Okay, it took me a few different news articles to put this all together. Several buildings on this street & elsewhere in town have partially collapsed from age, structural issues, flood damage & gas leaks. The economy in the area is weak & customers were having a hard time getting to the businesses when it was blocked off. The city won't foot the bill for cleanup & is leaving it to the business owners. That gigantic pile of debris has apparently been sitting there since 2011. Building inspectors have only been looking for fire hazards & ignoring issues of structural integrity. The owner of Mid Century Music can't afford the $100,000 to repair the roof, let alone the rest of the store.
+Jill Sandwich , yup, as Dan said, urban blight, but a tornado and flood starting the chain of events did cross my mind. Such a damn shame, the buildings are definitely beautiful. If those buildings were in Portland Oregon, they would be prime real estate for demolition and urban renewal development ( ergo, high rise condos, which also would probably address future drainage issues preventing floods ).... and my open question is, why doesn't more redevelopment consider New Orleans / Amsterdam solutions to flood control in flood prone areas? Wouldn't it make a little sense?
I grew up in Pine Bluff. Back then it was an amazing city full of activity and a lifetime of memories. I went into the hotel not long before we moved out of the city, most of the beautiful skylight was still there. And I went into the Saenger Theatre on 2nd St. the heavy green velvet drapes were still up and tons of film and lobby cards and posters. As a kid we would gain admission during the summer months with Coca Cola bottle.
I grew up in Pine Bluff too. I used to go downtown alot. I miss downtown, we are still growing building and expanding everyday some thing is being built
I grew up in PB also... Moved there from WV in 1971 at the age of 4. I remember the Saenger Theatre and Malco. I liked going downtown. I remember shopping at Cohen's. I was always amused by the stores Superbad, Looking Good, and right next to it, Looking Better. How funny! There was also a clock/watch shop by the tracks that I went to.
I was born in Pine Bluff and grew up there in the 70s and 80s. My great-grandmother actually worked at the Malco. I recall being there with her as a little kid (probably 3 or 4 yrs. old), and freaking out because the moving images on the big screen was scary to see for the 1st time, lol! I have fond memories of going to Baims, Kress & Woolworth's. Pine Bluff was once a lively place. It's so depressing to see it like this now. Since my grandmother passed, it's sad to go back home. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I visited this town when I was a kid several times. My aunt and uncle used to live just on the out skirts of this town and we would go downtown just to get out of the house, walk around some, window shop, visit the ice cream shop that they had on the corner, it was across the street from a federal building if I remember correctly (please keep in mind though, I was just a little kid back during this time). If my memory continues to serve me correctly, It was a very desolate place even back then because there were a lot of really old buildings just standing empty and some that looked as though they were trying to save them, fix them up and open up new businesses even back then. Also, that hotel was open and it looked like it was doing a fair amount of business (to a little kid though, I guess seeing what I thought was a lot of people going in and out of the building, it looked busy..lol). People were shuffling in and out of that place, a lot of people standing around outside, a lot of traffic too, cars pulling up and dropping people off, some were picking people up, buses every where at that time..etc.. you really had to watch crossing the street because it was a high risk of getting hit by a car or bus...as I said, there was a lot of traffic going on around this time we were there. It was a beautiful old looking town so seeing how it looks now is some-what of a surprise to me...never thought I would see it look like it does here in this video. Anyway, sorry for the long comment and I do hope everyone has a nice day/night and Thanks again Dan (and Will..lol) for such a great video, keep doing what you guys do and I will keep doing what I do....watching all of your videos (: Take Care Everyone!!!!!!!!
+twisterryderkkm there is nothing to see in Centralia. Sure there are a few paved roads left but nothing like when I was growing up. The cemetery was closed off because of steam coming up from the fire. It has since moved on down the vain and they actually believe it may be dying if it hasn't already died. Areas away from the fire have been having mines collapsing the that have never been touched by the fire. So I'm sure there are some mine openings that haven't been detected in the woods in Centralia, not a place to be walking around in, I would have him check out Shamokin, Mount Carmel, and Ashland. All are mining communities that are slowly dying and decaying.
I grew up there in the early eighties and have nothing but fond memories. - riding my bike with friends through nice neighborhoods lined with graceful tall pine trees, catching movies like Star Wars at the Broadmore and Flick cinemas, swimming at Eden Park and Rosswood country clubs...all are gone now. It is so sad to see what has happened to the town over the last 30 years. There used to be a big newspaper stand along that wall where you were standing at the beginning of the video. There were always people hanging around there back then. The music store you went in is where I bought all my band books and reeds. The Pines Hotel closed in the late 60s I think. My granddad bought a nice table and chairs from there when they sold stuff off. I took a series of pictures of it in 2004, and it's definitely deteriorated since then. The courthouse at the end of the street actually burned around 1974 I think. They kept the façade and rebuilt it. If you go west of downtown on 5th and 6th streets there are many old Victorian homes which used to be spectacular but sadly are now in various stages disrepair. The town has shrunk by about 20K people since the 80s - about a third of its population. The main employers were the railroad, the arsenal, and the dept of correction. The first two are either gone or greatly reduced in size. It killed the town. Now Jefferson county is one of the poorest in Arkansas, and PB has one of the highest murder rates for a town of its size in the US.
It all started with one building collapsing then a couple more collapsed. For over a year only half of Main street was usable. They found the owner of the original building but he had abandoned it years ago and didn't think he was responsible for it. Pine Bluff used to be a decent size town and a decent place to live. But the town has declined to a point that NOBODY wants to live or work there. Most of downtown is abandoned.
The cause of the collapse started with leaking roofs rotting the structure, then a big snow storm that put so much weight on the weakened structures so they caved in.
My mother grew up out in the country from Pine Bluff. The entire area is like this. All the farm towns have little left in them except maybe a gas station or convenience store, the farms are abandoned, the roads through the country side are crumbling. She doesn't like going back because she remembers it being a nice place to live growing up.
I believe Pine Bluff has a higher per capita crime rate than Chicago. Someone gets murdered almost daily there. You were wise to do this during the day, as at night you'd have taken your life in your hands. Pine Bluff has really gone down. It used to be a beautiful city, one of the biggest in the state. Now it's a very poor, dangerous place. It's sad.
My home town. I remember buying all my band instruments and supplies at Mid-South. Next door to that was the band museum - which actually housed one of the largest collections of musical instruments in the world - some very rare and unique things. Across the street was Pinkys menswear - where my grandparents bought me my first suit (when I was in the 4th grade) when I had to dress up as a president (FDR). I moved away after graduation in 2006 (as have most others).... sad and bleak.
You guys should swing over to Hot Springs and check out the old bath houses. They are awesome and full of history. Hot Springs was originally a place for R&R. The people that would frequent that town thought that the natural springs had therapeutic and healing powers. It would definitely be worth the time to check it out.
+Derrick Mulling whenever I hear of Hot Springs, AR I think of that Season 5 episode of King of the Hill where Buck Strickland takes Bobby there without Hank's permission.
A building collapsed, work diagonally across from the first one that collapsed, felt the building I work in rumble, sounded like an explosion! Could see it from 3rd floor windows. It's not blocked off to people because nobody has any reason to go there, the other buildings are just waiting to fall! Lack of owners taking care of their properties basically, but yes, would make a great Walking Dead scene! lol!
Abandoned Arkansas did a video on the history of the Pines Hotel. Briefly, the hotel closed in 1970. The Historical society stepped in when the threat of demolishing the building occurred. The aim of the historical society is to refurbish the hotel to its former grandeur.
I know what you mean. It doesn't seem anyone else wanted to preserve this beautiful hotel though. But, then again, it doesn't seem that the preservation society is in any big hurry to do any preserving here.
Programs to save buildings like these have worked around the state of Michigan. The building cross the street from me is a hotel from the 10's or 20's that's been remodeled into luxury apts. I'm actually living in a renovated apt. building from 1874 owned by the same company. Unfortunately we have a lot of beautiful buildings in this shape up here. Imagine, Detroit was once the Paris of the Midwest... Things change, not always for the worse
I would get my school band supplies at Wallick Music Company, seen in this video. As a kid in the 80s/90s, we would go to Pine Bluff to do our "big city" shopping. By the early 90s, it started to feel less and less safe there. It has been ranked as one of the most dangerous cities in America according to crime per capita, second only to Detroit (as of 2013). If you aren't involved in a certain lifestyle, odds are you're pretty safe living and visiting there, but it was always good to be aware of your surroundings. In the 90s, they built a bypass around it for those traveling north toward Little Rock, which I'm sure did not help business within the city and only exacerbated the economic depression.
I'm from pine bluff I no longer live there anymore. I remember when the buildings clasped. Nothing hasn't been done yet about any of the buildings. But it's sad that they can do other dumb shit with the city's money.
I was born there 50 years ago. I remember the downtown area was a fun place to go with my mom shopping as a kid. I guess my dad could see the writing on the wall when he sold his business in 1977 and we moved away...
That hotel, The Pines, has been sitting since the 70's when it was boarded up. Disappointing to see the demise of these small towns, will be very interesting to see what will take its place in the future.
Last visited PB about 31 years as a HS senior playing in the King Cotton Classic from Washington, DC. People nice and young ladies beautiful with cute southern drawls.....I had so many positive memories. It has gotten this bad huh? Wow
My Grandmother was born in Pine Bluff, AR. So strange seeing the downtown area in such bad shape. That place was busy and booming back in the day, filled with life and commerce. Just, wow....blown away!! Thx much +Dan Bell/Film it*
Terri Poposky I do agree, because that certainly does happen and I am glad to have the correction rather than look like I didn't have a clue....appreciated Terri!! :) Happy New Year to you!! :) Kim M.
When you guys say main drag you ain't kidding. This place is awful. And that Regency Motel video really puts the image of Pine Bluff into perspective. But if you love to be creeped out and want to take a vacation that will put you in a state of depression, then spend the night in Pine Bluff. Even the train's horn at the end of this video is unnerving. Keep the videos coming cause they're awesome.
My great great great grandmother Alzira Wallace Doyle, purchased land here in the 1850s. She was about thirty years old, and moved there after raising her children in Bossier Parish, Louisiana. I've always pictured it in my mind as a pioneer town, still full of Native Americans and a rich, wild landscape. This is really sad to me. Anyone else here with history in this place?
It's really sad to see these many cities and towns across America that were once thriving and now are abandon. I particularly hate to see once grand hotels left in decay. Very Sad indeed.
Here's what happened: October 25, 2016 KATV News PINE BLUFF, Ark. (AP) - The owner of a partially collapsed building in downtown Pine Bluff has been sentenced to 30 days in jail for failing to remove or repair the building. The Pine Bluff Commercial (bit.ly/2eNSh3V ) reports that Garland Trice was sentenced Monday. The sentence will be suspended if Trice demolishes the building. Trice was also fined $1,000. The roof of the building collapsed onto its third floor in July 2014, causing a section of Main Street to be closed for more than two years. Trice was found guilty in August 2015 of violating a city ordinance for failing to demolish the building, and he later appealed. *end article* A little while after this building started falling, yet another building collapsed on the same street.
so sad that they don't have funds to fix it an sell it. it was beautiful at one time. Americans don't walk now much. we grew up window shopping in the evenings an weekends after supper an after dinner during the weekends.
The hotel probably isn't safe to go in. Many years ago I heard that it was full of toxic pigeon waste. There was some talk about cleaning that up, but I don't know if it ever happened. I grew up in Pine Bluff in the 80s. Thanks for sharing your video! I wish I could walk around there too!
The last video of yours I watched ended with the sound of a train. Then I watch this one that starts with the sound of a train and ends with one passing. Awesome.
Someone is salvaging that wood it is resurfaces and reused. A lot of it is from old growth lumber and valued by sellers of decorative lumber particularly for flooring.
Haha, it sure was loud. I miss the sound of freight trains though. I haven't seen one in years; in fact cities in my area have been taking up railroad tracks because the trains don't run through anymore. 😕
A place you guys might have a lot of fun visiting is Gary, Indiana. They actually filmed scenes for the Transformers movies there because it has so many destroyed buildings. But there are so many hollowed out structures that have been long abandoned and overgrowing with vegetation.
They took this video after Pine Bluff was hit by an f4 or f3 tornado that nearly destroyed the city, especially the old town center. IT IS A HIGH CRIME CITY IN PLACES, but it doesn't always look this bad. Most of the damage from this tornado has been repaired now.
Recent article says the buildings collapsed. What you see here is somewhat cleaned up from what the articles show. What a shame about that hotel though. Lobby must have been something back in the day
You have a pretty well established channel. Have you considered trying to find the owners of these abandoned buildings to get permission to enter and film? Maybe the owner, or someone from the city can get you into the hotel.
Those old board's at 1:00 are a gold mine. To the right person. We have made "reclaimed" tables and especially doors. Mostly sliding doors on tracks that resemble old barn doors for some very wealthy clients. They are willing to shell out 3-4 g's a piece installed for EACH one. They take about 2-3 days a piece to make. I love those jobs. It's hard to tell if that is pine or oak, I'm watching on a cell phone lol. After seeing some of the knot holes I believe Dan may be correct,but the pile at 1:10 is definitely hardwood. Pine is Easier to work but not as durable. Anyway cool vid glad this place looks a lot better now ✌🏼
I know a guy who railfans that Union Pacific (UP) line there in Pine Bluff, interestingly enough. BTW, nice catch with that UP local freight with the leased engine leading!
Thank you for the video. I have some distant family history with Pine Bluff. The town is still sizable but it is shrinking in population so they have too much infrastructure for the number of people still living there. The old downtown was actually in a bad way back in in the 1960s when the open air Jefferson Shopping center was built nearby. Then the Jefferson Shopping center went on the rocks when the big box stores opened up in the Pines Mall and nearby. Now all three are feeling the pinch of the declining population. So what you are seeing here is something three rungs down the abandonment ladder. Hard to say if any of it can be preserved now that so much is coming apart at the seams. Some towns have success knocking down two thirds the buildings and turning the remainder in an evening stroll area with boutique shops and live music. But that takes a nearby wealthy residential area that will stroll to it. In any case, it is a intriguing snapshot of a bygone area frozen in time as of right now. Stroll it while it lasts!
Oh so creepy. But cool! Looks like they're prepping this town for an episode or 2 of Walking Dead or Fear of the Walking Dead! The train has got to go. Was it necessary for the horn to be blown to the extent that it was seeing that it was passing thru an abandoned town! Besides you guys, who the hell else are they giving a warning to?! Great video as usual, really intresting stuff, thanks guys! Be safe.
Thanks for your reply!!!! I grew up in that town for the first 12 years of my life. We moved out to Texas in 1968. I missed being there but it was a good thing I did because kids I grew up with experimented with heavy drugs specifically LAD and worse drugs!!!!
Was just there. The debris is gone but the hotel is still boarded up. Fences are across the front with an architect's banner showing the future of the building. Looks faded. Who knows how long that's been there? The music store building is completely gone, obviously demolished. One block to the north, the entire one side of the street is fenced off with the buildings looking like they are either being renovated or demolished - can't quite tell which. 6th Street has some newer buildings but many in this area still unoccupied or boarded up. Several downtown blocks are empty and overgrown with weeds.
Hi Dan,love your road trip so far. I`ve looked at google maps on this place and it seems like the whole town is slowly being cleared of all the old run down buildings.Lets hope that hotel is not next!!!!
Wow, what a strange place. Kind of like Times Beach, Missouri or Love Canal, NY (which were declared US disaster areas), or Pripyat, Ukraine, which remains the ultimate abandoned city.
I grew up in Oregon but my parents were from Arkansas. As the downtown merchants began to close their doors, there were no new businesses to move into the business area. The buildings were no longer maintained and they just collapsed. Some were exquisite. My family visited Pine Bluff most years in August. Anyone who grew up in Pine Bluff has to remember Arthur's BBQ. To this day, it's still the best BBQ I've ever tasted. Broke my heart when they closed the shop on 13th and stopped using that smokehouse. My grandparents lived in Dollarway and had a huge and wonderful oak tree in their yard. Pine Bluff was a lovely town, busy, full of commerce and industry. My husband took me to the Saenger when we first married. It was so lovely. We bought our wedding rings in a little jewelry shop on the corner of 5th and Main which was attached to the Pines Hotel. As you drove along 5th or 6th near the downtown area, there were some of the most beautiful antebellum houses I've even seen. Most are gone now or in a deplorable state of repair. As a kid, one of my favorite memories was visiting Oakland Park. I saw wild animals, rode carnival rides, and swam in the pool. When the city was ordered to allow African Americans to swim in the pool the city closed the pool, filled it in, took down the carnival rides and concessions, and got rid of the animals. As much as I loved-and still love-Pine Bluff, the racism in that city was palpable and so unnecessary.
The city is almost entirely Black. Has been for years. I don't know how it could be palpable. There've been any number of opportunities to reinvest and grow, but its own community just never seemed to care. Still doesn't. It's the fault of the locals, not racism.
Went to Christmas parades in the early 60s on main st. Might have stood in front of The Pines Hotel. Little League opening ceremonies parade , PBHS Homecoming parade, Rodeo parade...all right there where you guys are filming.
+Barbara howe we watched the same video from abandoned Arkansas. Irony of ironies 'twas the discontinuance of passenger TRAIN service that precipitated the demise of The Pines Hotel.
They are also creating scrap piles that result from the lumber salvaging. If they are gutting it, they may be preparing for demolition or refurbishment.
Heh, you caught a train near the depot that's commonly filmed in many railfan videos! Shame seeing how dumpy that town became after several years, it looked kind of nice back in 2008!
Dan, have you ever been to Oklahoma City? It's pretty bad there but that goes back a long time. Even in 1996, it was a dangerous place, particularly downtown. I had to do a photography shoot for college class and for some reason, being a local, it didn't scare me. I tried to get one or two classmates to go but hell nooooo, they wouldn't go. I went alone. :) And I tell, you it was just as creepy as Pine Bluff. To give you an idea, it was Saturday around noon. There was hardly any traffic and the parts of downtown I wandered around had NOBODY. It was like a scene out of the movie "28 Days Later." It was only like a few years later that this hit me: if the vandals won't even show up, then it's pretty bad! Now the blight has spread to my college campus and it's no longer safe to even visit the shopping mall next door. It hurts because I lived there most of my life and the city was my home for over 20 years.
In the 70s and 80s I lived in a town about 45 min from Pine Bluff. We would go to the mall and go to see movies there. It’s been in decline since then. The population was around 70000 then and is now less than 50000. They have just built a casino there with plans for a hotel as well to help the economy and create local jobs. Cross your fingers. It’s terrible to see such a historic old downtown fall apart. It was once called the capitol of the delta I believe. However Arkansas has a lot of old downtowns that are very charming and touristy. Try Hot Springs and Eureka Springs to start
My name is Malcolm Windmon and I live in pinebluff... Arkansas Go Forward is trying to bring it back to life with a casino downtown and a license marijuana facility.
JOBS,JOBS,JOBS...GAMBLING,JAILS,DOPE, HOPE&Healthcare In thee we put our trust... I'll always love my hometown & the generations of parents & foreparents like mine who gave me and my generation, hometraining in the 1950-60s, centered in hard work, teaching us right& wrong, and taking responsibility for our actions...Black, White, both sides of the tracks... WE owe them and their grandchildren an apology, before GOD ALMIGHTY...JimCrow--ScareCrow--Get over it!!!! Against Thee and Thee only O Lord we have sinned. vvarnado
I thought it could have been tornado damage because Pine Bluff has had some major tornados, but I couldn't find any info on any recent activity. There was a major tornado in 1947 and 1968. The most recent tornadic activity I could find was in 2014.
I stopped through the Capital of Little Rock last year it was like stepping back in time we walked into a fast food restaurant all black and us White they didn’t even acknowledge us and when it got to a point where it was obvious someone had to take our order they wouldn’t even look me in the eyes. I would never stop there again it really was extremely bizarre for 2018...?
No sadly they are more racist against you just how it is in many areas they will look at you and tell you that you owes them cuz u white in other areas not as bad but occasionally .not sure how that's stepping back in time. Unless you completely misinterpreted what was going on.yeah I'm from there. I've had black folks do it to me pretty often .however a kind word can cease the wrath of the devil. I would just say I was taught that in Gods way we are all brother and sisters you must have had a really bad day is there anything you need some help with or we could pray about it together....that tends to calm the waters. Folks open up a bit more .life is very hard there on everyone. And yes the rentals are slums and most or the residents are renting
![CENTRAL CEE - GEN Z LUV [VERTICAL VIDEO]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/VIbidJm9q34/mqdefault.jpg)
Pine Saw, Arkanbluff
+David Willanski Pine Sol.
+greyeaglem you're correct, I was listening with an accent. (But it also ruins the joke)
Pine Box, AR
Okay, it took me a few different news articles to put this all together. Several buildings on this street & elsewhere in town have partially collapsed from age, structural issues, flood damage & gas leaks. The economy in the area is weak & customers were having a hard time getting to the businesses when it was blocked off. The city won't foot the bill for cleanup & is leaving it to the business owners. That gigantic pile of debris has apparently been sitting there since 2011. Building inspectors have only been looking for fire hazards & ignoring issues of structural integrity. The owner of Mid Century Music can't afford the $100,000 to repair the roof, let alone the rest of the store.
Thanks for the info. That's pretty messed up! I feel like the city/mayor has an obligation to pay for at least a large portion of the cleanup.
They made it sound like the entire downtown area could just collapse at any minute. :p Then again, news stations love drama.
+Jill Sandwich , yup, as Dan said, urban blight, but a tornado and flood starting the chain of events did cross my mind. Such a damn shame, the buildings are definitely beautiful. If those buildings were in Portland Oregon, they would be prime real estate for demolition and urban renewal development ( ergo, high rise condos, which also would probably address future drainage issues preventing floods ).... and my open question is, why doesn't more redevelopment consider New Orleans / Amsterdam solutions to flood control in flood prone areas? Wouldn't it make a little sense?
Frossiart Speaking of Portland, WTF happened to their China Town? The whole area is boarded up & the only people hanging around are the homeless.
***** , (content deleted by poster)
I grew up in Pine Bluff. Back then it was an amazing city full of activity and a lifetime of memories. I went into the hotel not long before we moved out of the city, most of the beautiful skylight was still there. And I went into the Saenger Theatre on 2nd St. the heavy green velvet drapes were still up and tons of film and lobby cards and posters. As a kid we would gain admission during the summer months with Coca Cola bottle.
I grew up in Pine Bluff too. I used to go downtown alot. I miss downtown, we are still growing building and expanding everyday some thing is being built
Exactly Joe....I was born in Pine Bluff and lived there till 1971. Went to many matinees at the old Saenger and Malco theaters downtown.
I grew up in PB also... Moved there from WV in 1971 at the age of 4. I remember the Saenger Theatre and Malco. I liked going downtown. I remember shopping at Cohen's. I was always amused by the stores Superbad, Looking Good, and right next to it, Looking Better. How funny! There was also a clock/watch shop by the tracks that I went to.
+Terri Poposky Yes and had the trend continued the next shop would have been, "Everyone Looking Better at Super Good."
I was born in Pine Bluff and grew up there in the 70s and 80s. My great-grandmother actually worked at the Malco. I recall being there with her as a little kid (probably 3 or 4 yrs. old), and freaking out because the moving images on the big screen was scary to see for the 1st time, lol! I have fond memories of going to Baims, Kress & Woolworth's. Pine Bluff was once a lively place. It's so depressing to see it like this now. Since my grandmother passed, it's sad to go back home. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I visited this town when I was a kid several times. My aunt and uncle used to live just on the out skirts of this town and we would go downtown just to get out of the house, walk around some, window shop, visit the ice cream shop that they had on the corner, it was across the street from a federal building if I remember correctly (please keep in mind though, I was just a little kid back during this time). If my memory continues to serve me correctly, It was a very desolate place even back then because there were a lot of really old buildings just standing empty and some that looked as though they were trying to save them, fix them up and open up new businesses even back then. Also, that hotel was open and it looked like it was doing a fair amount of business (to a little kid though, I guess seeing what I thought was a lot of people going in and out of the building, it looked busy..lol). People were shuffling in and out of that place, a lot of people standing around outside, a lot of traffic too, cars pulling up and dropping people off, some were picking people up, buses every where at that time..etc.. you really had to watch crossing the street because it was a high risk of getting hit by a car or bus...as I said, there was a lot of traffic going on around this time we were there. It was a beautiful old looking town so seeing how it looks now is some-what of a surprise to me...never thought I would see it look like it does here in this video. Anyway, sorry for the long comment and I do hope everyone has a nice day/night and Thanks again Dan (and Will..lol) for such a great video, keep doing what you guys do and I will keep doing what I do....watching all of your videos (: Take Care Everyone!!!!!!!!
Is the the first of your Dead Town Series?
I would so watch that.
ommmggg that would be great
+sctpc I would vote for Pitcher Oklahoma as one of Dan's featured towns.
+Madison County Sound Labs I wish he would go to Centralia too!!!
+twisterryderkkm there is nothing to see in Centralia. Sure there are a few paved roads left but nothing like when I was growing up. The cemetery was closed off because of steam coming up from the fire. It has since moved on down the vain and they actually believe it may be dying if it hasn't already died. Areas away from the fire have been having mines collapsing the that have never been touched by the fire. So I'm sure there are some mine openings that haven't been detected in the woods in Centralia, not a place to be walking around in, I would have him check out Shamokin, Mount Carmel, and Ashland. All are mining communities that are slowly dying and decaying.
I'm in pine bluff playing a baseball tournament and it's the scariest town I think I've ever been in
Hard2think2347 why? And give me your youtube count 75,000 subs 😧🍷 my instagram is the_common_mind 😧🍷
Blind Eye why do subs matter if you dont post
Lol and I thought fencing tournements brought me to crappy towns.
East St. Louis is worse.
This my hood. Crime Bluff is for survivors. I’ll die here dis is my hood and i’m proud to be a Pine 🌲 Bluff n!&&@ facts
I grew up there in the early eighties and have nothing but fond memories. - riding my bike with friends through nice neighborhoods lined with graceful tall pine trees, catching movies like Star Wars at the Broadmore and Flick cinemas, swimming at Eden Park and Rosswood country clubs...all are gone now. It is so sad to see what has happened to the town over the last 30 years. There used to be a big newspaper stand along that wall where you were standing at the beginning of the video. There were always people hanging around there back then. The music store you went in is where I bought all my band books and reeds. The Pines Hotel closed in the late 60s I think. My granddad bought a nice table and chairs from there when they sold stuff off. I took a series of pictures of it in 2004, and it's definitely deteriorated since then. The courthouse at the end of the street actually burned around 1974 I think. They kept the façade and rebuilt it. If you go west of downtown on 5th and 6th streets there are many old Victorian homes which used to be spectacular but sadly are now in various stages disrepair. The town has shrunk by about 20K people since the 80s - about a third of its population. The main employers were the railroad, the arsenal, and the dept of correction. The first two are either gone or greatly reduced in size. It killed the town. Now Jefferson county is one of the poorest in Arkansas, and PB has one of the highest murder rates for a town of its size in the US.
It all started with one building collapsing then a couple more collapsed. For over a year only half of Main street was usable. They found the owner of the original building but he had abandoned it years ago and didn't think he was responsible for it. Pine Bluff used to be a decent size town and a decent place to live. But the town has declined to a point that NOBODY wants to live or work there. Most of downtown is abandoned.
The cause of the collapse started with leaking roofs rotting the structure, then a big snow storm that put so much weight on the weakened structures so they caved in.
My mother grew up out in the country from Pine Bluff. The entire area is like this. All the farm towns have little left in them except maybe a gas station or convenience store, the farms are abandoned, the roads through the country side are crumbling. She doesn't like going back because she remembers it being a nice place to live growing up.
I believe Pine Bluff has a higher per capita crime rate than Chicago. Someone gets murdered almost daily there. You were wise to do this during the day, as at night you'd have taken your life in your hands. Pine Bluff has really gone down. It used to be a beautiful city, one of the biggest in the state. Now it's a very poor, dangerous place. It's sad.
My home town. I remember buying all my band instruments and supplies at Mid-South. Next door to that was the band museum - which actually housed one of the largest collections of musical instruments in the world - some very rare and unique things. Across the street was Pinkys menswear - where my grandparents bought me my first suit (when I was in the 4th grade) when I had to dress up as a president (FDR). I moved away after graduation in 2006 (as have most others).... sad and bleak.
This would make a great movie set!
+Sean Anderson Reign of fire 2 ...
This my home. My home ain’t a movie set this is real life. You gotta be strong mentally and physically to survive here.
You guys should swing over to Hot Springs and check out the old bath houses. They are awesome and full of history. Hot Springs was originally a place for R&R. The people that would frequent that town thought that the natural springs had therapeutic and healing powers. It would definitely be worth the time to check it out.
+Derrick Mulling whenever I hear of Hot Springs, AR I think of that Season 5 episode of King of the Hill where Buck Strickland takes Bobby there without Hank's permission.
I'm from AR originally...and loved the hot springs growing up
A building collapsed, work diagonally across from the first one that collapsed, felt the building I work in rumble, sounded like an explosion! Could see it from 3rd floor windows. It's not blocked off to people because nobody has any reason to go there, the other buildings are just waiting to fall! Lack of owners taking care of their properties basically, but yes, would make a great Walking Dead scene! lol!
Abandoned Arkansas did a video on the history of the Pines Hotel. Briefly, the hotel closed in 1970. The Historical society stepped in when the threat of demolishing the building occurred. The aim of the historical society is to refurbish the hotel to its former grandeur.
I'd say so too.
I know what you mean. It doesn't seem anyone else wanted to preserve this beautiful hotel though. But, then again, it doesn't seem that the preservation society is in any big hurry to do any preserving here.
Programs to save buildings like these have worked around the state of Michigan. The building cross the street from me is a hotel from the 10's or 20's that's been remodeled into luxury apts. I'm actually living in a renovated apt. building from 1874 owned by the same company. Unfortunately we have a lot of beautiful buildings in this shape up here. Imagine, Detroit was once the Paris of the Midwest... Things change, not always for the worse
:D
this is absolutely insane looks like the zombie apocalypse happened or something
Welcome to Arkansas
The zombie apocalypse did happen, have you not seen all of the mindless shamblers walking the land in masks?
@@themightyparthos fuck off
I would get my school band supplies at Wallick Music Company, seen in this video. As a kid in the 80s/90s, we would go to Pine Bluff to do our "big city" shopping. By the early 90s, it started to feel less and less safe there. It has been ranked as one of the most dangerous cities in America according to crime per capita, second only to Detroit (as of 2013). If you aren't involved in a certain lifestyle, odds are you're pretty safe living and visiting there, but it was always good to be aware of your surroundings.
In the 90s, they built a bypass around it for those traveling north toward Little Rock, which I'm sure did not help business within the city and only exacerbated the economic depression.
So sad, looks like a war zone. The hotel must have been beautiful in it's time.
I'm from pine bluff I no longer live there anymore. I remember when the buildings clasped. Nothing hasn't been done yet about any of the buildings. But it's sad that they can do other dumb shit with the city's money.
Why did they collapse?
I was born there 50 years ago. I remember the downtown area was a fun place to go with my mom shopping as a kid. I guess my dad could see the writing on the wall when he sold his business in 1977 and we moved away...
This is what drugs and violence can do to a city no matter how rich the country it is sitting in.
That hotel, The Pines, has been sitting since the 70's when it was boarded up. Disappointing to see the demise of these small towns, will be very interesting to see what will take its place in the future.
Pine bluff really isn’t that small
Last visited PB about 31 years as a HS senior playing in the King Cotton Classic from Washington, DC. People nice and young ladies beautiful with cute southern drawls.....I had so many positive memories. It has gotten this bad huh? Wow
My Grandmother was born in Pine Bluff, AR. So strange seeing the downtown area in such bad shape. That place was busy and booming back in the day, filled with life and commerce. Just, wow....blown away!! Thx much +Dan Bell/Film it*
AK is Alaska. AR is Arkansas.
Terri Poposky LOL....I stand corrected THX Terri Poposky :) :) :)
Very common mistake! But since other people may be reading this, I wanted to correct it. I think people see the mistake and then perpetuate it.
Terri Poposky I do agree, because that certainly does happen and I am glad to have the correction rather than look like I didn't have a clue....appreciated Terri!! :) Happy New Year to you!! :) Kim M.
Its a shit-hole.
When you guys say main drag you ain't kidding. This place is awful. And that Regency Motel video really puts the image of Pine Bluff into perspective. But if you love to be creeped out and want to take a vacation that will put you in a state of depression, then spend the night in Pine Bluff. Even the train's horn at the end of this video is unnerving. Keep the videos coming cause they're awesome.
Looks like the Bronx from the 70s
My great great great grandmother Alzira Wallace Doyle, purchased land here in the 1850s. She was about thirty years old, and moved there after raising her children in Bossier Parish, Louisiana. I've always pictured it in my mind as a pioneer town, still full of Native Americans and a rich, wild landscape.
This is really sad to me.
Anyone else here with history in this place?
1:06 "These look like pine."
THEY AREN'T REALLY PINE!
THEY'RE BLUFFING!
It's really sad to see these many cities and towns across America that were once thriving and now are abandon. I particularly hate to see once grand hotels left in decay. Very Sad indeed.
Demographic change
Here's what happened:
October 25, 2016
KATV News
PINE BLUFF, Ark. (AP) - The owner of a partially collapsed building in downtown Pine Bluff has been sentenced to 30 days in jail for failing to remove or repair the building.
The Pine Bluff Commercial (bit.ly/2eNSh3V ) reports that Garland Trice was sentenced Monday. The sentence will be suspended if Trice demolishes the building. Trice was also fined $1,000.
The roof of the building collapsed onto its third floor in July 2014, causing a section of Main Street to be closed for more than two years.
Trice was found guilty in August 2015 of violating a city ordinance for failing to demolish the building, and he later appealed.
*end article*
A little while after this building started falling, yet another building collapsed on the same street.
Thank you for that information.
If it wasn't for UAPB, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, that city would literally be a ghost town.
What a weird place! Like ghost town. And that train!! I love hearing those American trains!
so sad that they don't have funds to fix it an sell it. it was beautiful at one time. Americans don't walk now much. we grew up window shopping in the evenings an weekends after supper an after dinner during the weekends.
The hotel probably isn't safe to go in. Many years ago I heard that it was full of toxic pigeon waste. There was some talk about cleaning that up, but I don't know if it ever happened. I grew up in Pine Bluff in the 80s. Thanks for sharing your video! I wish I could walk around there too!
The last video of yours I watched ended with the sound of a train.
Then I watch this one that starts with the sound of a train and ends with one passing. Awesome.
Someone is salvaging that wood it is resurfaces and reused. A lot of it is from old growth lumber and valued by sellers of decorative lumber particularly for flooring.
my cheeks are hurting from laughing so much at Dan when he called it Pinesol instead of Pine Bluffs😂
😂😂 Must have been the smell from the paper mill!
It's so sad that these old buildings aren't kept up and in use.
I can get you into those buildings. I have pictures inside the hotel
You and everyone else 😂 jk ik
It would be a great backdrop for a post apocalyptic movie.
Really enjoying these FILM IT videos, Dan!
Imagine being asleep and hearing that train😱
Dub Conscious i live right off the tracks. gets me every time
I remember hearing it growing up. You could practically hear it all over town.
Haha, it sure was loud. I miss the sound of freight trains though. I haven't seen one in years; in fact cities in my area have been taking up railroad tracks because the trains don't run through anymore. 😕
Horrific! I remember Pine Bluff, as a kid, on family sightseeing trips, and it looked nothing, like this. Glad you came through, safe.
A place you guys might have a lot of fun visiting is Gary, Indiana. They actually filmed scenes for the Transformers movies there because it has so many destroyed buildings. But there are so many hollowed out structures that have been long abandoned and overgrowing with vegetation.
They took this video after Pine Bluff was hit by an f4 or f3 tornado that nearly destroyed the city, especially the old town center. IT IS A HIGH CRIME CITY IN PLACES, but it doesn't always look this bad. Most of the damage from this tornado has been repaired now.
Wow it's hard to believe that they just left everything scattered around like that. Great video!
Recent article says the buildings collapsed. What you see here is somewhat cleaned up from what the articles show.
What a shame about that hotel though. Lobby must have been something back in the day
You have a pretty well established channel. Have you considered trying to find the owners of these abandoned buildings to get permission to enter and film?
Maybe the owner, or someone from the city can get you into the hotel.
I would happily carry off and reclaim alot of that wood, bricks, glass for my own new barn and cottage on my own land.
Seems like a bunch of usable bricks.
In the pines... in the pines... where the sun never shines.
love these types of videos!
Oh my god when Dan stepped on the broken glass at the music store, it scared the shit out of me cos it was so loud xD
Those old board's at 1:00 are a gold mine. To the right person. We have made "reclaimed" tables and especially doors. Mostly sliding doors on tracks that resemble old barn doors for some very wealthy clients. They are willing to shell out 3-4 g's a piece installed for EACH one. They take about 2-3 days a piece to make. I love those jobs. It's hard to tell if that is pine or oak, I'm watching on a cell phone lol. After seeing some of the knot holes I believe Dan may be correct,but the pile at 1:10 is definitely hardwood. Pine is Easier to work but not as durable. Anyway cool vid glad this place looks a lot better now ✌🏼
Dan, that wood was called "SHIP LAP" and is prized by interior designers and furniture builders.
so lucky id spend all day checking that area out. love retail n hotel n theater abandoned properties
Sad thing too because the roads in that Pine Bluff aren't fixed at all. I always thought why is that.
Reminds me of fallout 3
Why IS Pine Bluff America's most crime-ridden town? The small community that's second only to Detroit for law-breaking
I know a guy who railfans that Union Pacific (UP) line there in Pine Bluff, interestingly enough.
BTW, nice catch with that UP local freight with the leased engine leading!
Thank you for the video. I have some distant family history with Pine Bluff. The town is still sizable but it is shrinking in population so they have too much infrastructure for the number of people still living there. The old downtown was actually in a bad way back in in the 1960s when the open air Jefferson Shopping center was built nearby. Then the Jefferson Shopping center went on the rocks when the big box stores opened up in the Pines Mall and nearby. Now all three are feeling the pinch of the declining population. So what you are seeing here is something three rungs down the abandonment ladder. Hard to say if any of it can be preserved now that so much is coming apart at the seams. Some towns have success knocking down two thirds the buildings and turning the remainder in an evening stroll area with boutique shops and live music. But that takes a nearby wealthy residential area that will stroll to it. In any case, it is a intriguing snapshot of a bygone area frozen in time as of right now. Stroll it while it lasts!
Another very interesting short video. I would like to see more videos of trains in the U.S. too.
The hotel probably went out of business due to the noise of that bloody train. Imagine paying through the nose for that to wake you
Actually it went out of business because passenger trains stopped stopping in pine bluff.(train passengers were the hotels main source of income)
Oh so creepy. But cool! Looks like they're prepping this town for an episode or 2 of Walking Dead or Fear of the Walking Dead! The train has got to go. Was it necessary for the horn to be blown to the extent that it was seeing that it was passing thru an abandoned town! Besides you guys, who the hell else are they giving a warning to?! Great video as usual, really intresting stuff, thanks guys! Be safe.
this was only a block or so of this town, the rest of the town was still full of people.
I love train horns!!!!
I've been exploring in that hotel it's a beautiful building
"...blocked off so nobody gets hurt..." lmfao you guys aren't from Arkansas are you?
hogz2014 Exactly 😂 ESPECIALLY Pine Bluff
Nope they aren't
@@mybackupchan4115 r/woooosh
He was confused bc he thought he was here, in Balto. City 😆😉
Thanks for your reply!!!! I grew up in that town for the first 12 years of my life. We moved out to Texas in 1968. I missed being there but it was a good thing I did because kids I grew up with experimented with heavy drugs specifically LAD and worse drugs!!!!
The Talbot Plantation House is on about 208 Talbot street.
hi, from Arkansas, i remember there was some bad storms/tornadoes in 2015, so i think all that was storm damage and they were sill cleaning up.
Wow. Thanks for the video. Just confirmed for me that I never need to go there. Always heard about how terrible it is, but I've never seen it.
Oh hun this is just the nice area
Man just seeing the inside of that window, it looked awesome
I grew up in Pine Bluff, it used to be a great town, now it's a great place to be from!
Was just there. The debris is gone but the hotel is still boarded up. Fences are across the front with an architect's banner showing the future of the building. Looks faded. Who knows how long that's been there? The music store building is completely gone, obviously demolished. One block to the north, the entire one side of the street is fenced off with the buildings looking like they are either being renovated or demolished - can't quite tell which. 6th Street has some newer buildings but many in this area still unoccupied or boarded up. Several downtown blocks are empty and overgrown with weeds.
Hi Dan,love your road trip so far. I`ve looked at google maps on this place and it seems like the whole town is slowly being cleared of all the old run down buildings.Lets hope that hotel is not next!!!!
Pine Buff the highest crime rate in America per capital
Wow, what a strange place. Kind of like Times Beach, Missouri or Love Canal, NY (which were declared US disaster areas), or Pripyat, Ukraine, which remains the ultimate abandoned city.
I grew up in Oregon but my parents were from Arkansas. As the downtown merchants began to close their doors, there were no new businesses to move into the business area. The buildings were no longer maintained and they just collapsed. Some were exquisite. My family visited Pine Bluff most years in August. Anyone who grew up in Pine Bluff has to remember Arthur's BBQ. To this day, it's still the best BBQ I've ever tasted. Broke my heart when they closed the shop on 13th and stopped using that smokehouse. My grandparents lived in Dollarway and had a huge and wonderful oak tree in their yard. Pine Bluff was a lovely town, busy, full of commerce and industry. My husband took me to the Saenger when we first married. It was so lovely. We bought our wedding rings in a little jewelry shop on the corner of 5th and Main which was attached to the Pines Hotel. As you drove along 5th or 6th near the downtown area, there were some of the most beautiful antebellum houses I've even seen. Most are gone now or in a deplorable state of repair. As a kid, one of my favorite memories was visiting Oakland Park. I saw wild animals, rode carnival rides, and swam in the pool. When the city was ordered to allow African Americans to swim in the pool the city closed the pool, filled it in, took down the carnival rides and concessions, and got rid of the animals. As much as I loved-and still love-Pine Bluff, the racism in that city was palpable and so unnecessary.
The city is almost entirely Black. Has been for years. I don't know how it could be palpable. There've been any number of opportunities to reinvest and grow, but its own community just never seemed to care. Still doesn't. It's the fault of the locals, not racism.
Loved Arthurs. Sad what happened to pine bluff. I won't even visit the town I was born in.
Went to Christmas parades in the early 60s on main st. Might have stood in front of The Pines Hotel. Little League opening ceremonies parade , PBHS Homecoming parade, Rodeo parade...all right there where you guys are filming.
+Barbara howe we watched the same video from abandoned Arkansas. Irony of ironies 'twas the discontinuance of passenger TRAIN service that precipitated the demise of The Pines Hotel.
They are also creating scrap piles that result from the lumber salvaging. If they are gutting it, they may be preparing for demolition or refurbishment.
please tell me you went to the Pines mall! Best dead mall in the state
Amazing place, great movie
I grew up in Pine Bluff. Its definitely dying. I moved to NWA when I was 15 because there were no jobs and the economy was so bad
How long have you been living in NWA?
im surprised you didnt go to the pines mall
That's really eerie!
This looks like a war-zone
John that was my first thought too
Heh, you caught a train near the depot that's commonly filmed in many railfan videos! Shame seeing how dumpy that town became after several years, it looked kind of nice back in 2008!
im a tram enthusiast, trains dont really do it for me
That train was a bonus. I watch lots of train videos on RUclips.
You should have seen it in the 80s and 90s
Following your parking comment as the train approached, I couldn't help but fall into a heightened state of fear for your car.
Dan, have you ever been to Oklahoma City? It's pretty bad there but that goes back a long time. Even in 1996, it was a dangerous place, particularly downtown. I had to do a photography shoot for college class and for some reason, being a local, it didn't scare me. I tried to get one or two classmates to go but hell nooooo, they wouldn't go. I went alone. :) And I tell, you it was just as creepy as Pine Bluff. To give you an idea, it was Saturday around noon. There was hardly any traffic and the parts of downtown I wandered around had NOBODY. It was like a scene out of the movie "28 Days Later." It was only like a few years later that this hit me: if the vandals won't even show up, then it's pretty bad! Now the blight has spread to my college campus and it's no longer safe to even visit the shopping mall next door. It hurts because I lived there most of my life and the city was my home for over 20 years.
This looks like a major movie studio with massive disaster town set :D
That Jacket I know this is the bad timing but NOOOOOOOOOO THEY KILLED THE MONOPOLY GUY!
My home town
In the 70s and 80s I lived in a town about 45 min from Pine Bluff. We would go to the mall and go to see movies there. It’s been in decline since then. The population was around 70000 then and is now less than 50000. They have just built a casino there with plans for a hotel as well to help the economy and create local jobs. Cross your fingers. It’s terrible to see such a historic old downtown fall apart. It was once called the capitol of the delta I believe. However Arkansas has a lot of old downtowns that are very charming and touristy. Try Hot Springs and Eureka Springs to start
I kinda miss the sound of trains....
ABSOLUTELY!!!! A building just collapsed into a neat pile.
My name is Malcolm Windmon and I live in pinebluff... Arkansas Go Forward is trying to bring it back to life with a casino downtown and a license marijuana facility.
JOBS,JOBS,JOBS...GAMBLING,JAILS,DOPE,
HOPE&Healthcare
In thee we put our trust...
I'll always love my hometown & the generations of parents & foreparents like mine who gave me and my generation, hometraining in the 1950-60s, centered in hard work, teaching us right& wrong, and taking responsibility for our actions...Black, White, both sides of the tracks... WE owe them and their grandchildren an apology, before GOD ALMIGHTY...JimCrow--ScareCrow--Get over it!!!!
Against Thee and Thee only O Lord we have sinned.
vvarnado
Awesome, I wish you can get inside and film it.
It is sad to see pine bluff in such a mess .I've lived in Arkansas my whole life visited Pine bluff many times.its just sad
Will should be an actor-his face has a lot of character!!!
you have to get into that hotel. so cool
I thought it could have been tornado damage because Pine Bluff has had some major tornados, but I couldn't find any info on any recent activity. There was a major tornado in 1947 and 1968. The most recent tornadic activity I could find was in 2014.
Nope they just collapsed from old age
I stopped through the Capital of Little Rock last year it was like stepping back in time we walked into a fast food restaurant all black and us White they didn’t even acknowledge us and when it got to a point where it was obvious someone had to take our order they wouldn’t even look me in the eyes. I would never stop there again it really was extremely bizarre for 2018...?
No sadly they are more racist against you just how it is in many areas they will look at you and tell you that you owes them cuz u white in other areas not as bad but occasionally .not sure how that's stepping back in time. Unless you completely misinterpreted what was going on.yeah I'm from there. I've had black folks do it to me pretty often .however a kind word can cease the wrath of the devil. I would just say I was taught that in Gods way we are all brother and sisters you must have had a really bad day is there anything you need some help with or we could pray about it together....that tends to calm the waters. Folks open up a bit more .life is very hard there on everyone. And yes the rentals are slums and most or the residents are renting