LITTLE ROCK — After one year, the consensus is clear: Crystal Bridges is a stunning museum.
The unique play of angle, glass, light and water in the design by Moshe Safdie blends superbly with the Ozark landscape. Several of the buildings straddle the waters of Crystal Spring, giving the feeling of floating.
The collection of American art is extraordinary. The museum store is full of beautiful and clever things. Eleven, the museum’s restaurant, surprises with gourmet delights such as slow-braised short ribs and striped sea bass. Outside, there are three miles of trails where 11 pieces of sculpture are placed for hiking enjoyment.
The museum was founded by Alice Walton in honor of her mother Helen, who died in 2007.
“Mrs. Walton [Alice] comes frequently to the museum,” museum director Don Bacigalupi said. “She’ll walk through and greet visitors and ask how they like the museum. They never realize she is Alice Walton.”
The art collection, arranged chronologically, is easy to follow. Glass-walled passageways link several of the galleries. These so-called Reflection Rooms give visitors a quiet place to catch their breath and ponder what they have just seen. And breath needs to be caught, since between 450-500 pieces of art are displayed at any one time. The whole collection has more than 2,000 pieces.
A new acquisition, No. 210/No. 211 (Orange) by Mark Rothko, is on its inaugural display until Jan. 28, at which time it “will be relocated to one of the galleries housing the permanent collection,” said Diane Carroll, media relations manager for the museum.
When the doors opened one year ago today, first year projection numbers were for 250,000 visitors.
“We simply didn’t have a good benchmark as to what a museum in our region could expect,” Carroll said. “Since we opened on 11-11-11, we’ve welcomed more than 574,020 visitors [as of Oct. 21].”
Carroll hopes that, by close of business today, the number will top the 600,000 mark.
For Arkansans in Northwest Arkansas, Crystal Bridges is a local museum. For those in central Arkansas, a visit can be a long day trip. But for those residing in the far corners of Arkansas, a visit to the museum becomes an overnight or multiday trip.
Crystal Bridges is a great way to spend the day. But if you are investing in a road trip to Northwest Arkansas, what else can you do in the neighborhood?
BENTONVILLE
Not far from Crystal Bridges - nothing in Bentonville is very far - the Peel Mansion was built in the Italianate style by former Confederate Col. Samuel West Peel in 1875.Originally it presided over a large apple farm. Today the mansion is surrounded by gardens shaded by large trees. Guided tours of the house are offered and may be long or short, depending on the visitor’s time. The office and gift shop are in a pre-Civil War cabin that is not original to the property.
A few blocks away is Compton Gardens, a preserve of native woodlands set on 6 1/2 acres at the former home of Dr. Neil Compton, a physician. The gardens frequently are used as the location for wedding and receptions.Compton was instrumental in the Buffalo River becoming the first national river of the U.S. Park Service. The Art Trail leads from the gardens back to Crystal Bridges. A second trail, the Crystal Bridges Trail, rises above the museum on the west side and leads to handsome views from an overlook.
Also newly opened in Bentonville is the Museum of Native American History, which traces the history of the American Indian from prehistoric times through modern history.
The Wal-Mart Visitor Center on the Bentonville Square is a delightful walk back in time as you learn the history of the largest retailer in the world. It is in the original location of Sam Walton’s first 5 & 10 store, which opened in 1950. In the re-creation of Walton’s personal office, you can notice what books were on his bookshelf, what pictures graced his credenza. There is also a small cafe and a gift shop full of Wal-Mart memorabilia.
Boutiques and galleries fill the older buildings surrounding the square. One of the newer entries in the dining scene is Table Mesa, a few doors down from the Bentonville Visitors Center. It offers a tasty Mexican cuisine using fresh ingredients and it serves killer margaritas.
Around the corner on A Street is Table Mesa’s sister restaurant, Tavola Trattoria. As the name implies, Tavola dishes up Italian food: pastas, pizzas and paninis. Other main courses include Peach Bellini Salmon and Lemon Chicken Cutlet.
The Walton-financed 21c Museum Hotel, which has a counterpart in Louisville, Ky., is rising above the northeast corner of the town square. The luxury hotel is slated to open in the spring.
FAYETTEVILLE
Of course, being the home of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville is the mecca for Razorbacks sports. Every graduate returning to campus has things to see and memories to explore - Old Main, the sidewalk of names, Dickson Street.
On the edge of campus is the first home of Hillary and Bill Clinton. They were married in the living room. They lived there until they moved into the Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock in 1979. For those who can’t get enough Clintoniana, Fayetteville has a brochure detailing a “Clinton Tour” around the city.
On Dickson Street, the Walton Arts Center keeps townsfolk and students in touch with Broadway musicals. This season includes Billy Elliot, Catch Me If YouCan, Memphis, Anything Goes and War Horse.
Fayetteville offers a surprising amount of Civil War history.
The Battle of Fayetteville took place in April 1863 at the southeast corner of College and Dickson streets. Across the street is Headquarters House, which was the home of Jonas Tebbetts, built in 1853, and used as a headquarters by the Union and Confederacy.
In back of the house is a small building that served as the original law office of Archibald Yell. It was moved from Waxhaws, Yell’s estate in southwest Fayetteville, to this location for restoration. Yell served as governor of Arkansas from 1840 to 1844.
The Confederate Cemetery at 500 E. Rock St. is a place for quiet contemplation. Farther afield are two of the state’s most important Civil War battlefields: Pea Ridge National Military Park and Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park, which lie in opposite directions out U.S. 62.
Fayetteville’s town square is a lively destination, particularly on Saturday when the Farmers Market is in season. Fruits, vegetables and flowers from local farmers line the sidewalks and music - be it bluegrass, folk or classical - fills the air.
Off the square on South Block Street is the Fayetteville Visitor Center, where an architectural driving tour of Fay Jones’ designed buildings can be obtained. Even bike rentals are available at the center.
Other museums in the Fayetteville area include the Arkansas Air and Military Museum, the Ozark Military Museum and the Arkansas Country Doctor Museum.
ROGERS
For a small city museum, the Rogers Historical Museum displays some impressive exhibits. This summer, the museum hosted “Portraits in Gray,” a collection of Civil War photography from the David Wynn Vaughan Collection at the Southern Museum in Kennesaw, Ga.
Now on view are two home-grown exhibits, which will run through 2013. “Building Rogers” takes an architectural look at the city from its founding through the 1960s. Law and order and “ridiculous incidents of mischief” are the focus of “Benton County Crime Stories.”
The museum has a number of interactive exhibits and special features for children.
Owned by the museum, the Hawkins House, which was built in 1895, was bought by stable owner Francis Cunningham Hawkins in 1900. The home remained in the Hawkins family until being acquired in 1979 by the museum. It demonstrates how a middle-class family lived in the early 20th century.
Anyone who ever owned a BB gun will want to visit the Daisy Airgun Museum.
The manufacturing company moved from Michigan to Rogers in 1958. The museum, which opened in 1999, is staffed mainly by retirees of the company. The museum chronicles the history of the company and Daisy air guns through information panels, photographs and artifacts.
In 2007, the assembly plant in Neosho, Mo., was closed and moved to Rogers, thus placing all operations under one roof.
Daisy air guns continue to be manufactured and the factory also maintains contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense to supply drill rifles for the military.
Main Street Rogers and the Rogers Historical Museum have teamed up and produced several driving and walking tours of Rogers. Maps of the tours are available at the museum.
SPRINGDALE
The gem of Northwest Arkansas’ history museums is the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, which is also among the top history museums in the state. What began as a collection of American Indian artifacts grew into a museum devoted to a six-county region (Benton, Boone, Carroll, Madison, Newton and Washington counties).
From the tribal histories of the Osage and Cherokee, the re-created cabin of the McGarrah family and the stories of Nancy Morton Staples about the impact of the Civil War on Northwest Arkansas, the history of the early inhabitants of this region is told in informative and fascinating ways.
Who knew that in 1919 Northwest Arkansas was the “Apple Capital of the United States”? Drought and disease brought an end to the title 20 years later. Quickly, though, apple farmers were replaced by chicken producers - one of whom (in 1931) was John Tyson. Today, Springdale is almost synonymous with all kinds of poultry.
One of the most interesting of Shiloh Museum exhibits focuses on all the tales - tall and otherwise - about the Ozarker, the hillbillies and the Arkansas Traveler. The exhibit does not dispel the stories but embraces them as part of Arkansas’ history.
Through Jan. 19, the museum will be presenting “Arkansas/Arkansaw: A State and Its Reputation,” which explores the evolution of Arkansas’ hillbilly image. “Nothing But Sorrow, Trouble, and Worry” is an exhibit based on the memories of people in the Ozarks about the Civil War. It runs through March 23.
Springdale’s other cultural offerings include the Arts Center of the Ozarks, which has a long-thriving theater series. In the spring, fans of minor-league baseball can catch the Arkansas Naturals at Arvest Park Ballpark.
So, use Crystal Bridges Museum as the catalyst for a trip to Northwest Arkansas, but stick around long enough to explore the rest of the neighborhood.
Travel, Pages 54 on 11/11/2012