Kress Building
National Register of Historic Places

Kress Building

Blytheville, Mississippi County, Arkansas
Listed
June 12, 1997
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
97000555

About this property

The Kress Building is a historic commercial building at 210 West Main Street in Blytheville, Arkansas. It is a two-story concrete and steel structure, faced in brick and terra cotta. The building is the home of the Delta Gateway Museum, which interprets the history of the city of Blytheville and the surrounding area. Built in 1938, it was one of the first buildings in the city to be built using steel framing, and is considered by the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program as one of its finest Art Deco structures in the state. S. H. Kress and Co. operated from the store until 1974. A Family Dollar Store operated from the building from the mid to late 80's. Later, the building housed the local United Way. It was donated to the town and then renovated in 1997 to serve as the Blytheville Heritage Museum and the Blytheville office of Main Street Arkansas. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. It is in the Blytheville Commercial Historic District, also listed on the NRHP. The first floor areas (outside the plate glass store windows) are faced in terra cotta, while the second floor is predominantly cream-colored brick. Windows on the second floor are surrounded by ivory terra cotta incised with fluting and shell patterns. The Delta Gateway Museum opened in the Kress Building in November 2011. The museum was conceived of in 2009, and is owned by the city of Blytheville and operated by the Delta Gateway Museum Commission. The museum's collection focuses on the history of the town, from its early founding in the 1880s to the modern era. Major exhibits focus on the Mississippian culture that previously inhabited the area, the cotton trade of the early 1900s, and a replica tenant farmer homestead. National Register of Historic Places listings in Mississippi County, Arkansas

Location

210 W. Main St.
Blytheville, Mississippi County, Arkansas
35.92796, -89.89378

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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The Civil War
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The Soldiers
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Native Heritage
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Settlement
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The Community
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Nearby Historic Sites

Mississippi County Courthouse, Chickasawba District
Industrial
0.6 mi
Blytheville Commercial Historic District
Industrial
0.6 mi
Blytheville Greyhound Bus Station
Modern
0.8 mi
West Main Street Residential Historic District
Listed
1.1 mi
United States Highway 61 Arch
Industrial
4.9 mi

Nearby Battles

Fort Pillow Massacre (Tennessee)
1864Civil War
7.7 mi
Mississippi River — CSS General Price and CSS Lovell at Plum Point
1862Civil War
11.5 mi
Battle of Plum Point Bend
1862Civil War
11.5 mi
Battle of Plum Point Bend (Memphis approach)
1862Civil War
15.5 mi

Questions about this property

When was Kress Building listed on the National Register?

Kress Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 12, 1997.

What type of historic resource is Kress Building?

Kress Building is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Kress Building?

The period of significance for Kress Building is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Kress Building?

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