Reminders of Our Recent Past
Today, Eureka Springs is fortunate to be one of the few places in America that still has the mid-century roadside culture intact to tell this part of our history – The Auto Age. The places noted on this website and map are almost all still here, some little changed from when they were built. Those within the boundaries of the Historic District and built before 1955 are on the National Register of Historic Places. Some outside the boundaries are also listed individually. These motor courts, restaurants, gas stations and attractions are as much a part of the history of Eureka Springs and the United States as the earlier downtown buildings. Our still intact collection of roadside culture is just as rare as the downtown turn-of-the century collection of architecture.
Our predecessors in the preservation movement fought to protect remnants from the Victorian age -- buildings and neighborhoods considered old and ugly in the modern 1950s and 1960s. While these resources continue to be a risk, there is at least a body of knowledge about their significance, history and care. However, now preservationists are confronting an even greater challenge – how to deal with the twentieth century built environment.
The Recent Past has been described as “history you can pick out in your own life in your own town.” The venerable National Register of Historic Places considers a property eligible for listing when it is 50 years old. For now, that date is 1957. It is hard to think of something as historic when we remember when it was built!
This is especially the case with the roadside commercial development that evolved with our love of the automobile. These structures have entered that endangered period when they are just “old and ugly,” much like the status of Victorian era buildings in the 1950s and 1960s. In most places urban sprawl has erased whole categories of these once-everywhere roadside essentials. When did you last see a filling station with garage? Motor court? Diner? Tower with a view? The highways, when you can exit them, all have the same chain motels, restaurants, convenience store/gas stations. All carefully designed so that there are no surprises for the traveler.
So next time you see one of these retro reminders in Eureka Springs or other places along a two-lane highway, pause and look back …
I’ll see you…On Route 62!
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