Are We There Yet?

Downtown murals portray Pine Bluff's vibrant past

A downtown Pine Bluff mural features two pioneers of motion pictures with roots in the Arkansas city.
A downtown Pine Bluff mural features two pioneers of motion pictures with roots in the Arkansas city.

PINE BLUFF -- Decrepit as it may appear on a quick drive along Main Street, Pine Bluff's downtown can take pride in the public art that accounts for the self-proclaimed title "City of Murals."

Eleven paintings relating to the history of Pine Bluff and surrounding Jefferson County are displayed on building walls. Located on or near Main Street, they're the result of a project begun in 1992 by the nonprofit corporation Pine Bluff Downtown Development Inc.

The objective, according to the corporation's website, is "to create paintings from realistic versions of actual photographs to form an outdoor art gallery within the business district. The murals will vary in size and style, but they will always be of Pine Bluff's history."

A number of artists from Arkansas and elsewhere have painted the murals. The oldest subject goes back nearly two centuries, before Pine Bluff was incorporated as a city in 1839. It is a legend featuring an American Indian hero.

He was the Quapaw chief Saracen, who is said to have come to the rescue of two white children who'd been stolen by a marauding band of Chickasaw. Saracen promised the distraught mother that he would return her youngsters and went in pursuit.

Overtaking the Chickasaw along the Arkansas River, Saracen waited until the kidnappers were asleep and uttered the Quapaw war cry. The Chickasaw fled, or so the story goes, and Saracen gathered up the children to return to their mother.

In 1833, the Quapaw were exiled west, eventually to present-day Oklahoma. But Saracen refused to go -- and was allowed to stay after petitioning the governor. He supposedly is buried on the banks of the river near the current Port of Pine Bluff.

Another mural portrays Freeman Owens and Max Aaronson, two men with Pine Bluff roots who played roles of note in the fledgling movie industry.

Owens, who was born and died here, is shown operating a movie camera. A combat cameraman in World War I, he "changed the movie-making business forever when he perfected the process of putting sound on film," according to the muralcity.org.

Aaronson, who spent some of his boyhood in Pine Bluff, is remembered as the first great cowboy movie star. Performing as Broncho Billy Anderson, he formed one of the earliest film production companies and appeared in the pioneering silent western The Great Train Robbery. Shown with him on the mural are stars Charlie Chaplin, Wallace Beery and Peggy Shannon.

Among subjects of other murals are the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, the Jefferson County timber industry, Main Street in the late 19th century, two local hospitals, a former fire station, and the creation of the state flag.

A particularly jaunty scene shows Jefferson County's seven automobile owners in 1905 posed with their cars at the north end of Main Street. They were setting off for a three-day excursion to Little Rock and back.

Given the derelict condition of downtown, it is not surprising to learn that two murals were destroyed when their buildings fell into decay or were torn down. Topics of the lost paintings were the Cotton Belt Railroad and Grider Field, site of the city's airport.

Restoration work goes on to preserve the remaining murals. Recently touched up are those depicting UAPB, the Arkansas flag and Main Street of old. The 11 surviving murals are well worth a look as tangible evidence of Pine Bluff's better days.

For the location of each mural, visit pinebluffcvb.org. For details on the murals' content, visit muralcity.org.

Weekend on 01/12/2017

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