Cherry Street Historic District (Helena–West Helena, Arkansas)

	Cherry Street Historic District
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	U.S. Historic district
	Cherry Street during the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival, October 2007
Location	Along Cherry St. between Porter and Elm Sts., Helena, Arkansas
Area	17.5 acres (7.1 ha)
Built	1879
Built by	John Isaac Moore, others
Architectural style	Classical Revival, Early Commercial, Commercial Vernacular, Other
NRHP reference No.	86003546 (original); 10000288 (increase)
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	August 17, 1987
Boundary increase	May 27, 2010

The Cherry Street Historic District is a historic neighborhood, commercial, and entertainment district serving as the downtown of Helena, Arkansas. Cherry Street is located between Elm Street and the nearby Phillips County Courthouse to the north, and Porter Street to the south. The history of Cherry Street is tied to the blues heritage of the area beginning in the 1940s.

History

Around the time of incorporation of West Helena in 1917, the lumber industry was the primary economic force in the region, with five companies producing barrel staves being the primary employers. Prohibition put these companies out of business, followed by two devastating floods in the following decades left Helena and West Helena in bad shape for the approaching Depression.^[2] King Biscuit Time, a blues radio show, was produced for the first time in November 1941 by KFFA. This radio show helped spread the growing sensation of blues music and popularized many blues pioneers such as Robert Lockwood, Jr., Robert Lee McCollum, and Sonny Boy Williamson II.

Today

Cherry Street has hosted the King Biscuit Blues Festival annually since 1986, under various names.^[3]

References

^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ "Helena–West Helena (Phillips County)". The Central Arkansas Library System. December 5, 2011. Retrieved December 15, 2011.
^ "About King Biscuit Blues Festival". Retrieved December 15, 2011.

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.

[2] "Helena–West Helena (Phillips County)". The Central Arkansas Library System. December 5, 2011. Retrieved December 15, 2011.

[3] "About King Biscuit Blues Festival". Retrieved December 15, 2011.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Topics	Architectural style categories Contributing property Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register National Park Service Property types
Lists by state	List of U.S. National Historic Landmarks by state: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Lists by insular areas	American Samoa Guam Minor Outlying Islands Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands
Lists by associated state	Federated States of Micronesia Marshall Islands Palau
Other areas	District of Columbia American Legation, Morocco
Related	National Historic Preservation Act Historic Preservation Fund List of jails and prisons on the National Register of Historic Places University and college buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places portal Category

History

Today

See also

References