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COURTHOUSE SQUARE CONNECTIONS
The Courthouse Square Connections Project is a dual city effort to increase walkability and enhance the area around the existing United States Post Office and Federal Courthouse in downtown. As one of our community’s main attractions, the downtown Texarkana Federal Courthouse and Post Office sits on the state line of Texarkana and Arkansas. The Post Office is so unique that it has been noted to be the 2nd most photographed federal courthouse in the United States!
Built in 1931, the United States Post Office and Courthouse has remained the most prominent structure in Texarkana, due in no small measure to its location. The regularity of the downtown street grid is interrupted by the north-south path of State Line Avenue, which separates Texas and Arkansas. Located between Fifth and Sixth Streets, the federal building ensures its pivotal presence by occupying the sole site in the center of State Line Avenue. By straddling the boundary between two states, the building uniquely evinces its federal nature and function; no other federal building in the country is sited in two states.
BEFORE & AFTER PROJECT RENDERING
PROPOSED SITE PLAN
Project Goals & Objectives
- Improve pedestrian safety by expanding existing sidewalks and including additional crosswalks.
- Improve vehicle safety by closing 5th Street entrance.
- Enhance the area around the existing United States Post Office and Federal Courthouse with a new tourist kiosk, public art, expanded green space and add an area for food truck vendors.
- Preserve history by reclaiming a portion of the original brick streets and highlighting the historical features of the United States Post Office and Federal Courthouse.
Courthouse Square Connections Project Partners & Funding Organizations
- City of Texarkana, Texas
- City of Texarkana, Arkansas
- Texarkana, Arkansas Advertising & Promotion Commission
- Texarkana Chamber of Commerce
- Texarkana Arts & Historic District (including orgs above plus Main Street Texarkana, the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra, the Texarkana Regional Arts & Humanities Council, the Texarkana Museums System)
- National Endowment for the Arts Grant (Public Art)
- Texarkana Wilbur Smith Rotary Club (Trees)
Resident Design Team (Leadership Texarkana Strategic Doing Group)
Kayla Wood, PE, Jennifer Harland, Tyler Richards, PE, Dana Cox, Lee Medley, Brent Talley, Ben DuBois, MD, Andrew Clark, Brandy Early, Molly Riley, David Orr
