The Foreman Building is one of Texarkana’s most recognizable landmarks.Its triangular shape and rich history give it its own stateliness unique to any other structure in the area. The Foreman Building is made up of the entire block known as Block 51 of the original city plat of Texarkana, Arkansas. Its triangular shape comes from the fact that the original streets in Texarkana were designed to run parallel to the train tracks and train station rather than parallel to State Line Avenue, now Texarkana’s main thoroughfare. State Line Avenue bordered Block 51 on its Western side, creating the triangular block, which is framed by Olive and Third Streets on its eastern and southern boundaries.
The land for the Foreman Building was purchased by Ben M. Foreman in 1899.Mr. Foreman was heavily involved in local business, commerce, and politics. His idea to create a three-story building two blocks north of Broad Streetwas exciting, controversial, and risky. Up to that time, most buildings were built on Broad Street along the railroad tracks, the backbone of Texarkana’s industry at the time. The Foreman Building was built in 1900-1901 and immediately housed the Bodcaw Lumber Company, C.B. and Henry Moore, Lawyers, Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Company, Metropolitan Insurance Company, Thomas Sims, DDS, G.C. Abell, M.D., Louisiana and Arkansas Railroad, Max Reinberg, Tailor, Singer Sewing Machine Company, and Wilson Manicuring Parlor. The third floor of the building was designated “Foreman Hall” and frequently held dances and formal meetings.
The building housed several businesses through the years, including the Texarkana Chamber of Commerce, the United States Veterans Bureau, and the Boy Scouts of America. Not long after it was built, thanks in part to Ben M. Foreman, the Foreman Building was located in the heart of the Texarkana Business District and was flanked by the United States Post Office and Federal Courthouse to the North, the Grim Hotel to the West, and the Ben Smith building to the South.
In the early morning hours of March 10, 1952, fire struck the building, killing three. At the time, the top two floors of the building housed the Splawn Hotel.
Apparently, the fire started in Room 24, a top floor room in the southeast corner of the hotel. The fire was discovered at approximately 5:00 a.m. by Night Clerk Met Brooks. Mr. Brooks began knocking on doors along with Mr. and Mrs. R.A. Splawn, the owners of the hotel. They were joined by E.T. Parker, who noticed the flames from the street as he was coming home from work with a companion, J.T. Bowden. Parker ran upstairs and banged on doors and shouted the alarm.
“I banged on the door in the corner of the hotel where the fire was,” Parker related. “An elderly woman came to the door, and I grabbed her hand to tug her out. “A man inside the room hollered ‘I’m crippled’ and jerked the woman back in the room and slammed the door.” Before Parker could kick down the door, flames sealed the room. The man and woman referenced here were John and Hazel Cornelius of Texarkana, who died in the fire. Also dead were Bruno F. Wachowski of Chicago. The cause of the fire was listed as an apparent cigarette in the bed of the Cornelius room.
In the week after the fire, the heirs of Ben Foreman decided to raze the top two floors of the building. The businesses located on the ground floor of the building moved to 409 State Line Avenue and continued doing business there while the demolition took place. In addition to removing the second and third floors, it is apparent that approximately the northernmost 15 feet of the building was also removed.
Regardless of the fire, the Foreman Building still stands as one of the most curious and stately buildings in the area. We are proud to call it home and proud to be a part of the revitalization of downtown Texarkana.
Harrelson Law Firm, P.A.
300 N. State Line Avenue - Texarkana, Arkansas 71854
