Polk Square Arch - Huntsville AR
N 36° 05.253 W 093° 44.105
15S E 433821 N 3993909
Located on the newly refurbished Downtown Square, this arch welcomes visitors into the center of town, and invites them to sit on one of the benches or inside the gazebo, and enjoy the fountain and the view of "life happening" all around them.
Waymark Code: WMG71Y
Location: Arkansas, United States
Date Posted: 01/22/2013
Views: 2
This is a new arch, having been manufactured and installed early in 2012. It is part of the refurbishment of the downtown square. A newspaper article describes how the entire project took place:
"The heart of Huntsville will soon have a new look and a new name.
The Huntsville City Council on March 5 motioned to authorize city officials to completely overhaul the center area of the Huntsville Square and re-name it Polk Square. Mayor Kevin Hatfield requested the new name in honor of Evan Shelby Polk, whose family donated the land for the square in the mid 19th Century.
Hatfield also presented a sketch detailing the proposed renovations, which will feature a stamped concrete foundation, two gated entrances with “Polk?Square”?emblazoned on the arch, a fountain, octagonal seating around the various trees, a brand-new two-tiered gazebo, flower beds with stacked stone and caps, flag poles with surrounding stone, and five additional small streetlights.
City crews are set to begin the square overhaul in early April. Before installing and constructing the new amenities, the square’s current centerpiece must be completely demolished, Hatfield said.
“It will be quite a disruption as far as parking on the square,”?said Jason Polley, the city’s street superintendent. “But my idea for this thing is not to totally disrupt the whole square at one time. So we’ll probably close just one half of the square when we do the demolition.”
Polley said that the Farmers Market would still go as scheduled this summer, and that crews had a couple of alternate location close to the square for vendors to set up shop.
Polley said that the demolition would take about a week on each side.
“I’m looking at three months outside for the total project,”?he said. “I think that everybody is going to be really happy with how it turns out.”
Hatfield said the total cost of the square overhaul will be about $65,000. He said the city has $30,000 budgeted for the project, and that he will look mostly to local civic organizations to make up the difference.
“I have been approaching different groups about $5,000 donations, which would be $1,000 over five years,”?Hatfield said. “The Friendship Club has agreed to donate, and so have the Lions Club and the Masonic Fraternity.” (above text from (
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