Discover 8 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Mena (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: St. Agnes Catholic Church, Polk County Courthouse, and Ebenezer Monument. Also, be sure to include Janssen Park in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Mena (Arkansas).
Table of Contents
St. Agnes Catholic Church
Catholic church in Mena, Arkansas. St. Agnes Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic church at 203 Eighth Street in Mena, Arkansas. The parish, established not long after Mena's founding in 1896, meets in a stone Spanish Mission Revival built in 1921–22 to a design by Rev. A. P. Gallagher, who oversaw the parish for more than 50 years. It is one of Polk County's most significant architectural statements, merging the common use of local fieldstone with more sophistical Mission style elements. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.[1]
Address: 203 8th St, 71953-3021 Mena
Polk County Courthouse
The Polk County Courthouse is a historic government building at Church Avenue and DeQueen Streets in Mena, Arkansas, the county seat of Polk County. The original portion of the building is a two-story light-colored brick structure, with restrained Art Deco styling. It was designed by Haralson and Mott of Fort Smith, and was built in 1939 with funding from the Public Works Administration. To the rear of the courthouse is a modern wing, joined by a breezeway. The original building is little-altered—only its front doors have been replaced with modern glass and aluminum doors.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.[2]
Address: 507 Church Ave Ste 1, Mena
Ebenezer Monument
The Ebenezer Monument is a commemorative monument and marker placed at the corner of 9th and Church Streets, adjacent to the First Baptist Church in Mena, Arkansas. It is a tapered square structure of fieldstone and cement, about 12 feet high and 5 feet long on each side at the base. It has concrete panels on each side, three with engravings, and is topped by a pyramidal concrete cap. The monument was placed in 1935 as part of a campaign to galvanize local opposition to the controversial Commonwealth College, which was accused of teaching Communism and other evils. Local opposition contributed to the school's eventual closure in 1940. The monument's name is derived from a Bible verse inscribed on one of the panels: Ebenezer of First Baptist Church/"Hitherto Hath The Lord Helped Us" - I Samuel 7: 12/Sunday, June 14, 1936. The monument contains a time capsule, which is to be opened every 50 years. In 1986 the original time capsule was opened, and its contents replaced by new materials.
The monument was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.[3]
Janssen Park
Playground, Park, Relax in park
Address: 7th Street, 71953 Mena
Mena City Hall
Building. Mena City Hall, also known as the Old Post Office, is the city hall of Mena, Arkansas, located at 520 North Mena Street. It is a two-story brick building with Classical Revival and Colonial Revival features, designed by Treasury architect James Wetmore and built in 1917. Its elaborate lobby decorations are still visible despite the building's conversion for use as city hall. Its exterior features a Classical pedimented portico, and an entrance topped by a Colonial Revival fanlight.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.[4]
Elks Lodge
Building in Polk County, Arkansas. The Elks Lodge is a historic clubhouse at 500 Mena Street in Mena, Arkansas. It is a two-story brick building, with a hip roof, marble trim, and a granite foundation. Its Colonial Revival styling includes corner quoining, porches along the front and side with square supporting posts and diamond-pattern balcony balustrade above. It was built in 1908 by the local chapter of the Elks fraternal organization, and has long been a local social venue. Between 1935 and 1951 it housed the local hospital, after which it returned to the Elks. It is also one of the community's finest examples of commercial Colonial Revival architecture.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.[5]
Studebaker Showroom
The Studebaker Showroom is a historic commercial building at 519 Port Arthur Avenue in downtown Mena, Arkansas. It is a single-story stuccoed concrete block structure with a flat roof. Built in 1948, it is a distinctive local example of the Moderne style, with rounded corners on the corners of the front part of the building. This includes a projecting showroom section, and the corners of the main service and sales area behind, which are decorated with banks of glass blocks, another Moderne hallmark.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.[6]
Judge Benjamin Shaver House
Building in Mena. The Judge Benjamin Shaver House is a historic house at 701 12th Street in Mena, Arkansas. It is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, with a hip roof that projects over a two-story porch. There are further stepped projectings beyond this, culminating in an gable section supported by Ionic columns, with a Palladian window in the pedimented gable end. The house was built in 1896, two years after Mena was incorporated by Benjamin Shaver, a prominent local lawyer and judge. The building is further notable for its association with his daughter Dorothy, who parlayed an early career as a dollmaker into becoming CEO of Lord & Taylor.
The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[7]