Main Street Siloam Springs receives Arkansas Preservation award

Photo Submitted Downtown The and Now offers a glimpse into the past history of historic buildings down town. To the left is a shot of the Webster building in the early 20th century. During that time period the building housed Central Drug Store on the ground level and medical offices above as well as a law office at one time. Today the building is home to Siloam Springs Printing.
Photo Submitted Downtown The and Now offers a glimpse into the past history of historic buildings down town. To the left is a shot of the Webster building in the early 20th century. During that time period the building housed Central Drug Store on the ground level and medical offices above as well as a law office at one time. Today the building is home to Siloam Springs Printing.

Main Street Siloam Springs received an award from Preserve Arkansas during the Arkansas Preservation Awards on Friday.

Preserve Arkansas awarded Main Street with the Arkansas Preservation Outstanding Achievement in Preservation Education Award -- Digital Media for "Downtown Then and Now -- Historical Building Registry," according to a press release issued by Main Street Siloam Springs.

Total cost for the project was approximately $2,000, said Abby Trinidad, events and marketing coordinator and Farmer's Market Manager for Main Street Siloam Springs.

A portion of the project was partially funded by the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, she said. Trinidad did not say how much funding the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program contributed.

"Downtown Then and Now" was developed by former Executive Director Kelsey Howard in 2018 as an effort to document the historic and architectural significance of each building downtown, Trinidad said.

"I'm so thrilled "Then & Now" makes it possible to share the joy of uncovering old photographs, hearing stories from a different era, and looking at our buildings in new ways," Howard said.

"Downtown Then and Now" is located on Main Street's website. The project offers split photos of different historic buildings in Siloam Springs.

The left hand portion of the photo or "before" portion shows the building as it was years ago and the right hand side or the "after" portion shows the building as it is today. When the viewer clicks on the address below the photo, a history of the building comes up.

The "before" portion of the photos were submitted by the Siloam Springs Museum and the "after" portion of the photos were submitted by Outdoor-ECOM- Website Design and Photography and Aaron Garst, photography volunteer, the press release states.

The project was a collaborative effort between Main Street; Outdoor ECOM; Hannah Ratzlaff -- Historical Architectural Consultant; Siloam Springs Museum -- Digital Photography Collection; Siloam Printing -- Photography Collection; Bailey Coleman and Chandler Coleman -- Collections Volunteers and Garst, the release states.

"Downtown Then and Now" was funded by Main Street Arkansas of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, the website states.

"So far as we know, there is nothing similar across the state for historic districts," Ratzlaff said. "I think this presents an immense opportunity for preservation historians and advocates to make their work digitally sustainable and generationally compoundable."

Ratzlaff said with this, Siloam Springs can adapt this tool to become more immersive like having QR (quick response) codes on the buildings.

Museum Director of Collections and Research Don Warden said the Siloam Springs Museum was glad to be able to provide most "before" photos for the project.

Warden also said building owners and Siloam Springs residents should all take pride in the historical value of the buildings in the Downtown National Register Historic District.

"Main Street Siloam Springs has used these images as part of an incredible catalogue of information about our downtown buildings," Warden said.