Arkansas city hopes $100 million effort will restore glory

EL DORADO, Ark. -- An oil and timber town that was Arkansas' richest community nearly a century ago believes building a $100 million arts district in its historic downtown will spark a "cultural infusion" that can reverse a decadeslong population slide.

El Dorado, a town of about 18,300 residents near the Louisiana border, believes after shoring up its tax base, infrastructure and school system, the entertainment hub will bring back the glory years that followed a 1920s oil boom.

"We have to create a destination," said Terry Stewart, the former CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and a former president of Marvel Comics.

Stewart, now the chairman of El Dorado Festivals and Events, draws inspiration from the rock hall he once ran and from Marfa, Texas, which entered a renaissance after artist Donald Judd moved there in 1972.

If a town in the high Plains 500 miles southwest of Dallas can draw visitors, so can a town in the piney woods.

Tyanna Shaw of Houston prepares boudin Friday at The Griffin restaurant in El Dorado, Arkansas. The restaurant is part of the $100 million Murphy Arts District, which is being developed in an effort to return the city to its glory years. The city has lost a quarter of its population since 1980.Kelly P. Kissel ~ Associated Press

"We went around the region to make sure we were right about what people were looking for," Stewart said. "That takes us into all kinds of entertainment: something for kids, good food, good service."

Rebooting a boomtown began a decade ago -- after El Dorado lost a quarter of its population in a quarter of a century. Murphy Oil launched the El Dorado Promise, a 20-year pledge to pay college tuition for graduates from the local high school, then voters approved a property-tax increase to build a state-of-the-art high school and a 1-cent sales tax increase for economic development.

"A lot of people were seeing the decline," said Madison Murphy, son of Murphy Oil founder Charles Murphy Sr. and president of the Murphy Family Foundation. "You can either be proactive and get in front of it, or you can just continue the slow pernicious decline."

His cousin, Claiborne Deming, is the chairman and a former president of Murphy Oil, a major backer. Deming said district organizers are spending $54 million in a first phase and $35 million in a second one. The city has kicked in $14 million in development-tax revenues since 2013.

"We need a lifestyle. We need a restaurant and bar scene," Deming said. "One thing I've always wanted was a town watering hole -- a place where the town congregates."

Pedestrians walk past the gate Friday to the Murphy Arts District Amphitheater in El Dorado, Arkansas. The city this weekend is opening the $100 million district with the hope of returning the city to its glory days.Kelly P. Kissel ~ Associated Press

El Dorado's downtown drew crowds before, but that was a long time ago.

Oil wells began producing here in 1921. The Arkansas Historical Quarterly wrote El Dorado's population grew from 4,000 to 15,000 in weeks; its per-capita income at one point led the state.

A Little Rock newspaper described downtown as "the most cosmopolitan section in the whole state," with a cotton shed converted into an auditorium.

"You can ... purchase almost anything from a pair of shoes to an auto, an interest in a drilling tract or have your fortune told," the newspaper said at the time.

But a jobs exodus began during the 1980s oil bust and continued as small manufacturing jobs moved overseas, where labor was cheaper. The city's population fell after hitting a high near 26,000.

Eric Stoss, center, and others stand near an oil well in 1926 at El Dorado, Arkansas.Arkansas State Archives via AP

The Murphy Arts District draws its name from the Murphy Oil exploration company, the Murphy USA retail operation that provides gasoline to Walmart stores and Deltic Timber. The area recently hosted concerts by Ludacris, Brad Paisley, Smokey Robinson and ZZ Top -- with the hope the 6 million people who live within 200 miles will find at least one reason to visit.

The project's first phase is complete and includes a 2,000-seat auditorium, an 8,000-seat amphitheater and restaurants, with a playground to come. The second phase will include a $32 million renovation of the Rialto Theater and the opening of a fine arts gallery with in-residence quarters.