Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Courthouse Designs Vary

Controversy is brewing concerning the Clark County Courthouse and how best to rebuild it.

The courthouse was severely damaged in the March 1 tornadoes which swept through Clark County, giving Arkadelphia an unwanted urban renewal.

However, city and county leaders are joining together to make a better city than before. This, they said, will be done primarily through designs allowed in the buildings.

But, the biggest controversy to date stems from the courthouse.

Area leaders have been pondering what design would be best for Clark County for a courthouse.

It has been suggested to construct the new facility so it can house both the city and county offices. The first ideas were a standard, functional square office-style building.

However, with representatives from the Disney Company, Harry and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and the University of Arkansas offering their services, the possibilities are endless.

One suggestion was to build the new courthouse in the style of the nation's capital -- the White House. Another was to design the structure along the lines of the Pentagon, but this was quickly disregarded because too many people have gotten lost in the original Pentagon.

But, one comment, made off the cuff and taken seriously, was to build the facility in the same design as the Taj Mahal, complete with a gold plated exterior.

E. Fay Jones, with the UA Architecture Department, said he would be more than happy to design a geodesic courthouse which would be virtually tornado-proof.

An idea which was also tossed into the hat was to build a pyramid-shaped courthouse.

There have been other off-the-wall suggestions as well. One citizen, who refused to give their name, said the new courthouse should be constructed in the shape of an alien spacecraft.

A Star Trek fan said it should be built just like the original Starship Enterprise.

Then there was the Trojan Horse concept, which was thrown out without discussion.

The Kremlin-South was added to the pile of disregarded ideas because no one wanted to be associated with the communist capital of the world.

A fan of Norse mythology suggested building it in the style of Valhalla, while a student of Greek and Roman mythology wanted it built like Olympus.

"Some of these ideas were so ridiculous they just couldn't be considered," Brown Hardman, president of the Clark County Industrial Council, said. "We couldn't believe what some people wanted for a new courthouse."

State Rep. Percy Malone, who chairs the task force on rebuilding Arkadelphia, agreed with Hardman on the strangeness of some people's ideas. "We just can't have these things," he said. "They don't make any sense."

Hardman and Malone agree with the aid of Disney, the Thomason's and the UA, Arkadelphia can be a showplace -- a tourist Mecca for Southwest Arkansas.

At a recent meeting of the rebuilding committee, suggestions for what the new Arkadelphia should look like were discussed.

Ideas were tossed around like confetti on New Year's Day at Time's Square.

They ranged from a southern gothic style, similar to designs seen in "Gone with the Wind," to a new Left Bank from Paris in the early 1900s.

Another concept was ancient Rome, while one person suggested the old Dodge City -- as seen in the old "Gunsmoke" series.

Western themes prevailed, with some representatives wanting Arkadelphia to look like Virginia City from "Bonanza," while one idea was for the old Yuma, from "The Rebel" series.

The committee also received some bizarre ideas through the mail. One unsigned letter wanted downtown Arkadelphia to be built along the Biblical lines of what heaven should be.

A second religious theme suggested the Garden of Eden.

And, the Trekkies voiced their opinions as well, saying the downtown area should look like alien cities shown from Star Trek.

Other extraterrestrial ideas were more along the idea of cities from Star Wars.

"I don't know where they came up with some of these ideas," Hardman said, "and I don't want to know."

However, the committee is seriously considering the idea of building the courthouse in the style of the White House or Taj Mahal, or possibly going with Jones' idea and constructing a dome.

The White House, Hardman and Malone agreed, is a functional design which could house all city and county governmental offices.

The same could be said for the Taj Mahal. The golden dome, they said, would add more luster to the downtown area, though, they admitted would cause security problems.

But, the most talked about idea was the geodesic dome. Jones explained its practicality by showing how wind flows over rounded structures, while impacting against flat areas.

This, he said, would prevent the kind of damage from occurring the March 1 tornado wreaked on the old courthouse.

In addition, he said, solar panels could be incorporated into the design, which would cut down on energy costs.

Along with this, the facility could be constructed with skylights so a greenhouse could be installed for beauty and fresh oxygen. Roses, he said, would be particularly lovely in this setting.

Jones explained the geodesic structure could also be designed as a self-supporting biological unit for the employees in times of severe weather.

The dome, he informed the panel, could be built with its own water supply, along with an air filtration unit.

In the event the unthinkable happens and an F-5 tornado hits, bringing with it winds of more than 300 miles per hour, Jones said the dome could have its own underground shelter, complete with generators so business could continue along normal lines.

It was brought up the jail could be rebuilt as well, and be completely underground also. Underground construction reduces heating and cooling bills as the ground stays a constant 58 degrees.

And, it was pointed out, it would take an earthquake of more than 6.5 on the Richter Scale to damage such a structure.

Michael Eisner, with Disney, said his company would be more than willing to pay for the dome on one condition -- it would have to have Mickey Mouse ears on top.

However, readers should realize something very important about this story -- not one word of it is true.

APRIL FOOL'S!