By the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program
DESCRIPIION
Summary
The Pine Bluff Street Historic District in Malvern features a variety of architectural styles built to
appeal to medium-income families from the 1890s until the 1940s. The district contains 36
buildings beginning with #204 and ending at #728. Not included within the district boundaries is
the two-block section on the north side of Pine Bluff Street between Overman and Banks Streets
(506, 516, 526, 542, 608, 616 and 624), because this area contains no properties contributing to the
district. Twenty-two residences are contributing to the district, meaning they retain their historic
integrity and are more than 50-years-old. Only 14 residences are non-contributing, 11 because
non-historic siding obscures architectural detail, and three because they are less than 50-years-old.
Architectural Survey
The Pine Bluff Street Historic District, an exclusively residential neighborhood (with the exception
of a modern dentist's office), reflects the modest residential architecture styles found in Malvern
from the 1890s to the 1940s.
Many historic architectural styles are evident within the district. These styles include: Second
Empire, Shingle, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Plain/Traditional, Craftsman, and Tudor. Already
listed in the National Register are the Alderson-Coston House (5126l95) at 202 Pine Bluff Street, and
the Gatewood House (7124192) at 235 Pine Bluff Street.
Second Empire
Built around 1889, the Bratt-Lea House (HS0029), at 225 Pine Bluff Street is an excellent example
of a style which is rarely seen in Arkansas. This simple example of the Second Empire style has
neither eave brackets nor decorative window surrounds, and is a relatively modest version of the
usually elaborate style. Typical of the simple mansard roof version of the style, the rectangular house
has a symmetrical front facade that is broken into three ranks. On the top story two front-facing
gables have straight mansard roofs, while the main mansard roof has a gradual concave. The Bratt-
Lea House is the only example of the Second Empire style in the Pine Bluff District.
Shingle Style
The Gatewood House, (HS0074) is an example a style uncommon in Arkansas. Like the Brett-Lea
House, the Gatewood House is a more modest example of the Shingle styles an usually large and
elaborate style. Built in 1905, this distinctive house is already listed in the National Register
(7124192). Notable features of the two-story frame house include, an irregular plan, a gambrel roof,
Tuscan columns, and the characteristic wood siding, found on much of the second story.
Queen Anne
Only one of three examples of the Queen Anne style is considered contributing to the district.
Artificial siding now sheathes two other Queen Anne cottages (HS0114 and HS0098). Constructed
around the tum-of-the-century, the Glover House (HS0112) retains its original novelty siding, and
front bay window, but was updated in the 1920s with a Craftsman front porch and porte-cochere.
Plain/Traditional
The buff brick apartment building at 320 Pine Bluff Street (HS0557) is the only contributing
building that can be classified as Plain/Traditional. Three other buildings also fall under this
category, but they are non-contributing because their distinguishing features were removed or
covered by artificial siding.
Colonial Revival
The Colonial Revival was popular for longer than almost any other style in America. According to
Virginia and Lee McAlester in A Field Guide to American Houses, the style was popular from c.
1880 - c. 1955. The four examples of the Colonial Revival style within this district are divided
between the early (1900s) and late (1930s and 1940s) dates of the style. Prominent among the homes
that date from the turn-of-the-century is the house found at 213 Pine Bluff Street (HS0110). The
house features Ionic columns along its wraparound porch, a centrally located front door with a
transom and sidelights, bay projections, and corbeled chimneys. The stucco and brick walls are
covered by a composition shingle roof with exposed rafter ends. Also extant on the property is a
wood and brick carriage house with a steeply pitched roof. The House at 403 Pine Bluff Street
(HS0096) represents a late adaptation of the Cape Cod style, the most popular of all one-story,
Colonial Revival-styled houses. The brick residence is embellished by three gabled dormers on the
side-gabled roof, dentils on the cornices and a segmental pediment over a central front door.
No non-contributing buildings within the district truly reflect the Colonial Revival style of architecture.
Classical Revival and Tudor Revival
The simple square columns of the two-story front porch mark the House at 721 Pine Bluff Street
(HS0130) as a late example of the Classical Revival style. Constructed in the 1930s, the house also
features a pedimented gable, a second story balcony, and transoms over the front door and sidelights.
An early one-story example of the style is found at 543 Pine Bluff Street (HS0122). The
Neoclassical cottage has a hipped roof with prominent central dormers. The colonnaded porch is
included under the main roof.
The brick house found at 414 Pine Bluff Street (HS0117), is the most exemplary of the two
representatives of the Tudor Revival style. This 1930s house exhibits characteristic Tudor Revival
details, including a prominent double-shafted chimney with metal strapwork, half-timbering in the
gable ends, and Tudor arches over the porch and front door. The green Spanish tile adds a
Mediterranean touch. The other Tudor Revival style house in this district is found at 728 Pine Bluff
Street (HS0103). This simple example of the Tudor Revival style features a dominate sloping cross
gable, and an arched porch.
Craftsman
The Craftsman style is numerically the most popular type of house found within the district. Of the
fifteen Craftsman style bungalows, nine are contributing of and (the Anderson-Coston House,
HS0077) is already listed in the National Register (5/26/95). This two-story Craftsman style
bungalow exhibits decorative braces under the eaves, a wide porch supported by piers, an unenclosed
eave overhang and exposed roof rafters. Another notable example of the Craftsman style is the
Claude Mann House (HS0097), designed by Ye Planry Architects of Dallas, Texas.
The smaller Craftsman houses and bungalows are more numerous. Included among them are the
houses at 306 Pine Bluff Street (HS0113) and 503 Pine Bluff Street (HS0135). The floor plans of
these two bungalows are mirror images of each other. The only noticeable differences are a small
amount of artificial siding on the House at 503 Pine Bluff Street and a lack of half-timbering in the
gable end of the House a 306 Pine Bluff Street.
New Construction
Four buildings within the boundaries of the Pine Bluff Street Historic District are less than 50-years-old and are therefore considered non-contributing to the district. These buildings include a one-story apartment building (HS0558) still undergoing construction across from 319 Pine Bluff
Street, a 1995 dentist's office at 230 Pine Bluff Street (HS0556), and a 1960s Ranch house at 707 Pine Bluff Street (HS0559).
STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
Summary
From the 1889 Second Empire-styled Bratt-Lea House (HS0029) to the 1940s Plain/Traditional-
styled apartment building at 320 Pine Bluff Street(HS0557), the district encompasses many
architectural styles. The district is composed of buildings constructed for the middle and working
classes. Although some houses have elaborate details such as the Tudor Revival house at 414 Pine
Bluff Street (HS0117), or are two-story like the Gatewood House (HS0074), all are of a more modest
scale than the elaborate mansions once found just two blocks north of this area. The Pine Bluff
Street Historic District is being nominated to the National Register of Historic Places under
Criterion C with local significance for its depiction of popular architectural styles from 1889 until
the 1940s.
Historical Background
The town of Malvern was laid out in 1873 by the St. Louis, Iron Mountain, & Southern Railroad
Company. The town grew slowly during its first two years. However, upon completion of the
"Diamond Joe" Railroad from Malvern to Hot Springs, the town quickly prospered and became the
county seat and principle town of Hot Spring County. It was incorporated on July 5, 1876.
Pine Bluff Street got its name from being the Pine Bluff Highway connecting Malvern with the city
of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. In the 1920s, Page Avenue became Highway 67 to Pine Bluff because it
was considered a more direct route that Pine Bluff Street. The grandest homes in Malvern at this
time were on Page Avenue while the homes on Pine Bluff Street were less elegant. Because of the
redirecting of the highway, more modest Pine Bluff Street homes have survived while most of the
grand houses on Page Avenue have been razed for commercial purposes. Also in the 1920s, the
residents of Pine Bluff Street formed a paving district for the purpose of paying to have the street
curbed and paved. Each resident of Pine Bluff Street payed a tax for twenty years to meet the cost
of initially paving the street from Main Street to McNeal Street.
The arrival of the railroad brought new architectural styles and tastes into the heart of a county that
had previously experienced rather little of it. As a railroad town and county seat of Hot Spring
County, Malvern was quickly introduced to national styles and manufactured building materials.
This trend continued from the introduction of the railroad in the 1870s well on into the twentieth
century. Such styles as the Shingle, Second Empire, Colonial Revival and Craftsman were all
reflective of the effect of the railroad and the new cultural influences it introduced.
Architectural Significance
From the 1889 Second Empire-styled Bratt-Lea House (HS0029) to the 1940s Plain/Traditional-
styled apartment building at 320 Pine Bluff Street(HS0557), the district encompasses a wide variety
of architectural styles. The district is composed of buildings primarily constructed for the middle
class. Although some houses have elaborate details such as the Tudor Revival house at 414 Pine
Bluff Street (HS0117), or are two-story like the Gatewood House (HS0074), all are of a more modest
scale than the elaborate mansions once located just two blocks north of this area.
The Pine Bluff Street Historic District is being nominated (March 4, 1998) to the National Register of Historic Places under
Criterion C with local significance for its depiction of popular national architectural styles from 1889 until the 1940s.
Twenty-two residences are contributing to the district, meaning they retain their historic integrity and are more than 50-years-old. Only fourteen residences are non-contributing,
11 because non-historic siding obscures certain historic architectural detail and three because
they are less than 50-years-old. Sixty-one percent of the buildings in the district are contributing.
The Delavan's Old House on Pine Bluff Street, Malvern, AR First United Methodist Church of Malvern, AR