waste hole.
That's sad to hear. Surely there must be something you can do? Maybe amend the zoning plan to straight up ban greenfield commercial or residential development. Scrap parking minimums, requirements related to front yards, and limits for dwellings per acre. Make it so that the only development permitted is development that contributes rather than sap the energy out of downtown. And maybe allow roadworthy vehicles to remain parked for a bit longer than five days, so that you can't get fined for taking only one car when you go on holiday. You really should be able to leave your own f****** car in your own f****** driveway.
It's terrible that there are so many cities in this state and all the old beautiful architecture is being lost. I hope that at least some of the bricks and stonework will be saved and or reused and not just ploughed into landfill. The new suburbs don't have such good architecture as we can no longer afford the old quality of building, very sad.
Sigh. 77+, born & raised, lived other places alwacame home. Sad times for the "old" town, but lots of good people. The "Grand Old Building" was the State First National Bank. The unique white building with the unique architecture down close to the PO, was the Medical Arts Building, held doctors working in various fields. I've fond memories of the train station. As teens in the 50's & 60's, we would buy round trip tickets to area towns that had a train coming back to Texarkana in the evening or afternoon. Spend a few hours in a neighboring town, catch the train back. There was a hotel (Gone many yrs) across the street from the Train Station called the Ritz Hotel. Had a large Cafe on the ground floor called the White Owl Cafe. It had tables in the center, leather booths around the walls. It had a shelf that ran in a circle around the room, a few feet above the booths. It held a huge electric model train. Parents took us there as toddlers, & we ate there as teens after our train excursions to other towns. GREAT MEMORIES.
Thank you for the great comment. I went to the train station, video'd it but didn't put it in the video. That said, it's in a serious state of disrepair.
I still remember the day Texarkana Arkansas began to fall. crack cocaine hit the town.. then violence and gang culture followed.. two parent households were destroyed, family values were destroyed, communities were destroyed.. I have such great memories of my childhood in the 80s but poverty, lack of jobs and shitty pay always had such a stronghold there..
Cooper tire is still here and thriving, @2000 employees. It is the most prosperous production plant they have. They make Mickey Thompson, Mastercraft, Hercules, Ironman,Cooper ,Solarus and many other tires.
Interesting how you mentioned first hearing about Texarkana in "Smokey and the Bandit". I first heard of it in the lyrics to the old Huddie Ledbetter song, "Cotton Fields" (which has been covered by Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Beach Boys, among others): _"It was down in Louisiana, just about a mile from Texarkana"_ (even though it's not possible to be in Louisiana and still be "just about a mile" from Texarkana...) Showing my age, I guess 😁
When the I30 came through the down town areas of many cities started dying off. There are several new businesses and some restaurants downtown that you don't show and they are working on renovations to buildings downtown and the Grim hotel. If locals don't support them instead of going to big chain store businesses it's hard to keep them going.
you walked right past all of the nice and very OPEN businesses downtown that people have been working hard to make happen. also all of the really nice restaurants and loft apartments. myself and many others live downtown, come back on a saturday night and then make a video about it.
Amber I went to Pine Street Middle School for the sixth grade. My uncle owned Allstate in Downtown. Glad y’all are revitalizing. Just need a piggly wiggly and a Tuesday morning :)
Lmfao hey Amber! I live here too and most of downtown is unfortunately dilapidated. The quarter mile of downtown that is fun is definitely fun! But the majority of it is closed and rundown. They’re working on it but there is a lot to do.
@@graysontheovercomer he's obviously not from here. He doesn't know where to go. But, unfortunately, he's not wrong about it being dead for the most part. 😔
All I remember about Texarkana back in the mid 70's, is that on the Arkansas side of State line street was lined with bars and liquor stores. On the Texas side of the street was lined with churches and no liquor sales allowed.
So sad! I just picture these places in the 40s,50s,60's...how they must have been bustling with people, shops, the sounds, life. Just so incredibly sad.
Try more like the 20s. That was the last time Texarkana was a happening place to be. Texarkana never recovered from the depression. In the 40s it was labeled Rat City. There was so much trash that rats per capital were the highest in the nation.
It’s bad downtown but not near as bad as this guy is portraying it to be, he’s there when it’s 100+ degrees and no one plans events there when it’s that hot with the sun beaming down on the black top.
@@south_paw It was a late morning Saturday into early afternoon. I walked up and down the Main Street, as well as streets on either side. There was no one there. No cars in the parking spots. I showed downtown Texarkana exactly the way it looks. And don't give me the "sun beaming down" crap. I was in Rapid City, South Dakota three weeks later. A city almost exactly the same size as Texarkana. I was there on a late Saturday morning. It was nearly 100 degrees outside. But that downtown was packed. I have toured 168 US cities in the past 11 months. Texarkana's is easily among the very worst. It's full of abandoned, decrepit buildings. No other way to spin it.
Downtown Texarkana is mostly government buildings (I.e. post office, DMV, court house) Most of the city moved when they built a mall, which itself is an almost empty shell of what it was years ago.
The demise of small town America is sad indeed. Your videos are like taking a trip back in time LS......thank you for sharing and please keep them coming!
I live here and can indeed confirm that this place sucks, it's depressing, high crime rate and nothing to do, I laugh at the ones that try to defend this depressing town.
Nothing for kids also, nothing for anyone. My mother always said texarkana is the biggest nothing town there ever was. And shes from from ailene, arkansas.
Must be you. We moved here not long ago and LOVE it. None of the BS that goes with Austin or Dallas. Granted, there arent as many "things to do" like in those places, but that stuff gets old quick. We've lived all over Texas and anywhere is as good as what you make it. I dont miss anything from the big cities and certainly not the crazy that goes on. Yes, there is crime in TXK, but at least there isn't a daily body count like Houston or Dallas.
Texarkana's life once centered around downtown. But when I-30 came through in 1961, the life of the city began to slowly gravitate toward that.The railroads were the main travel connecting commerce across America and Texarkana was sometimes referred to as little Chicago due to the centralization of the trains here. Just about all the life of the town now straddles I-30 or nearby access. When Texarkana Community College was built, it was criticized for being too far out of town and word was no one would go because it was so far out. Now it's in the middle of everything.
Yes, that's all true. I worked as a teen downtown, and the two major hotels had lots of guests, resting perhaps from train travel. As such the prostitution business also thrived. I worked right next to one house of ill repute on West Broad St. There were others.
About 20 years ago I stayed at a motel in Texarkana. I was told by locals that car break ins at motels along the freeway were fairly common. I wasn't all that worried as it was a rental and I left nothing inside it. Sitting outside my motel looking at the grassy tree filled area between buildings I could hear a bird making a racket. I finally identified both the bird and the sound...it was a mockingbird perfectly imitating all the various sounds made by a car's security system...it was awesome as I knew mockingbirds could imitate other birds but had no idea their vocal imitations extended to electronic devices!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes mocking birds have a amazing range of sounds. when i was a child i was playing with a whistle that was on a string and when you twirled it in the air it made sounds. i heard another whistle coming from next door where mrs Thompson had bird houses and feeds galore. turns out it was a mockingbird mocking the whistle. i was amazed lol.
It's true. About 15 years ago, I tried to 'scare' a mockingbird away by playing some annoying noises on a boombox--maybe it was some other bird that was supposedly a predator. (long time ago--I've forgotten the details). But the mockingbird just picked up that sound I had recorded and just started making that exact same 'call'. (I gave up.... I was outsmarted by a bird).
It is truly unbelievable how so much of this country is overpopulated,..and overpriced,...yet,...so many of these downtowns have been neglected,. and without a soul in sight.
Well, I think this country is projected to have a population of 450 million by 2050, possibly 600 million by 2100. Many towns and cities currently on the decline will probably have rebirths. Right now, though, it's depressing. I took a cross-country road trip in 2016, and I couldn't believe the condition of many of the cities I had only read about when I was younger, like Toledo, Dayton, Shreveport, Birmingham, Jackson (MS), etc. So many abandoned store fronts and empty streets. Sooner or later, though, people will be looking for more affordable places to live and work.
You really shouldnt make a comment without knowing the city. It wasn't the country that ruined it, texarkana did. They built a prison in downtown and everyone moved where now it is really nice
@@edlee2336 When I was there in 2016, it was approx. 3 p.m. on a weekday afternoon. Downtown was dead, with many abandoned store fronts. I remember checking what time it was precisely because of how dead it was. Out of all the cities that I visited in Ohio, Toledo shocked me the most, followed by Dayton and Akron. But I'm glad (or at least I hope) the city is doing better.
Many people have tried to revive downtown and I think the reason why it will never be up and going is because that’s where the police station, BiState justice building and the homeless shelter is. Years ago I had a music venue down there. People just don’t want to hang out and have a good time with cops and the homeless. Sad but true
@@jasonroberts9357 Hey. I live close to Wake Village in Pleasant Grove I think it’s kind of a hit or miss. Honestly I don’t know anyone who lives over there. I do know there are some cute little houses. But that can be deceiving lol I would recommend driving around at night. That’s when the snakes come out. Good Luck!
@@carris2scents57 Good to know. You're right about some nice looking houses. They're affordable, but have been concerned about the true reason why! Thanks again for your insight and reply. God bless you and yours!
@@jasonroberts9357 wake village imo isnt that great. It's all in what part of WV you're looking at. There's a nice neighborhood but most of WV is trashy
Just discovered your channel. Good stuff. I like the way you don’t mince words. If a place is dead, you say it’s dead (and you’re right). I agree that you don’t like to say anything bad about a place but you’ve got to call out some places that need to improve a lot. Keep it up.
Texarkana has struggled with downtown for years but has actually made alot of progress and started alot of revitalization projects over recent years. Rome wasn't built in a day. We have great museums and the architecture is beautiful. Weekends are less busy than weekdays in all the downtowns I have been to across the country, and It's alot!
Makes me homesick. Walked downtown a lot with my momma, and sister,Aunt and cousins. I have old pictures of my great Grandmother and great aunts there too. I have pictures of the town in the deep past. Sometimes I miss it. But when my nephew was shot in front of his own townhouse. I couldn't stay anymore. Looks like a lot of others have left as well.
Your tours of the smaller cities remind me of when I was a kid poring through the family Road Atlas looking at all the names of towns and cities and getting curious about so many of them with unusual names. Now I am actually seeing them for the first time (but they don't likely look like they would have in my Road Atlas days .. the sixties)!
I did the exact same thing as a kid! I’m fascinated by these out of the way places. I’m heading into the Oklahoma panhandle next. Many of the small towns are nearly abandoned there. Looking forward to it!! 😀
@@JoeandNicsRoadTrip Ha ha, yes panhandles always piqued my interest... whether big one like Texas has to the tiny one in New Mexico! By the way, I really thought your views of Texarkana were some of the most striking so far. Stark but clean and beautifully angular... almost a gigantic piece of artwork. Not for zombies, but "a city where everyone disappeared without a trace" type of SF. Much more interesting!
@@JoeandNicsRoadTrip I was waiting for you to say what is with the excess buildings in a town so small? What was the purpose of so much building space? Lol
@@JoeandNicsRoadTrip You should try to find some old hardbound road atlases that show the "improved" roads and passenger lines going from town to town. Those were sold to traveling salesmen so listed each hotel and diner in town, local motorized coach lines and stables that rented a horse with a carriage. The better ones also listed local industries, banks and stores. Those will give you a better idea on how dependent on railroads the small towns were.
I was just there a few weeks ago also on a Saturday but in the afternoon. Your video is spot on except there are a good handful of bright spots among the desolation. It does a disservice to the town that you didn’t point them out. A couple Mexican food restaurants were busy, a cool bar/restaurant - Hopkins (also busy- I had lunch there), the 804 Gallery is an amazing art gallery/thrift store and a few other new businesses. If you ever visit again, I highly recommend you seek out these cool businesses.
not to mention Alley Cat Cafe, Banana Club (speakeasy) below the Gallery, we are gearing up for another fun time of "Downtown Live" which happens every 2nd Friday of the month
When you headed to the neighborhoods on the Arkansas side I couldn't help but laugh at the roads. The Truckers always say you can't fall asleep behind the wheel when you are in Arkansas.😄
Been living in Texarkana my whole life, when people ask me what I do for a living it usually involve driving to another state/city. Nothing here but banks and car dealerships.
If you were there on a Saturday you would easily have caught footage of the Farmer’s Market, Pecan Point is busy as can be on Saturday at 11am. The windows are not busted out, they have been removed in renovation. I hope you will share your hometown so we can compare
Great insight brother! Although I don't think you want to compare his hometown. I think he lives in Plano, or Frisco area. Very upscale and developed towns....All the best to Texarkana though!
As an introvert this place seems both sad and magical. It would be interesting to find myself working within the downtown region of Texarkana. How surreal would it be to walk those streets? I really dig these videos and the commentary!
the two main divebars in town are downtown and all the introverts work there so you would really like it! also, the oldest apartments that are like 1970's huge lofts are about 3 blocks the right of where this guy filming called burman pharr lofts that look so old and cool and the people who work at the bars usually live there and walk to work. we also have downtown events on saturdays all evening and people do flaming hulahoops and all kinds of fun stuff for kids ☺️
As a child in the 60’s downtown was very magical. Especially during Christmas. Woolworth’s was still in business and had a soda fountain inside the store. Texarkana used to be a quiet and simple lil town. Population 16,000 back then. I have wonderful memories of growing up here. Sadly, I do not even recognize it now. It has turned into a fast paced, cut throat drug infested town.
The entire nation is becoming a ghost town…..cellphones have replaced most public socializing, actually it is also affecting the rest of the world., we are addicted to our cellphones, that’s why I’m watching this video. I’m retired and travel all over the world but I adapt and find ways to socialize wherever I go 😊
I’ve been here all my life. They’ve been saying for years they’re going to save our downtown but I’m not so sure. But one of those empty buildings look like there was a woman in the window. Did anyone else notice?
I grew up there. Moved to Oklahoma City in 2015 and then to Dallas in 2020. The residents have been claiming that the downtown area is being revived for years, but it’s a delusion. They do little things that don’t amount to much and almost nothing survives down there. There are a small few businesses downtown that have managed to make it, but the majority that go there fail. The Grimm Hotel is downtown. They’ve been trying to turn it into an apartment complex and it’s been under construction like 3 years now with little progress. The last time they tried to make nice apartments there the complex ended up basically low income housing. It’s sad that the residents can’t admit how dead the whole place is compared to a normal city the same size. My username here is a UA-cam skating channel and I’ve made quite a few videos in Texarkana’s downtown. Tons of my viewers always commented on how I’m “skating in a ghost town”.
Thank you for the honest comment. I get comments claiming that Texarkana's downtown is vibrant and in the process of being rebuilt. Those people live in a fantasy world.
I live in Texarkana growing up I was raised in Fouke Arkansas but back in the 60 s you could walk up an down main Street an all stores would be open an nice went down hill since the older people are no longer here you can sure tell the difference
You were probably on the interstate which is on the opposite end of downtown. What happened to Texarkana downtown is exactly what happened in the movie animation, "Cars". Downtown was built on or near highway 67 which was the main highway at one time. Elvis Presley's pink Cadillac broke down on route 67 on his way to Texarkana from Hope once but the interstate took the flow of traffic therefore that's where the businesses went.
I am from Texarkana, Texas and I am going to agree. True there are businesses who are trying to help make it better, and I commend them. I have lived here all my life, and it is disappointing. Low pay, high costs and a lot of crime.
"I was born in Looziana just a couple miles from Texarkana in them old cotton fields back hom. Oh when them cotton balls get rotten you can't pick none of that cotten...." THAT'S an old song.
I'm not sure why, but Texarkana has been in decline for quite a while. I drove through there in the '90s and it wasn't thriving even then. That large building with the broken windows was the Grimm Hotel (appropriately named).
@@JalinaEiram We have a fun (declining, now being fixed) water park now, movies, knife throwing, place where they have good food bowling and slap contests, etc. not a lot but more things to do than there were 10 years ago and less. richmond road and places like that are booming.
@Don - that large building with broken windows he's actually the building in front of Grimm. He showed Hotel Grimm at 02:59 and it has all new windows. They're turning it into apartments.
I currently live in Texarkana, TX. Downtown is definitely not nice but is alot busier during the work week. Texarkana also still serves as the major metro hub for alot of rural cities in AR, TX, OK, and LA. It is not uncommon to see people commute every day from these states to Texarkana. There are definitely nice parts of the city but they are located along the interstate. I really wish they would hurry up and renovate some of these older buildings for housing though. The rental and home market in Texarkana and surrounding areas is absolutely abysmal and way overpriced for median household incomes
I've driven through Texarkana vis the interstate many times and it's modern and nice there. I would have never guessed the downtown looked like that in a million years. I was stunned, to be honest. Hopefully the city planners will start working on reviving it.
@@JoeandNicsRoadTrip that building that had its facade stripped off was in the process of a whole remodel. The old Grimm Hotel is going to be apartments when they are finished.
Texarkana native myself, still here. That grand building used to be an upscale hotel back in the day. It is currently being renovated for lofts/apartments. I'm just glad it didn't (randomly burn) over the past year and a half like a lot think it and abandoned hotels have. Other than that, downtown sucks and it's depressing!
I must have just missed you I was down there around 7:30-8 am. I get Starbucks then drive down Stateline and cruise around the city once or twice and go. Sometimes I ride my bike from home and just cruise around downtown so I can check things out like you are. The train station is the saddest part because it’s big and was grand! I’ve been in there and it looks like hell now but you sure can tell it used to be amazing! I wish more would be done downtown but the buildings take too much money and there’s not enough of it here. 3-4 decent places to eat downtown
I know your just saying what your seeing but Texarkana is great place to live the people are very friendly crime is very low. There is work here i personally think it's cheaper to live on the Arkansas side even with a state tax downtown is getting rebuilt
PS forgot to mention that there are 2 jails within walking distance of the post office. One is the old St Michael's hospital that you would have seen to the East about 1 block away - which also houses the parole and probation offices and juvenile court, the other is to the south. I'm sure that not many people or businesses are too accepting of being so close to the facilities - especially when there are escapes.
The old st Michael’s building is Arkansas Department of Corrections. It’s almost such a low security prison that it’s almost a halfway house. They are all work release and that’s where the “escapes” happen. It’s pretty much someone just walked off or didn’t show up when the van came to pick them up from their job. They have to work and pay to stay in their cells.
“America is the single greatest country in the history of the world” - this is what American politicians like to say about this country. Well, we see in reality it’s the opposite of the great!
Came from California to Texarkana because my sister and her husband convinced us it was such a nice place! It's the worst place I could have ever moved to! It's poor, raggedy, and UGLY out here 😢! There are 4 decent restaurants and the rest is garbage 🗑 😕 😪, the ONLY thing good out here is you can get a job, but the pay SUCKS, and the people out here are SOOOOO SWEET and friendly, and there are a lot of believers here! There is nothing to do barely on a Sunday, the mall is a Major dud! I hate I left California, but I am glad to be with family and that makes up for all the CONS! I would leave this place in the dust if I could do it all over again! You can barely make enough to live decently! They DONT PAY YOU WELL AT ALL!
If you’re ever in the area, I think you would be surprised how changed the downtown is now. Stop on by and do an update! It’s a bit more bustling downtown now.
One thing that made downtown Texarkana particularly eerie was the previous presence of traffic lights at many of those intersections. The lights cycled all day for the few cars that would pass by. The city decided in 2016 to remove most of them and replace them with stop signs. I visited Texarkana for a job interview years ago but after seeing the downtown, I was totally chilled by the experience. V
Another reason for inner city decay is that the older buildings have outdated electric wiring, plumbing, heating, and so on. In many instances, it was cheaper to build new retail structures in locations closer to the money. Now the malls, and some box stores, that replaced the downtown businesses, are themselves becoming rundown things of the past.
Those old buildings also were chock-full of asbestos and lead paint that was too costly to remove if the owners followed the EPA's onerous abatement regulations. Nobody wanted to buy the buildings if they contained asbestos and lead paint so they sat empty going to rot or where turned over to the county/city to avoid paying property taxes on them.
Joe- I laughed when you said filmmakers could use the empty downtown to film post apocalyptic movies. That’s exactly what some filmmakers did in the 70s in downtown Los Angeles. The Omega Man was filmed on Sunday mornings in downtown LA which was virtually deserted without the Monday - Friday office workers.
Lived here my whole life and if u don't work at Cooper tire or the army depot u really don't have many choices for a higher income. Not a very family friendly place towards the evenings. Pay here is shit , 1000s of places to eat and get bothered by drunks and homeless following u around trying to bum something. Parks having dope deals done while ur kids swinging 20 feet away. Bad shit happens around this area hourly. Living here I just make the best of the situation n keep my eyes open for something popping off n pray I'm not the next one shot and I make it home to my family
Thanks to organizations like Main Street Texarkana, we are seeing more new businesses and events springing up downtown. As a musician, I am often hired for events there. Thanks to the many people who are working hard to help it be a fun place again.
It’s been at least 30 years since I was in Texarkana. I remember it as quite different than this. Of course, I was so enthusiastic about that state line down the middle of the street, I might have not have paid close attention to anything else. I have to admit: I crossed the street multiple times, “ Now I’m in Texas/ now I’m in Arkansas “ Chronologically, I was an adult at the time
What a fabulous Post Office building! I also love the Scott Joplin mural. I looked up the Perot Theater and saw that it has been restored by the Perot family (as in Ross Perot's family), and the pictures of the inside are just gorgeous. I wonder if those who live there ever forget which side of the line they are on...Probably not...😅
The building your recorded is actually being fixed up and lofts will be rented. Some of the others unfortunately are definitely in bad shape and just rotting away but the grim hotel that looks like it’s being worked on is going to be used. Downtown is my favorite part of the city but yeah it’s dead down there unfortunately. Wish it would revive
I always passed thru Texarkana, on my way to my home city Dallas, and I thought so much of this town. Unbelievable. I always stop for gas in a little small town outside Texarkana.
Same here. Over the past 10 months we’ve driven through here 7 or 8 times non our way to and from Dallas. On the interstate the city looks modern. We stayed at a hotel right off I30. Nice area. When I drove to downtown on this late Saturday morning I was wondering if I would find a parking spot. I was shocked at what I actually saw.
Texarkana moved to the I30 interstate, it's modern & thriving !!! All the nice suburban areas are there now too !!..........everything is there now. Sign of the times !!!
Nice thing about Texarkana is if you like to street race, you can all day long,then when the cops show up you can just drive across the street to Arkansas and you're home free
@21:00 You are looking at the old Texas High School. The new high school is on Summerhill road, and these buildings on Pine St. were sold to a private party that never developed them into anything.
Downtown looks truly depressed; I would not like to walk there at night, even if well armed. It looks like it was once a thriving community. Makes you wonder what industry they lest to cause such a shift in population. A real shame those luxurious homes nearby were abandoned. It is also odd that streets were shared by between different states. Seems like it would lead to arguments regarding revenue for maintenance. Also odd that someone is investing in a large hotel downtown. Who would ever want to stay there? Thanks for posting this tour; I will most likely never see it in person.
Moved here about a year ago... thanks for the info. I've asked locals about the state of Downtown and they know next to nothing. Not as bad as Baltimore (hometown) but worse than I would have imagined being a smaller city.
I appreciate u showing Texarkana . I was born there in 1952 on the Texas side . My parents were living on Arkansas side . They were raised in Arkansas. My mom was raised in the Ozarks mts . Of Northen Arkansas an my dad was raised in a small town of Saratoga which isn't that far from Texarkana. A few months after I was born we moved to Texas an was raised there . I don't think I have been back to Texarkana since birth. I'm in Alaska now so I liked you showing Texarkana . Lana 🍌
I live in Texarkana and that's exactly what's going on. There are several projects in the works to restore and revitalize the downtown area. Unfortunately the BI-State Justice building is smack in the middle, there's a jail on the fourth floor of that building. If you were to come to the same area M-F you would see this area is packed, there are also a number of small businesses as well as restaurants that are full during the work week. Have a great one everyone.
This level of decay in the city almost seems deliberate, as if the people running the town decided to run everybody out for some future plans. That or they simply refuse any and all stimulus packages that come along out of sheer obstinacy.
This is a railroad town and with the decline of the railroads came the decline of the city, apparently. What you showed me is very sad. Presently they have I-30 from Dallas and Little Rock, I-49 from Shreveport which the state will extend to Fort Smith, and in the future there's going to be I-369 also, which will connect to Houston and the Mexican border via I-69. But all those roads serve or will serve suburbia!
Texarkana is a small town and its people think the live in like a “small Dallas” but it’s simply a small country town with lots of Rich sims and even more poor sims. The narrow minded people with lack of vision have caused that this T Town has very little opportunity to grow. Too many businesses and too little industry. There is a dire need of industrial jobs In order for a city to boost its income per capita. Retail alone won’t do it. The people in charge have tried to keep this town small and ugly. My hometown has over 4 million of the hardest working people in the North eastern Mexico area and the strongest economy in Latin America thanks to the industrial jobs.
I grew up in Texarkana. The hotel you saw under construction is called the Hotel Grim. It once was a diamond in downtown Texarkana. It is now under construction to open in the fall of this year as condos.
All the construction along I-30 and north of that from the 1980s through about 10 years ago killed the downtown area. Lots of attempts over the years have been made to revive it.
The Perot theater was an old Opera house! Absolutely gorgeous inside. Then it became a movie theater and then it was restored to it's former glory with funds from Ross Perot (a Texarkana boy, born and raised). Lots of arts go through there from concerts to Broadway shows.
The big abandoned building fenced in on Pine Street on the Texas side has a lot of history. Started out as Texarkana college. Then became Texas High School. Then Pine Street Junior High. It been abandoned for 20+ years and it's loaded with abestos.
When I clerked for a judge in Arkansas we regularly visited Fayetteville, Hot Springs and Texarkana; we lived in Fort Smith. Texarkana's was definitely the worst downtown of those four; I remember there was no place to eat near the courthouse except a hospital cafeteria, and the hotels were all out on the suburban edge of State Line Avenue.
Have you heard the story of, The Town that dreaded Sundown? It happened in the 1959s, ppl were being murdered by some man who stalked lovers parked in cars, out in wooded areas. The detectives who were called in to find him, got close, but the only lead they had was he wore black boots. They thought they had him but he got away by jumping train tracks in front of an on coming train. It's very true story and scary. Dawn Wells has small role in the film as one of his surviving victims.
I-30 opened in 1965-'66. As for the school you drove past on Pine St, It started life as Texarkana College in 1928, I think. Then, is became Texas High. My brother graduated from there in the early '60s. Then, THS moved onto Kennedy Lane in '68, where it is now. The school on Pine became a Junior High. When Texas Middle School was built 20, or so years ago, PSJH was abandoned, as you saw. Since this was published, the school district tore it down and is building a modern elementary school. I also know why the Texas Side of downtown is so dead, but it would take too much time. I am happy to report, however, that the Twin Cities are making a concerted effort to revitalize downtown. We have a historical district where people have been and are refurbishing century-old homes a few blocks east of where you went into the neighborhood. Some are quite nice. Please come back to see us in a couple of years.
To outsiders, they are surprised at the urban decay of Texarkana, but us lifelong residents of Texarkana are not surprised. There's just not enough people in Texarkana who care about the history of our city
Most of those in office now care more about North Texarkana than preserving our historic downtown. When posed questions about the condition of downtown on msg boards, comments and questions are usually deleted. Very sad indeed considering the amount of history down there.
Was there last year and it like many southern towns, the old part of town usually is left to wither whilst new construction moves over near the Walmart. Generally, the lower income demographic homes exist near the old downtown area and the newer homes and more affluent demographic migrate to another area .
Ya, same w/ most cities..people get money then move further out for nicer, bigger, and more secluded living. It especially happened since pandemic bc craziness in some cities
While station at the little Rock AFB back in the early 70's, my friend and I took a drive to Texarkana and boy, it was so dead that we didn't stay very long.
Wow. I can’t believe the conditions of this Arkansas town either. South Arkansas has just died like lots of parts of the country. I live in Conway Arkansas and it is booming.
My first thought was WTF is with all the multistory buildings in such a small town? I live in a city of nearly 200k and our tallest buildings downtown are FIVE stories, and what's crazier, we probably have a handful of them at best! I don't understand what the need for all that building space could have been for in a small town.
100 percent agree, every downtown should be the heart and soul of a city, and its VERY true, when its dying something overall is wrong. great video! thank you!
I haven't seen kids playing in anyone's videos touring through towns.. this is no different. Where are the kids?? Playing games on their screens?: it's kinda scary.
You know, that's a very good question. Most don't realize it but the USA is a shrinking nation. The birth rate is well below replacement and the marriage rate has fallen off a cliff. The only thing keeping (larger towns) growing is massive immigration.
@@sailingaeolus i think you're right. I've been saying, "make babies 👶 make babies", and some say I'm crazy, "overpopulation". We're frogs in a pot of slowly boiling water... we need to wake up and jump the f out.. right?
There was a mass shooting in Texarkana (four dead) about 10 days ago. I decided to look it up and could barely find it because there have been 34 mass shootings (four or more shot not counting the shooter) in the country since then. Sad state of affairs.
My grandmother (born 1898) was born in Texarkana....her grandmother migrated from Ireland.....her father was railroad engineer for Kansas City Southern (KCS) between Texarkana and Port Arthur, Tx., where she met and married son of retired sea captain and lived through 60's. Grandmother's sister lived in house they were born in (Beech St.) until she died in 1983....house was sold and is now gone...only one rental property they owned is left across street still standing. Got to ride the KCS train to Port Arthur around 1960....beautiful huge train station...Texarkana was main hub of railroad for many years.....believe closed in 60's. ....the beginning of the end of downtown Texarkana. My great aunt would straddle the state line in her car for fun...visited her and her pharmacist husband several times when we lived in Dallas. Haven't been back since my uncle was buried in family plot at Calgary Cemetery in 1984. Ahhh, memories....
I enjoyed reading your comment.
This is a good read. 😊
I lived in Texarkana 22 years ago. The downtown was even worse then. The cities have made efforts to clean it up and get things going. It is one of those places which succumbed to malls and big box stores taking over. The downtown has yet to comebackbut maybe it will, which would be great because it is a great place in many ways.
Yeah, let's move some illegal immigrants in there and give them "free housing", but with the stipulation they stay in their houses for a minimum of 10 years.
Wrong , CHINA and America’s elite Democrats and Republican politicians and businessmen took manufacturing oversees and that is what did this sir.
In many ways, like how ?
Great sense of community which is very supportive of its children and schools...mild climate...friendly folks...low cost of living...
I remember when Texarkana was a booming town. The demise of the town is when the businesses moved into malls around Interstate 30. That is the story of many of empty towns around the country. The Texarkana metropolitan area is still thriving. The businesses just shifted to I 30. There are very nice neighborhoods in that area. It is sad. I love downtowns.
Perfectly said, George.
This is very true! Most of our businesses have moved around I30, and more on the Texas side of town. Our mall these days however, is very sparse..
Malls are dead. After malls it was Wal-mart. Now its Amazon. That giant sucking sound.
This is what happens when you build interstates away from downtown. Car traffic is going to stay on I-30, so businesses shift there away from downtown. But people complain about neighborhoods if the interstate is built to go through downtown. Can't have it both ways.
I lived there all my life until about 8 years ago and to further show what you said, the demise started with what you said but also when the jail was put in the Bi-State building.
I am a Texarkana Native. Yes, our downtown has definitely went down since the 90s; BUT, they are currently working to revitalize and rebuild it. Unfortunately, You literally filmed some the worst residential neighborhoods in town. Back to downtown...There are lots of things that go on downtown at night. That area is being redone as an Arts & History district! You done your tour on a Saturday morning at 11am when its 100° out, lol. You should have came back down there Saturday night on Broad Street. Also, had you been there during the week, downtown is busy as there are lots of offices in that area. Yes, it looks bad now, but it's a work in progress and will be revitalized. Texarkana is a very busy town everywhere but downtown, lol. I'm not going to lie though, we could use more businesses besides hotels/motels and restaurants.
Excellent comment! Thanks for your insight.
"some of the worst residential neighborhoods"??? Uh, you do realize ALL residential neighborhoods in Texarkana are run down right? Why do you think everyone is moving OUT of Texarkana?
The part of Broad Street that is three bars? Or the part that is the jail/courthouse and bond buildings?
@@stevenmarin2426 No, not all are run down. My neighborhhod and surrounding neighbohoods aren't. I live on Texas side, and I have grown children who live on Arkansas side, and their neighborhoods aren't run down either. And yes, people are leaving Texarkana due to the rising crime rate. Texarkana is getting to be as bad as Shreveport.
@@rosetaah4120 The part of Broad street by Crossties. Yes it is a bar, but they do hold concerts, have family movies nights on the outsides wall with bounce houses, and the Frozen Rail. My point is, that couple of blocks of Broad Street are usually always busy on a Saturday night, regardless of it being "a bar" area.
As an Aussie streetcar/trolley/tram nerd, I enjoy watching videos from places where streetcars once ran. Texarkana had a system that was replaced by buses around 1934. The workshop and car barn/ carhouse still exists on the corner of East Broad St and Pecan St, indeed the tracks can still be seen, running out of the building, on the Pecan St frontage. Not bad for tracks that haven’t seen a streetcar in 88 years.
I'll never forget those tracks. It's right by the jail lol.
I grew up here. It is hard to explain to people who still live in Texarkana, how dead the town truly is, until they leave. I now live in Northwest Arkansas and the downtowns in Fayetteville and Bentonville (really anywhere up here) are real representations of a thriving city. Downtown Texarkana died because over the past 50 years, it has been a better business decision to build closer to the interstate than to redevelop downtown. Also crime outside of the loop around the city is significantly lower, so most families with resources moved out.
I agree. Fayetteville is in the top places to live in The US. Ive worked there.
Finally someone who gets it. Interstates are bypasses. An interstate went right through Feyettevill just in the west side. So yes this is what happens.
I just literally never go downtown. It's pretty busy around the Kohl's, Target, Best Buy area. It is sad that Downtown is so abandoned though.
I grew up in Texarkana too, but I now live in Rogers, AR. I hope Texarkana revitalizes their downtown and takes it back. It truly was once beautiful.
Hard to believe how the metro area has grow in NW Arkansas. Had a Missouri football fan once tell me he didn't understand why anyone would want to go to U of A because there is nothing there' "Have you ever been there" I ask. Of course not. I told him the quad cities of Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Benton has a population nearing 300,000 and you can't tell when one city ends and the other starts. If they merged would be by far the largest city in Arkansas, nearing the size of Tulsa and more than twice Columbia. If you think there's nothing there you haven't looked.
I have lived in Texarkana since 1996, coming from the nice suburbs of Chicago. When I came here, I thought it is so run down, it just needs a facelift. That's life. Everything gets old. People just have to realize the potential. I told my husband that and he began buying one house at a time and remodeling them, then selling. It just helps bring up the neighborhood. I lived in those kind of neighborhoods for many years. It made a difference. I saw a book in the library on the history of Texarkana. I was amazed how the "empty original downtown" you showed was a very busy place and awesome.
Texarkana has many people interested and busy working on renovating old buildings there but it takes money, and a lot of time for that to come to pass. I was one of those people until my husband suddenly passed. But things are slowly coming to life all around. It will just take time. There are lots of offices and more in the remodeled buildings that you haven't seen. I've been down there hearing and seeing the noisy work going on.
There's beauty all around Texarkana. I haven't given up on the vision of old things becoming new. It's just a process.
I hope it happens.
Hi! Denis, I’m glad to hear you say something positive about Texarkana my son moved there 8 months ago from expensive , out of control, high population of southern Cal. He wanted a slower pace & honestly a right wing state. He bought a farm, cash, raising chickens & he’s also investing in buying property to build affordable rentals. He’s really enjoying it there, it’s not for me as I like the dryer weather of SoCal but will visit. I hope & do think bc ppl are fed up with CA their moving there for its more economical & hopefully the y”young blood” will help revitalize Texarkana. Best wishes to you, God Bless, sending love. 👍👋🥰❤️🙏
@@pattil7947 Lived in Southern California for 51 years. Bought a family home in NE Louisiana surrounded by family members. Yes its hot and humid but I will take family over Comunisim and taxation without representation any day. The democrats have ruined CA. The homeless and crime is completely out of control and cost of living is unbearable and I'm in a red state that I can help keep it that way.
We'll all be dead if Texarkana ever becomes beautiful and Jesus will have returned! It's UGLEEEE out here face it!
As a Texarkana resident, it's really disappointing to see our town like this. Just driving around is often depressing. What's worse is that those who have great ideas to make the town better, bring life back to downtown or even purchase those big abandoned houses dont have the funds to do so. We are all broke. It seems like those who do have the ability to make a difference want to hoard their money or spend it on building more restaurants, banks and car lots. This town and it's people deserve more. Maybe one day a change will come but until then we all sit in this waste hole.
Janis Joplin
"We are all broke."
That's how money does us
Yes... very sad... in credit card we thrust!
Then... we are broken
That's sad to hear. Surely there must be something you can do? Maybe amend the zoning plan to straight up ban greenfield commercial or residential development. Scrap parking minimums, requirements related to front yards, and limits for dwellings per acre. Make it so that the only development permitted is development that contributes rather than sap the energy out of downtown. And maybe allow roadworthy vehicles to remain parked for a bit longer than five days, so that you can't get fined for taking only one car when you go on holiday. You really should be able to leave your own f****** car in your own f****** driveway.
Jesus Christ,
As a Washington DC native, I've never seen a downtown like yalls, not in all my life! Boo, come back to DC with me, 😔
It's terrible that there are so many cities in this state and all the old beautiful architecture is being lost. I hope that at least some of the bricks and stonework will be saved and or reused and not just ploughed into landfill. The new suburbs don't have such good architecture as we can no longer afford the old quality of building, very sad.
Sigh. 77+, born & raised, lived other places alwacame home. Sad times for the "old" town, but lots of good people. The "Grand Old Building" was the State First National Bank. The unique white building with the unique architecture down close to the PO, was the Medical Arts Building, held doctors working in various fields. I've fond memories of the train station. As teens in the 50's & 60's, we would buy round trip tickets to area towns that had a train coming back to Texarkana in the evening or afternoon. Spend a few hours in a neighboring town, catch the train back. There was a hotel (Gone many yrs) across the street from the Train Station called the Ritz Hotel. Had a large Cafe on the ground floor called the White Owl Cafe. It had tables in the center, leather booths around the walls. It had a shelf that ran in a circle around the room, a few feet above the booths. It held a huge electric model train. Parents took us there as toddlers, & we ate there as teens after our train excursions to other towns. GREAT MEMORIES.
Thank you for the great comment. I went to the train station, video'd it but didn't put it in the video. That said, it's in a serious state of disrepair.
I was born in Texarkana, and have lived in many other places as well.. but I always come back home.
I still remember the day Texarkana Arkansas began to fall. crack cocaine hit the town.. then violence and gang culture followed.. two parent households were destroyed, family values were destroyed, communities were destroyed.. I have such great memories of my childhood in the 80s but poverty, lack of jobs and shitty pay always had such a stronghold there..
Are you sure it wasn't methamphetamine that hit it?
@@joelhunton8600 crack hit it first in the 80s..
Cooper tire is still here and thriving, @2000 employees. It is the most prosperous production plant they have. They make Mickey Thompson, Mastercraft, Hercules, Ironman,Cooper ,Solarus and many other tires.
What you said is true but it has nothing to do with the old people in charge of changing downtown and making it young folk friendly
Thanks for the edit!
Interesting how you mentioned first hearing about Texarkana in "Smokey and the Bandit". I first heard of it in the lyrics to the old Huddie Ledbetter song, "Cotton Fields" (which has been covered by Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Beach Boys, among others):
_"It was down in Louisiana, just about a mile from Texarkana"_ (even though it's not possible to be in Louisiana and still be "just about a mile" from Texarkana...)
Showing my age, I guess 😁
When the I30 came through the down town areas of many cities started dying off. There are several new businesses and some restaurants downtown that you don't show and they are working on renovations to buildings downtown and the Grim hotel. If locals don't support them instead of going to big chain store businesses it's hard to keep them going.
I like the Dr Pepper logo.I hope that they can rebuild that area. Put some more trees there.
you walked right past all of the nice and very OPEN businesses downtown that people have been working hard to make happen. also all of the really nice restaurants and loft apartments. myself and many others live downtown, come back on a saturday night and then make a video about it.
Amber I went to Pine Street Middle School for the sixth grade. My uncle owned Allstate in Downtown. Glad y’all are revitalizing. Just need a piggly wiggly and a Tuesday morning :)
Lmfao hey Amber! I live here too and most of downtown is unfortunately dilapidated. The quarter mile of downtown that is fun is definitely fun! But the majority of it is closed and rundown. They’re working on it but there is a lot to do.
@@graysontheovercomer he's obviously not from here. He doesn't know where to go. But, unfortunately, he's not wrong about it being dead for the most part. 😔
@@charlesmorehouse2260 there is a Tuesday Morning, is off Richmond Road
@@MBTexas196 glad to know it!
All I remember about Texarkana back in the mid 70's, is that on the Arkansas side of State line street was lined with bars and liquor stores. On the Texas side of the street was lined with churches and no liquor sales allowed.
So sad! I just picture these places in the 40s,50s,60's...how they must have been bustling with people, shops, the sounds, life. Just so incredibly sad.
Try more like the 20s. That was the last time Texarkana was a happening place to be.
Texarkana never recovered from the depression. In the 40s it was labeled Rat City. There was so much trash that rats per capital were the highest in the nation.
It’s bad downtown but not near as bad as this guy is portraying it to be, he’s there when it’s 100+ degrees and no one plans events there when it’s that hot with the sun beaming down on the black top.
@@south_paw It was a late morning Saturday into early afternoon. I walked up and down the Main Street, as well as streets on either side. There was no one there. No cars in the parking spots. I showed downtown Texarkana exactly the way it looks. And don't give me the "sun beaming down" crap. I was in Rapid City, South Dakota three weeks later. A city almost exactly the same size as Texarkana. I was there on a late Saturday morning. It was nearly 100 degrees outside. But that downtown was packed. I have toured 168 US cities in the past 11 months. Texarkana's is easily among the very worst. It's full of abandoned, decrepit buildings. No other way to spin it.
@@JoeandNicsRoadTrip You are missing Beaumont with its revitalized downtown and entertainment district
@@JoeandNicsRoadTrip can you check at 0:24.. something fell from the sky to the left of that building.
Downtown Texarkana is mostly government buildings (I.e. post office, DMV, court house) Most of the city moved when they built a mall, which itself is an almost empty shell of what it was years ago.
The demise of small town America is sad indeed. Your videos are like taking a trip back in time LS......thank you for sharing and please keep them coming!
Thank you, Jimmy. 😀
I live here and can indeed confirm that this place sucks, it's depressing, high crime rate and nothing to do, I laugh at the ones that try to defend this depressing town.
Does the spirit of the Phantom Killer still haunt the streets in Texarkana?
@@MA-ck4wu no it does not. Nobody has talked about it since they filmed here downtown. Other than that nobody talks about it anymore.
Nothing for kids also, nothing for anyone. My mother always said texarkana is the biggest nothing town there ever was. And shes from from ailene, arkansas.
Move out
Must be you. We moved here not long ago and LOVE it. None of the BS that goes with Austin or Dallas. Granted, there arent as many "things to do" like in those places, but that stuff gets old quick. We've lived all over Texas and anywhere is as good as what you make it. I dont miss anything from the big cities and certainly not the crazy that goes on.
Yes, there is crime in TXK, but at least there isn't a daily body count like Houston or Dallas.
I am truly shocked by the state of things in this downtown. It honestly looks like it’s been bombed. Absolutely post-apocalyptic. Damn.
It was crazy.
Texarkana has had multiple buildings burn down in the past 2 years and hasn't allocated funds for cleanup and restoration. That's a huge contributor.
@@zeeprah972 I actually find the atmosphere intriguing in a certain way. I am interested in ghost towns. this area kind of appeals to me.
A very boring place but it's nice that Arkansas is just across the street.
Texarkana's life once centered around downtown. But when I-30 came through in 1961, the life of the city began to slowly gravitate toward that.The railroads were the main travel connecting commerce across America and Texarkana was sometimes referred to as little Chicago due to the centralization of the trains here. Just about all the life of the town now straddles I-30 or nearby access. When Texarkana Community College was built, it was criticized for being too far out of town and word was no one would go because it was so far out. Now it's in the middle of everything.
Yes, that's all true. I worked as a teen downtown, and the two major hotels had lots of guests, resting perhaps from train travel. As such the prostitution business also thrived. I worked right next to one house of ill repute on West Broad St. There were others.
it's still sometimes referred to as "lil Chicago", but now for a whole different reason(crime rate)
About 20 years ago I stayed at a motel in Texarkana. I was told by locals that car break ins at motels along the freeway were fairly common. I wasn't all that worried as it was a rental and I left nothing inside it. Sitting outside my motel looking at the grassy tree filled area between buildings I could hear a bird making a racket. I finally identified both the bird and the sound...it was a mockingbird perfectly imitating all the various sounds made by a car's security system...it was awesome as I knew mockingbirds could imitate other birds but had no idea their vocal imitations extended to electronic devices!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
😂😂😂
Yes mocking birds have a amazing range of sounds. when i was a child i was playing with a whistle that was on a string and when you twirled it in the air it made sounds. i heard another whistle coming from next door where mrs Thompson had bird houses and feeds galore. turns out it was a mockingbird mocking the whistle. i was amazed lol.
It's true. About 15 years ago, I tried to 'scare' a mockingbird away by playing some annoying noises on a boombox--maybe it was some other bird that was supposedly a predator. (long time ago--I've forgotten the details). But the mockingbird just picked up that sound I had recorded and just started making that exact same 'call'. (I gave up.... I was outsmarted by a bird).
It's almost as if that mockingbird was *mocking* other sounds?
It is truly unbelievable how so much of this country is overpopulated,..and overpriced,...yet,...so many of these downtowns have been neglected,. and without a soul in sight.
Well, I think this country is projected to have a population of 450 million by 2050, possibly 600 million by 2100. Many towns and cities currently on the decline will probably have rebirths. Right now, though, it's depressing. I took a cross-country road trip in 2016, and I couldn't believe the condition of many of the cities I had only read about when I was younger, like Toledo, Dayton, Shreveport, Birmingham, Jackson (MS), etc. So many abandoned store fronts and empty streets. Sooner or later, though, people will be looking for more affordable places to live and work.
@@thehighllama8101 Would you want to live here? I wouldn't I am aware that there are good people every where,but what would attract me?
You really shouldnt make a comment without knowing the city. It wasn't the country that ruined it, texarkana did. They built a prison in downtown and everyone moved where now it is really nice
@@thehighllama8101 Toledo downtown has changed significantly. I moved away in 2017 and came back 2021 and it’s completely different.
@@edlee2336 When I was there in 2016, it was approx. 3 p.m. on a weekday afternoon. Downtown was dead, with many abandoned store fronts. I remember checking what time it was precisely because of how dead it was. Out of all the cities that I visited in Ohio, Toledo shocked me the most, followed by Dayton and Akron. But I'm glad (or at least I hope) the city is doing better.
Many people have tried to revive downtown and I think the reason why it will never be up and going is because that’s where the police station, BiState justice building and the homeless shelter is. Years ago I had a music venue down there. People just don’t want to hang out and have a good time with cops and the homeless. Sad but true
Thanks for your insight! I'm thinking about relocating(from central TX) to Texarkana. Any opinions on Wake Village area? Thanks!
Invite Mark Zucherberg to grow a branch of Meta there. Town will burst!
@@jasonroberts9357 Hey. I live close to Wake Village in Pleasant Grove I think it’s kind of a hit or miss. Honestly I don’t know anyone who lives over there. I do know there are some cute little houses. But that can be deceiving lol I would recommend driving around at night. That’s when the snakes come out. Good Luck!
@@carris2scents57 Good to know. You're right about some nice looking houses. They're affordable, but have been concerned about the true reason why! Thanks again for your insight and reply. God bless you and yours!
@@jasonroberts9357 wake village imo isnt that great. It's all in what part of WV you're looking at. There's a nice neighborhood but most of WV is trashy
Just discovered your channel. Good stuff. I like the way you don’t mince words. If a place is dead, you say it’s dead (and you’re right). I agree that you don’t like to say anything bad about a place but you’ve got to call out some places that need to improve a lot. Keep it up.
Thank you, Bill. :)
Texarkana has struggled with downtown for years but has actually made alot of progress and started alot of revitalization projects over recent years. Rome wasn't built in a day. We have great museums and the architecture is beautiful. Weekends are less busy than weekdays in all the downtowns I have been to across the country, and It's alot!
Makes me homesick. Walked downtown a lot with my momma, and sister,Aunt and cousins. I have old pictures of my great Grandmother and great aunts there too. I have pictures of the town in the deep past. Sometimes I miss it. But when my nephew was shot in front of his own townhouse. I couldn't stay anymore. Looks like a lot of others have left as well.
Your tours of the smaller cities remind me of when I was a kid poring through the family Road Atlas looking at all the names of towns and cities and getting curious about so many of them with unusual names. Now I am actually seeing them for the first time (but they don't likely look like they would have in my Road Atlas days .. the sixties)!
I did the exact same thing as a kid! I’m fascinated by these out of the way places. I’m heading into the Oklahoma panhandle next. Many of the small towns are nearly abandoned there. Looking forward to it!! 😀
@@JoeandNicsRoadTrip Ha ha, yes panhandles always piqued my interest... whether big one like Texas has to the tiny one in New Mexico! By the way, I really thought your views of Texarkana were some of the most striking so far. Stark but clean and beautifully angular... almost a gigantic piece of artwork. Not for zombies, but "a city where everyone disappeared without a trace" type of SF. Much more interesting!
Maaan I remember those! I was born in the 80s, when my family would travel my brother and I were the official map readers 😂
@@JoeandNicsRoadTrip I was waiting for you to say what is with the excess buildings in a town so small? What was the purpose of so much building space? Lol
@@JoeandNicsRoadTrip You should try to find some old hardbound road atlases that show the "improved" roads and passenger lines going from town to town. Those were sold to traveling salesmen so listed each hotel and diner in town, local motorized coach lines and stables that rented a horse with a carriage. The better ones also listed local industries, banks and stores. Those will give you a better idea on how dependent on railroads the small towns were.
There is some neat architecture downtown. It's too bad so many of the buildings are empty and not kept up.
I was just there a few weeks ago also on a Saturday but in the afternoon. Your video is spot on except there are a good handful of bright spots among the desolation. It does a disservice to the town that you didn’t point them out. A couple Mexican food restaurants were busy, a cool bar/restaurant - Hopkins (also busy- I had lunch there), the 804 Gallery is an amazing art gallery/thrift store and a few other new businesses. If you ever visit again, I highly recommend you seek out these cool businesses.
not to mention Alley Cat Cafe, Banana Club (speakeasy) below the Gallery, we are gearing up for another fun time of "Downtown Live" which happens every 2nd Friday of the month
When you headed to the neighborhoods on the Arkansas side I couldn't help but laugh at the roads. The Truckers always say you can't fall asleep behind the wheel when you are in Arkansas.😄
Im glad you are doing a walk through , this is something. I never knew any of this info your speaking of. I appreciate the walk around and the tours.
I appreciate that. :)
Been living in Texarkana my whole life, when people ask me what I do for a living it usually involve driving to another state/city. Nothing here but banks and car dealerships.
Car washes banks and churches
Fast food places and a Walmart neighborhood store every 2 miles.
I agree with all here
For a city of it's size, Texarkana has a lot of banks. There's some money flowing through here....unfortunately the residents will never see it.
Yeah and they’re putting another one in where the old ruby Tuesday was.
If you were there on a Saturday you would easily have caught footage of the Farmer’s Market, Pecan Point is busy as can be on Saturday at 11am. The windows are not busted out, they have been removed in renovation. I hope you will share your hometown so we can compare
Great insight brother! Although I don't think you want to compare his hometown. I think he lives in Plano, or Frisco area. Very upscale and developed towns....All the best to Texarkana though!
As an introvert this place seems both sad and magical. It would be interesting to find myself working within the downtown region of Texarkana. How surreal would it be to walk those streets? I really dig these videos and the commentary!
the two main divebars in town are downtown and all the introverts work there so you would really like it! also, the oldest apartments that are like 1970's huge lofts are about 3 blocks the right of where this guy filming called burman pharr lofts that look so old and cool and the people who work at the bars usually live there and walk to work.
we also have downtown events on saturdays all evening and people do flaming hulahoops and all kinds of fun stuff for kids ☺️
As a child in the 60’s downtown was very magical. Especially during Christmas. Woolworth’s was still in business and had a soda fountain inside the store. Texarkana used to be a quiet and simple lil town. Population 16,000 back then. I have wonderful memories of growing up here. Sadly, I do not even recognize it now. It has turned into a fast paced, cut throat drug infested town.
I was thinking same thing
The entire nation is becoming a ghost town…..cellphones have replaced most public socializing, actually it is also affecting the rest of the world., we are addicted to our cellphones, that’s why I’m watching this video. I’m retired and travel all over the world but I adapt and find ways to socialize wherever I go 😊
@@crybaby3710 What are the rents like?
I’ve been here all my life. They’ve been saying for years they’re going to save our downtown but I’m not so sure. But one of those empty buildings look like there was a woman in the window. Did anyone else notice?
Time mark, minute:second ?
4:42 Person in the window
I grew up there. Moved to Oklahoma City in 2015 and then to Dallas in 2020. The residents have been claiming that the downtown area is being revived for years, but it’s a delusion. They do little things that don’t amount to much and almost nothing survives down there. There are a small few businesses downtown that have managed to make it, but the majority that go there fail. The Grimm Hotel is downtown. They’ve been trying to turn it into an apartment complex and it’s been under construction like 3 years now with little progress. The last time they tried to make nice apartments there the complex ended up basically low income housing. It’s sad that the residents can’t admit how dead the whole place is compared to a normal city the same size.
My username here is a UA-cam skating channel and I’ve made quite a few videos in Texarkana’s downtown. Tons of my viewers always commented on how I’m “skating in a ghost town”.
Thank you for the honest comment. I get comments claiming that Texarkana's downtown is vibrant and in the process of being rebuilt. Those people live in a fantasy world.
@@JoeandNicsRoadTrip it is being revamped whoever says otherwise is a lie🎯
I moved here a year and a half ago from California and I HATE IT HERE! 🙃 😑 😒
@@prodigalflower1178 Leave 🤷🏽♂️
@@prodigalflower1178 Bakersfield is 1000 times better than Texarkana!!
I live in Texarkana growing up I was raised in Fouke Arkansas but back in the 60 s you could walk up an down main Street an all stores would be open an nice went down hill since the older people are no longer here you can sure tell the difference
I'm from there and that post office is where John F Kennedy once made a speech. If you walk up the steps there is a plaque about that.
If you ever decide to visit Texarkana again, I would love to give you a tour, the good, bad and uglyof it all
Hard to believe; last time I drove through that city, the whole area was booming, with all kinds of improvements and construction.
You were probably on the interstate which is on the opposite end of downtown. What happened to Texarkana downtown is exactly what happened in the movie animation, "Cars". Downtown was built on or near highway 67 which was the main highway at one time. Elvis Presley's pink Cadillac broke down on route 67 on his way to Texarkana from Hope once but the interstate took the flow of traffic therefore that's where the businesses went.
I am from Texarkana, Texas and I am going to agree. True there are businesses who are trying to help make it better, and I commend them. I have lived here all my life, and it is disappointing. Low pay, high costs and a lot of crime.
"I was born in Looziana just a couple miles from Texarkana in them old cotton fields back hom. Oh when them cotton balls get rotten you can't pick none of that cotten...." THAT'S an old song.
I'm not sure why, but Texarkana has been in decline for quite a while. I drove through there in the '90s and it wasn't thriving even then. That large building with the broken windows was the Grimm Hotel (appropriately named).
He wasn’t in the right part of Texarkana but the downtown part is better now
There NOTHING to do there. I recently visited and used to live there years ago, not much has changed.
@@JalinaEiram We have a fun (declining, now being fixed) water park now, movies, knife throwing, place where they have good food bowling and slap contests, etc. not a lot but more things to do than there were 10 years ago and less. richmond road and places like that are booming.
@@slconcerts3497 I know about those things in my opinion not really interesting.
@Don - that large building with broken windows he's actually the building in front of Grimm. He showed Hotel Grimm at 02:59 and it has all new windows. They're turning it into apartments.
You can thank the mayor's that didn't want bigger businesses moving into the area and made them go to places like Dallas
You got it right old leadership wants to keep it small they should have a age limit on government
I currently live in Texarkana, TX. Downtown is definitely not nice but is alot busier during the work week. Texarkana also still serves as the major metro hub for alot of rural cities in AR, TX, OK, and LA. It is not uncommon to see people commute every day from these states to Texarkana. There are definitely nice parts of the city but they are located along the interstate. I really wish they would hurry up and renovate some of these older buildings for housing though. The rental and home market in Texarkana and surrounding areas is absolutely abysmal and way overpriced for median household incomes
I've driven through Texarkana vis the interstate many times and it's modern and nice there. I would have never guessed the downtown looked like that in a million years. I was stunned, to be honest. Hopefully the city planners will start working on reviving it.
@@JoeandNicsRoadTrip that building that had its facade stripped off was in the process of a whole remodel. The old Grimm Hotel is going to be apartments when they are finished.
Texarkana native myself, still here. That grand building used to be an upscale hotel back in the day. It is currently being renovated for lofts/apartments. I'm just glad it didn't (randomly burn) over the past year and a half like a lot think it and abandoned hotels have. Other than that, downtown sucks and it's depressing!
I must have just missed you I was down there around 7:30-8 am. I get Starbucks then drive down Stateline and cruise around the city once or twice and go. Sometimes I ride my bike from home and just cruise around downtown so I can check things out like you are. The train station is the saddest part because it’s big and was grand! I’ve been in there and it looks like hell now but you sure can tell it used to be amazing! I wish more would be done downtown but the buildings take too much money and there’s not enough of it here. 3-4 decent places to eat downtown
Yeah, I went to the train station, even filmed it. It's in a really sad state.
I know your just saying what your seeing but Texarkana is great place to live the people are very friendly crime is very low. There is work here i personally think it's cheaper to live on the Arkansas side even with a state tax downtown is getting rebuilt
PS forgot to mention that there are 2 jails within walking distance of the post office. One is the old St Michael's hospital that you would have seen to the East about 1 block away - which also houses the parole and probation offices and juvenile court, the other is to the south. I'm sure that not many people or businesses are too accepting of being so close to the facilities - especially when there are escapes.
I walked by them, actually filmed them. Decided not to include them. :(
There is actually 3 jails within walking distance....the old st michaels....bi state Justice center and then annex behind bi state
The old st Michael’s building is Arkansas Department of Corrections. It’s almost such a low security prison that it’s almost a halfway house. They are all work release and that’s where the “escapes” happen. It’s pretty much someone just walked off or didn’t show up when the van came to pick them up from their job. They have to work and pay to stay in their cells.
“America is the single greatest country in the history of the world” - this is what American politicians like to say about this country. Well, we see in reality it’s the opposite of the great!
The city basically relocated to the interstate, where it’s easier to attract business
I wouldn't
say it's most greatest in history but it's the most powerful what do you consider great that's the question
I got hit by a tornado in this damn town, it was bad ass man !
Came from California to Texarkana because my sister and her husband convinced us it was such a nice place! It's the worst place I could have ever moved to! It's poor, raggedy, and UGLY out here 😢! There are 4 decent restaurants and the rest is garbage 🗑 😕 😪, the ONLY thing good out here is you can get a job, but the pay SUCKS, and the people out here are SOOOOO SWEET and friendly, and there are a lot of believers here! There is nothing to do barely on a Sunday, the mall is a Major dud! I hate I left California, but I am glad to be with family and that makes up for all the CONS! I would leave this place in the dust if I could do it all over again! You can barely make enough to live decently! They DONT PAY YOU WELL AT ALL!
If you’re ever in the area, I think you would be surprised how changed the downtown is now. Stop on by and do an update! It’s a bit more bustling downtown now.
One thing that made downtown Texarkana particularly eerie was the previous presence of traffic lights at many of those intersections. The lights cycled all day for the few cars that would pass by. The city decided in 2016 to remove most of them and replace them with stop signs.
I visited Texarkana for a job interview years ago but after seeing the downtown, I was totally chilled by the experience. V
Another reason for inner city decay is that the older buildings have outdated electric wiring, plumbing, heating, and so on. In many instances, it was cheaper to build new retail structures in locations closer to the money. Now the malls, and some box stores, that replaced the downtown businesses, are themselves becoming rundown things of the past.
Those old buildings also were chock-full of asbestos and lead paint that was too costly to remove if the owners followed the EPA's onerous abatement regulations. Nobody wanted to buy the buildings if they contained asbestos and lead paint so they sat empty going to rot or where turned over to the county/city to avoid paying property taxes on them.
WOW, I agreed with your statement about downtones (The heart and sole of the city should have a pulse) !!!
Known as The Ark - La -Tex in the late 60's early 70's . Was in the military at that time and that was what it was called on the radio stations .
Joe- I laughed when you said filmmakers could use the empty downtown to film post apocalyptic movies. That’s exactly what some filmmakers did in the 70s in downtown Los Angeles. The Omega Man was filmed on Sunday mornings in downtown LA which was virtually deserted without the Monday - Friday office workers.
Lived here my whole life and if u don't work at Cooper tire or the army depot u really don't have many choices for a higher income. Not a very family friendly place towards the evenings. Pay here is shit , 1000s of places to eat and get bothered by drunks and homeless following u around trying to bum something. Parks having dope deals done while ur kids swinging 20 feet away. Bad shit happens around this area hourly. Living here I just make the best of the situation n keep my eyes open for something popping off n pray I'm not the next one shot and I make it home to my family
Thanks to organizations like Main Street Texarkana, we are seeing more new businesses and events springing up downtown. As a musician, I am often hired for events there. Thanks to the many people who are working hard to help it be a fun place again.
It’s been at least 30 years since I was in Texarkana. I remember it as quite different than this. Of course, I was so enthusiastic about that state line down the middle of the street, I might have not have paid close attention to anything else.
I have to admit: I crossed the street multiple times, “ Now I’m in Texas/ now I’m in Arkansas “
Chronologically, I was an adult at the time
What a fabulous Post Office building! I also love the Scott Joplin mural. I looked up the Perot Theater and saw that it has been restored by the Perot family (as in Ross Perot's family), and the pictures of the inside are just gorgeous. I wonder if those who live there ever forget which side of the line they are on...Probably not...😅
No, it’s easy to tell when you cross into arkansas. Arkansas side is pretty much ruins.
@@FreezeIsPlaying Oh...👍
Something about your videos is fascinating they are very melancholic and remind us our civilization is temporary.
The building your recorded is actually being fixed up and lofts will be rented. Some of the others unfortunately are definitely in bad shape and just rotting away but the grim hotel that looks like it’s being worked on is going to be used. Downtown is my favorite part of the city but yeah it’s dead down there unfortunately. Wish it would revive
Yeah, Whoop Whoop….just more newly refurbished & spit shined, government funded Section 8 low rent housing to be moved into & torn up !! 👏🏻👏🏻🙄
Downtown Texarkana has serious ghost town vibes. Eerie.
Even has ghost hunt tours
I always passed thru Texarkana, on my way to my home city Dallas, and I thought so much of this town. Unbelievable. I always stop for gas in a little small town outside Texarkana.
Same here. Over the past 10 months we’ve driven through here 7 or 8 times non our way to and from Dallas. On the interstate the city looks modern. We stayed at a hotel right off I30. Nice area. When I drove to downtown on this late Saturday morning I was wondering if I would find a parking spot. I was shocked at what I actually saw.
Texarkana moved to the I30 interstate, it's modern & thriving !!! All the nice suburban areas are there now too !!..........everything is there now. Sign of the times !!!
That is true.
Nice thing about Texarkana is if you like to street race, you can all day long,then when the cops show up you can just drive across the street to Arkansas and you're home free
@21:00 You are looking at the old Texas High School. The new high school is on Summerhill road, and these buildings on Pine St. were sold to a private party that never developed them into anything.
Downtown looks truly depressed; I would not like to walk there at night, even if well armed. It looks like it was once a thriving community. Makes you wonder what industry they lest to cause such a shift in population. A real shame those luxurious homes nearby were abandoned. It is also odd that streets were shared by between different states. Seems like it would lead to arguments regarding revenue for maintenance. Also odd that someone is investing in a large hotel downtown. Who would ever want to stay there? Thanks for posting this tour; I will most likely never see it in person.
Thank you for the interesting comment, Stephen.
That building you speak of is going to be apartments, it’s a relatively new thing for our downtown to turn old buildings into apartments.
Moved here about a year ago... thanks for the info. I've asked locals about the state of Downtown and they know next to nothing. Not as bad as Baltimore (hometown) but worse than I would have imagined being a smaller city.
good thing about TEXARKANA you didn't mention, there's plenty of PARKING.
Indeed. :)
I appreciate u showing Texarkana . I was born there in 1952 on the Texas side .
My parents were living on Arkansas side . They were raised in Arkansas.
My mom was raised in the Ozarks mts . Of Northen Arkansas an my dad was raised in a small town of Saratoga which isn't that far from Texarkana.
A few months after I was born we moved to Texas an was raised there .
I don't think I have been back to Texarkana since birth.
I'm in Alaska now so I liked you showing Texarkana .
Lana 🍌
Hopefully the Hotel renovation could be a catylist towards downtown revitalization but it has a long,long way to go.
I live in Texarkana and that's exactly what's going on. There are several projects in the works to restore and revitalize the downtown area. Unfortunately the BI-State Justice building is smack in the middle, there's a jail on the fourth floor of that building. If you were to come to the same area M-F you would see this area is packed, there are also a number of small businesses as well as restaurants that are full during the work week. Have a great one everyone.
This level of decay in the city almost seems deliberate, as if the people running the town decided to run everybody out for some future plans. That or they simply refuse any and all stimulus packages that come along out of sheer obstinacy.
This is a railroad town and with the decline of the railroads came the decline of the city, apparently. What you showed me is very sad. Presently they have I-30 from Dallas and Little Rock, I-49 from Shreveport which the state will extend to Fort Smith, and in the future there's going to be I-369 also, which will connect to Houston and the Mexican border via I-69. But all those roads serve or will serve suburbia!
Texarkana is a small town and its people think the live in like a “small Dallas” but it’s simply a small country town with lots of Rich sims and even more poor sims. The narrow minded people with lack of vision have caused that this T Town has very little opportunity to grow. Too many businesses and too little industry. There is a dire need of industrial jobs In order for a city to boost its income per capita. Retail alone won’t do it. The people in charge have tried to keep this town small and ugly. My hometown has over 4 million of the hardest working people in the North eastern Mexico area and the strongest economy in Latin America thanks to the industrial jobs.
I grew up in Texarkana. The hotel you saw under construction is called the Hotel Grim. It once was a diamond in downtown Texarkana. It is now under construction to open in the fall of this year as condos.
All the construction along I-30 and north of that from the 1980s through about 10 years ago killed the downtown area. Lots of attempts over the years have been made to revive it.
It's very sad.
The Perot theater was an old Opera house! Absolutely gorgeous inside. Then it became a movie theater and then it was restored to it's former glory with funds from Ross Perot (a Texarkana boy, born and raised). Lots of arts go through there from concerts to Broadway shows.
The Greetings from Texarkana mural is not from the late 1880s. 😊
The big abandoned building fenced in on Pine Street on the Texas side has a lot of history. Started out as Texarkana college. Then became Texas High School. Then Pine Street Junior High. It been abandoned for 20+ years and it's loaded with abestos.
When I clerked for a judge in Arkansas we regularly visited Fayetteville, Hot Springs and Texarkana; we lived in Fort Smith. Texarkana's was definitely the worst downtown of those four; I remember there was no place to eat near the courthouse except a hospital cafeteria, and the hotels were all out on the suburban edge of State Line Avenue.
Have you heard the story of, The Town that dreaded Sundown? It happened in the 1959s, ppl were being murdered by some man who stalked lovers parked in cars, out in wooded areas. The detectives who were called in to find him, got close, but the only lead they had was he wore black boots. They thought they had him but he got away by jumping train tracks in front of an on coming train. It's very true story and scary. Dawn Wells has small role in the film as one of his surviving victims.
The movie was 1976. I saw it the theater starring Ben Johnson
I-30 opened in 1965-'66. As for the school you drove past on Pine St, It started life as Texarkana College in 1928, I think. Then, is became Texas High. My brother graduated from there in the early '60s. Then, THS moved onto Kennedy Lane in '68, where it is now. The school on Pine became a Junior High. When Texas Middle School was built 20, or so years ago, PSJH was abandoned, as you saw. Since this was published, the school district tore it down and is building a modern elementary school. I also know why the Texas Side of downtown is so dead, but it would take too much time. I am happy to report, however, that the Twin Cities are making a concerted effort to revitalize downtown. We have a historical district where people have been and are refurbishing century-old homes a few blocks east of where you went into the neighborhood. Some are quite nice. Please come back to see us in a couple of years.
Such an interesting place. Thanks for this excursion👍
The grandiose level of urban decay...This is absolutely amazing.
You would think retirees and people on social security from the rusted belt . Would be flocking to there,if only for a place to winter.
that is mostly what lives here, the median age of the population is in the 50s last I checked
I really enjoy your videos. What a cool couple u two are. Stay blessed. Stay safe.
Thank you!!
To outsiders, they are surprised at the urban decay of Texarkana, but us lifelong residents of Texarkana are not surprised. There's just not enough people in Texarkana who care about the history of our city
Most of those in office now care more about North Texarkana than preserving our historic downtown. When posed questions about the condition of downtown on msg boards, comments and questions are usually deleted. Very sad indeed considering the amount of history down there.
I love this show I watch every episode thankyou so much for posting!
Thank you for the kind words, Anthony! :)
Was there last year and it like many southern towns, the old part of town usually is left to wither whilst new construction moves over near the Walmart. Generally, the lower income demographic homes exist near the old downtown area and the newer homes and more affluent demographic migrate to another area .
Ya, same w/ most cities..people get money then move further out for nicer, bigger, and more secluded living. It especially happened since pandemic bc craziness in some cities
While station at the little Rock AFB back in the early 70's, my friend and I took a drive to Texarkana and boy, it was so dead that we didn't stay very long.
I live in Texarkana and I can confirm downtown is very lifeless but in other parts there are hundreds of cars.
Grew up very close to Texarkana and spent a LOT of time there. The immense growth along I-30 has sucked the life out of a once vibrant downtown.
They lost their ammunition storage plant and that hurt the town significantly
Wow. I can’t believe the conditions of this Arkansas town either. South Arkansas has just died like lots of parts of the country. I live in Conway Arkansas and it is booming.
My first thought was WTF is with all the multistory buildings in such a small town? I live in a city of nearly 200k and our tallest buildings downtown are FIVE stories, and what's crazier, we probably have a handful of them at best! I don't understand what the need for all that building space could have been for in a small town.
The city has been the economic hub for a four state area (SE Oklahoma, SW Arkansas, NW Louisiana and NE Texas) for a good number of decades.
@@billwilson3609 That makes sense
100 percent agree, every downtown should be the heart and soul of a city, and its VERY true, when its dying something overall is wrong. great video! thank you!
I haven't seen kids playing in anyone's videos touring through towns.. this is no different. Where are the kids?? Playing games on their screens?: it's kinda scary.
You know, that's a very good question. Most don't realize it but the USA is a shrinking nation. The birth rate is well below replacement and the marriage rate has fallen off a cliff. The only thing keeping (larger towns) growing is massive immigration.
@@sailingaeolus i think you're right. I've been saying, "make babies 👶 make babies", and some say I'm crazy, "overpopulation". We're frogs in a pot of slowly boiling water... we need to wake up and jump the f out.. right?
@@4eyes2sea If only they had eyes to sea!!!
There was a mass shooting in Texarkana (four dead) about 10 days ago. I decided to look it up and could barely find it because there have been 34 mass shootings (four or more shot not counting the shooter) in the country since then. Sad state of affairs.
Great video, much more interesting than the big city tours
Thank you, Paul. I’m heading up into the Oklahoma panhandle next. Wait until you see that area. Mostly ghost towns.
“What do they do around here for fun”
“Probably sit around and watch the cars rust”
Snowman and Bandit (1977 Colorized)