Texarkana - The ABANDONED Rail Town - State of Infrastructure

On this video we take a look at the twin cities of Texarkana and its infrastructure.
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Texarkana Downtown Drive:
• Texarkana - Texas - Ar...
Texarkana Highways:
I-30: • I-30 East - Texarkana ...
I-49: • I-49 North - Texarkana...
I-369: • I-369 North - Texarkan...
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Time Stamps:
Intro and Courthouse: 0:00
Train Station Area: 2:50
Downtown: 8:35
Residential Areas: 18:20
Highways: 19:38
Thoughts and Conclusions: 21:40

[@yxnghogg2134]

It's actually a pretty busy & vibrant town, most of the action is on State Line, Richmond Rd, Summer Hill Rd, & New Boston Rd areas. Everything along the interstate, particularly the Texas side is new & developed, downtown is rarely ventured into except for some locals. Texarkana gets a lot of visitors from the small towns surrounding it, since it is in such an isolated area & has way more to offer than your typical small east Texas/southern Arkansas towns. That's mostly the reason why it is still growing despite the fact it can be a somewhat depressing city.

[@UlucDenizAkdogan]

Hey mate i have mailed you. İs it a safe place to live in? There is so much dirty information online regarding the crime rates etc. I would be really glad if you can give me some information.

[@TheGhostOfTK]

​@@UlucDenizAkdoganas someone who's lived here since birth (19 years) I wouldn't recommend living here unless it's for a job, there's literally nothing interesting to do here unless you like high school sports

[@TheGhostOfTK]

​@@UlucDenizAkdoganand the crime rate isn't as bad in the places the first person mentioned, but there's horrible traffic on those 4 roads because that's where basically everything is, so in those areas you have a higher chance of getting hit by a car than a bullet

[@bdwon]

What a monster Greg Abbott is! If he really wanted to solve homelessness, and the refugee issue, he could put them up in those empty high-rises and get investors to start factories next to them and create all sorts of jobs and generate tax revenue to pay for it all right there in the community. No, he does not want to "fix " anything! Abbott just wants a political thing to drum up support for himself.

[@MG-dd1vw]

⁠​⁠@@UlucDenizAkdogando not move there. If you are looking for a safe small town with job opportunities and things to do, I recommend Longview, Fredericksburg, New Braunfels, nearly anywhere else. I come from her generations of native texarkanans and they are great people, but could have just had a much more vibrant successful life if they got out. The opportunities are slim and the cost of living may be low compared to living in the city but you are in an inconvenient place with a dim future. It had potential to be a beautiful city but corrupt local government has severely stunted growth in opportunities for its resident and that’s apparent everywhere you go. Even the nice side of town has aging infrastructure. Maybe it will be prosperous in the future and I truuuuly hope so as someone who is so emotionally tied to the town. but at the current the efforts are too little too late.

[@jonathonsanders2508]

I'm born and raised in Texarkana, Texas. While our downtown has been neglected, our growth has been along the I-30 corridor. Along I-30, where you see the Texas Roadhouse, Home Depot, etc, was all farm land in the 80's. We now have one way frontage roads with easy turn arounds at each overpass along I-30 for easier access to the businesses that line the sides. Like most cities along major interstates, you want people traveling through to have easy access to our businesses. If everything was downtown, they have to get directions and drive through town going through more traffic and red lights, etc. Most downtown areas aren't the "center" of commerce any longer. It's especially true when we have many smaller towns around us and most people drive to our city to visit the major box stores. Thank you for raising awareness of our city. Most people know it from Smokey and the Bandit or The Town That Dreaded Sundown.

[@oceanbytez847]

Richmond road is the highlight. You can tell your nearing rich parts of town because if you follow richmond road far enough to get close to pleasant grove you will hit the business district with a dozen main bank branches and lots of businesses right before supercars and mansions become fairly regular.

[@scottlyttle5586]

..and the Texarkana location from Smokey and the Bandit isn't anywhere close to Texas or Arkansas..

[@KevinTspirit]

My brother and I would fly down to Texarkana (flight into Shreveport) every summer to be with his grandparents, which lived on the Arkansas side. Some of my best memories came from those summers. I actually moved to Texarkana as an adult to look after my brother's grandfather, and began working for the State of Arkansas, but lived on Texas side. Seeing all those buildings downtown so empty is hard to see. I have to agree with others, I-30 is where everyone is. I left after a few years, I could no longer deal with the mindset of the people.

[@BadTV1993]

I own a few properties there & I dread going there when I have to visit..

[@yayathagreat7752]

What was the mindset? Or is that a doesn’t need to be explained type of situation?

[@KevinTspirit]

@@yayathagreat7752 Small town gossip, lots of nepotism, racial divide, super religious,and slow to grow with technology.

[@blakekern7292]

As a resident of resident of Texarkana I wish this man would've been able to talk to one of the locals to learn a little more about this town. Nothing on here is particularly wrong but there's so much that could use clarification.

[@russmitchellmovement]

Can you give examples?

[@yuckyool]

All his videos are like that. Drives around in early morning and very little interaction with the people or activities.

[@cameraman655]

@@yuckyoolSo, from driving around, and interacting with no one (at least on camera or audio), he feels that he has the expertise to judge a place, it's economic situation? I have been to and through Texarkana (both sides) numerous times and nothing could be further from the truth.

[@BadTV1993]

@@yuckyool If he drives around early morning in texarkana, he will mostly encounter people on the way to work & Bums...

[@cliftonbowers6376]

I can say mist are white uppy trash and meth heads . See I'm from that hell hole yall..

[@the_big_dog813]

Texarkana downtown has been empty for the twenty years that I've lived here. The economic and residential center has moved to the West. Even the two major hospitals have moved (one) and is moving (the other) about 5-7 miles to the West. While the town has changed a lot over the past 20 years, it is really all about the growth along I-30 following its expansion years back.

[@bryanbethea8335]

Everyone that does videos on TK goes downtown and neglects to go to the other side of town. The north side of the interstate is where everything is being built and where the city is a bit nicer. You cannot form an accurate opinion on TK until you see it all. A lot of the population we are loosing are moving to the surrounding towns that everyone in TK considers part of the city. Nash, Wake Village, and Liberty Eylau are increasing I’m sure if you check the stats. It’s kinda ratchet here but it’s home.

[@sport2ful]

Yes, Nash and Wake Village is growing..

[@kevinallies1014]

If as you say the outer area is growing like a weed why is the downtown almost completely abandoned? 30 years ago Downtown was busy. I used to have to go to TXK and more specifically to the Main Post Office about once a month and it was always busy downtown. If it is a growing town and not a dying town why isn’t the downtown a leisure area particularly for twenty and thirty something’s. Those empty buildings within walking distance are an entertainment district waiting to be built unless the population is mostly elderly.

[@Southeren]

Lived in Texarkana for about 15 years until 2008 but pass by through there every year. From what I can tell there has been some decline but also a lot of improvement. A lot of businesses have been built along I-30 and most have actually been there for a long time now. Where Target sits now I remember back in the 90s when there was a farm in that area. Downtown hasn't been the hotspot there in a long time or at least wasn't when I lived there. It shifted to elsewhere in town. Several areas that were woods decades ago are now occupied by apartments or businesses. Theft was very common when I lived there and the street that I grew up on has declined. So there is that. Overall the town seems much bigger and more active now than long ago. Traffic seemingly a lot busier than long ago. I noticed that there is an effort to renovate some historical buildings downtown also. So Texarkana is still thriving even though it has changed over the decades.

[@itisnottaken4444]

Sadly when driving on I30 East, Texarkana is the last semi developed city between Dallas and Little Rock. Greenville Texas has quite a bit more life due to the proximity of the college.

[@BradRains]

Pine Bluff has some SERIOUS competition in Texarkana when it comes to a city being abandoned.

[@MileageMike485]

I’d say Pine Bluff has them beat. Video coming soon on that town.

[@TheTrainFreak]

@@MileageMike485 I'll be interested in catching that one as that is my home town. Bad local politics ended up causing the demise of that city in the 90's/2000's and I am one of the many who got out of there to look for something better. It was also a big railroad town back in the day as well.

[@billkaldem5099]

Texarkana may be abandoned but, Pine Bluff is a free fire zone.

[@blizyon30fps86]

I live here and yeah we definitely got them beat

[@leafleafkris]

So much potential here … sad to see it so empty. One thing I remember about Arkansas when would visit my grandparents in Hot Springs is that you could really tell what areas they put money into to maintain vs which ones they didn’t. For your Chicago video(s) you HAVE to check out the Lower Wacker Drive downtown tunnel roads, and also Lake Shore Drive. As a Chicagoan I’m excited for you to check out the area!

[@T0e-Man]

Well I live in Texarkana and its not that empty. He just showed downtown which is empty. Not many people go downtown because there's barely anything downtown. Mostly just homeless people.

[@tyreerhodes2316]

@@T0e-Manyea i seen on the map yall gotta airport so can’t be that empty

[@T0e-Man]

@tyreerhodes2316 This video was also filmed in 2020. When quarantine was happening. Have no clue why he decided to just upload it now. Anyways I actually had to go downtown to ship a package to someone, and it was busy. It seems they are trying to revitalize downtown. They are also going to try and turn some of the old hotels into apartments.

[@mike-sk2li]

It's a heavy truck corridor. They have 2 truck stops that are very small and offer nothing. Most of the millions of trucks that pass through keep going! I've noticed in my years of driving that small towns that have a decent parking situation for semis and build or open restaurants, family dollars etc within walking distance boom!

[@wainber1]

When I think of Texarkana, I think of the line, from Jerry Reed's "Eastbound and Down" song, "...and there's beer in Texarkana." There doesn't appear to be much good happening in that part of the US South.

[@joelangner2261]

This is more or less the vibes I get from those small towns that were bypassed by interstates back in the 50s and 60s

[@kevinallies1014]

Texarkana has two interstates I-30 and I-49 running by it.

[@joelangner2261]

@@kevinallies1014 I get that but how eerie it is with almost no people around enjoying the spaces that pedestrians would be using kind of gives off those small towns that once had a main road going through town that now bypasses it.

[@acme3drevit]

What surprised me the most is they had electric scooters to rent. Would be interesting to see how much usage they get

[@davidcarroll8735]

And so many! I think there were more scooters than cars.

[@oceanbytez847]

I used to live here and saw them deploy them in late 2022. Half of them are still where they were originally placed and the other half got abandoned in odd places because stuff here is far too spread apart to make using them practical.

[@HurlBarfman]

They get some usage. Mostly at the nearby parks though. I think most people are still trying to understand why you would use one.

[@StandStrong614]

​@@HurlBarfmanI am guessing that most people use them to go from one place to another place further away.

[@sandasturner9529]

Two miles per year

[@mikemclean5815]

The long pauses in between your lines is really creepy (in a good way!). It really sets the tone of the video: we’ve got what’s largely an abandoned ghost town here.

[@GrimmDesires]

As someone from Texarkana, born and raised. There isn't much reason to go downtown. Some people are slowly working on restoring areas of it. The life is coming back slowly.

[@malcorub]

I'm at a Holiday Inn in TXK just passing thru. This is my first time here so I stayed a full day to check things out. The hotel is near Central Mall and that mall seems outdated and on life support. The downtown was in even worse condition.

[@cyclistninetwentytwo7835]

Awe man this was painful! I grew up in Texarkana but left in ‘77 when I joined the Air Force. I haven’t been back since my parents died. Downtown was vibrant in the sixties but began to die once I-30 bypassed the town north of the city center. Most of the retail businesses moved northwest of town for the traffic and newer suburbs, plus I believe the Texas side had a better income tax situation. The railroad town theme is interesting. I remember riding a passenger train to Dallas when I was a child with family members. Overall, the condition of downtown is very sad, but frankly it appears to be much improved-or at least cleaned up-from a few years ago as shown in another KZbin video. Really enjoy your work. If you do Ohio, I’d like to hear your thoughts on US 33 running from SE to NW across the state. Are there plans to make it an interstate to link Columbus to Ft.Wayne/Chicago?

[@Newyorkred_rg8ou]

Roads really destroy entire cities in America.. it’s crazy.

[@oceanbytez847]

It's coming back to life, but mostly as a party district. Lots of bars. There is a coffee shop in an old traincar and a REALLY good bakery here as well. Still, only people who lived here long enough to know really know where to find these places.

[@sandasturner9529]

@@oceanbytez847 that was one of my ideas, to have an eatery of sorts inside a train car. Still cool info

[@andrewprior5080]

The new roads in Ohio are going in to the north and east of Columbus. Go BUCKEYES

[@highway2heaven91]

Aren’t the residents of Texarkana, AR exempt from the Arkansas state income tax? Or did that come in later?

[@PremierAutoMan86]

This truly shows that "everyone" lives on the coasts. Its crazy all this real estate that's ignored.

[@Khvostov7G-02AR]

Definitely the craziest part of Texarkana is that there’s a Chicken Express, Slim Chicken’s, Raising Canes, Chic fil A, and Golden Chick.

[@Fuckthis0341]

Every time I think there can’t be another niche channel for me to love on KZbin I am wrong.

[@savagekingtexas_3990]

Hopefully you're enjoying your travels around Arkansas, safe travels and enjoy the views

[@macedon4049]

My man, you should seriously consider doing an ASMR channel. You have the most soothing voice I've ever heard. Love your videos. Thanks!

[@RyanS32]

I love the small town vibes, but I hate seeing it without vibrancy! Maybe the movement towards WFH can bring life back to these smaller, more affordable, and more pedestrian friendly cities.

[@smokeylake3150]

Seeing and having lived there, I have my doubts. The idiots put a prison in old down town many years ago. That in itself would not attract many people. In reality this city was a railroad town and had many manufacturing companies to include Cooper Tire and Government. The surrounding area is growing but not too many live in town proper.

[@trainluvr]

Surprised to see a face r this early in the series! You're the cool dude I pictured when your channel started. Really enjoyable and relaxing to watch after a long day of modern life.

[@nm4523]

Great Video/Information......I visit TEXARKANA many times and I love to still visit it......

[@davidvickers2272]

Nice job stabilizing the camera even over speedbumps.

[@shootermcgavin4999]

Your voice is super chill....almost relaxing. Was always wondering why houses were so cheap here.

[@jamiesweitzer8469]

Excellent narration, use of maps displaying the status of highways being added to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Interstate Highway System!! 🇺🇸

[@balesjo]

I left AR (where I grew up) for Dallas and lived out there for 23 years. When I came back to AR to live, I was surprised to see how much improvement there was to the AR highway system. A lot of highways that were always a pain to have to drive have been improved with new paving, passing lanes, new bridges, etc. Still a long way to go but it's far better than it was between 1960-1990 when I was originally living here.

[@royaltypebros.5915]

I used to live there after my family moved there from Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina. So much happened when we lived there. Recently, I took a vacation there just to see how it was going.

[@johnmckiernan1177]

Such an interesting video. It’s so unique to find a town like this as you usually don’t see mixed use walkable areas with almost zero people even during mid day. Thank you for sharing this unique town with us! Maybe if you included some more history about what went wrong it would appeal to the history buffs too! Haha

[@the_big_dog813]

Agreed, very interesting. I've lived in Texarkana for 20 years and had not seen most of what was in the video since there is really nothing in the old downtown area that would draw even the locals.

[@sport2ful]

@@the_big_dog813 I've heard parts of downtown is really busy during the weekend.

[@waltersaul1807]

A heavy ride and walk indeed. I like some of the locals’ comments about the area. I’d like to see you do Duluth/Superior, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and Montreal in particular. Also, your take on Burlington, Vermont, along with an update on poor Montpelier, where all the floods occurred, would be welcome. There is precious little KZbin chatter and video on Vermont, which is one of the most picturesque and beautiful states in the Union.

[@jimidrammer4187]

You drove right by where a classic scene from Smoky & The Bandit was filmed! I was waiting for you to mention it.

[@culturedape279]

Texarkana isn’t empty as this video suggests. The business center just moved a little west. This area still has business though. And of course traffic is slower on weekends.

[@enique1103]

I visited a couple weeks ago and took some pics of the murals. I think there's a farmers market on the weekends and other activities to bring people downtown. I remember the many parades especially Four States Fair parade. TXK has potential...... Funny thing is the mall that "replaced" downtown is dead.

[@marbleman52]

I have lived a large majority of my 71 years either in the Dallas, Tx. area or here in Arkansas, and where I retired 10 years ago. I cannot count the times, from as far back as the 1960's, that I have driven on I-30 back & forth and driven by Texarkana. I saw I-30 grow from just two lanes ( both sides ) as it passed by Texarkana ...."passed by"...being the important term, to the multi-level and very busy area that it is today. Many older towns were established along a well traveled route; quite often next to a river in the very early years, or a well traveled trail that may have been first traveled by American Indians that later expanded into many of today's roads and highways, and also those early towns that grew up literally next to the train tracks that eventually crisscrossed the country. These parts of the early towns became the first 'downtowns'. Towns and businesses will follow the people, and as the population starts to spread out from the traditional downtown area, the businesses follow. And so, the original downtown areas start to decline. It's just the way things always have been. There are always exceptions...and that's great for that town. Hopefully a town can have both an active and prosperous downtown and prosperous suburbs. Many towns are having great success in bringing businesses and people back to the downtown area: restricting cars & trucks making it walking friendly, bringing in entertainment, bringing in new businesses, etc. And still hopefully keeping some of the old buildings and architecture and charm of those by-gone years when buildings were built to look great and fun to look at. I personally love the "Art Deco" style. Texarkana just followed the inevitable growing population. But what is important about Texarkana is what many of the other commenters have already pointed out. The town expanded out to grow with the ever increasing traffic and businesses that have grown up near I-30. Texarkana is still there and still growing, just not where it first started. I think you missed an opportunity to balance things out by showing how Texarkana has continued to grow & prosper by showing this area around I-30. And people always like to hear a little bit of it's town's early history. I encourage you to do some research and include this in some of your journeys, it will add a dimension of professionalism to your videos.

[@4knanapapa]

We were just in Texarkana in early April traveling in our motor home, the downtown area is definitely apocoliptic, like some force came in and removed all the business and people, but it's waiting for everything to return, still lots of train traffic though, just not stopping inTexarcana anymore.

[@pat.n5507]

@Mileage Mike You will most likely be going through London Ontario (my home city) if you're going to Toronto. We've got a BRT system in development that you may be interested in checking out. Keep up the great videos!

[@ronaldsnell1503]

Awesome job

[@KyrgyzstanHall]

Go through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is has beautiful geology and some cool small town scattered throughout. It is amazing and it would be an amazing video to introduce people to the relatively unknown place.

[@jandrew1994]

If he doesn't hit a deer there, that is

[@kesschristopher]

Based on the music, I was for sure there would be a reveal of shady government secrets or alien invasion. Oh well. The website of the metaphysical boutique on the street you walked down says that it’s located within the “entertainment district.” 😮. The coming of the Interstate away from Downtown and the demise of passenger rail probably hit this place really, really hard. It’s sad.

[@stopthemadness398]

he most of come to Texarkana on Sunday are around noon time.. on Friday night, the state line is full of people and cars I use to live in Texarkana for 30 years

[@rlg1976x]

When you make your way thru Ohio, I'm like to see videos of my hometown Youngstown-Warren area. I-680, the incomplete Hubbard Expressway (US-62/OH-7), the Madison Ave Expressway (US-422/OH-193), the formerly partially, now fully complete OH-711 connector, downtown, YSU, etc. Texarkana reminds me of Youngstown, with a healthy infrastructure and nice location in a heavy transit corridor, but economically struggling for decades after the closure of the steel mills in the 70's.

[@Cool-db1hp]

IMO warren is worse than Youngstown. At least Youngstown is trying to reinvent itself and has taken advantage of federal programs in order to do that. YSU & KYNG Airport is really holding the area together.

[@themovietheatre]

Montreal's Ste. Catherine Street is always packed. The new REM transit system opens July 29th.

[@trnqulizr1289]

Amazing video.

[@Sashounet24]

great video i like your channel alot

[@mikeherr8427]

Not a traffic signal downtown. Just the speed bumps and 4 way stops.

[@davidcarroll8735]

There must be a story behind those speed bumps, that’s a crazy many.

[@wayneanderson8034]

Texarkana is on the essential I-30 New Boston to Arkadelphia corridor. This booming stretch of mercantile will revive Texarkana's dream of making it out of New Boston's shadow. It's only a matter of time before people will be saying Texarkana is the next New Boston.

[@jonathonsanders2508]

Hopefully your post was sarcasm. New Boston doesn't have the population or the infrastructure of Texarkana. All the signs on the interstate from Little Rock to Dallas have Texarkana on them, not New Boston. This is the first time I've heard of I-30 being called a corridor from New Boston to Arkadelphia.

[@Seriously_Unserious]

If you're passing through Quebec, you might want to give a tour of the historic Quebec City, the capital of Quebec and home of some of the few true castle like fortresses built in North America.

[@arniegreenberg2719]

There has to be a way to revitalize these old towns. With all the rail and highways it would make a great place for a fulfillment center. Thanks for the tour.

[@fasdaVT]

Step 1: Acknowledge that planning around cars is bad planning freeing up a lot of land for use. Step 2: build a central down centered around walkable attractions by building something worth seeing and just let artistic and culinary types take over buildings on the cheap Step 3: ensure a high quality internet for remote workers. Step 4: allow builders to convert buildings to apartment and condos with reckless abandon near that down town area.

[@ostrich67]

​@@fasdaVTStep 5: Don't drive away anyone with a shred of intelligence, empathy, creativity, and human decency with hateful culture wars. Speaking as someone living in a West Coast city surrounded by people who fled from places like this.

[@fasdaVT]

@@ostrich67 but without cultures wars how will they pass tax cuts for the wealthy?

[@malcorub]

Put an Olive Garden, Applebees, Texas Roadhouse and all the other chains small town people love in the downtowns and watch it thrive.

[@discodave4190]

@@malcorub Are you saying that small town people prefer national chains over locally-owned restaurants. I avoid all of the places you mention where I live. When I travel, I purposely seek out local establishments.

[@likesanddislikesetc]

I used to be a conductor for Union Pacific in Arkansas from 2004-2014- I’ve worked that rail yard a lot on trains going to and from Texas. UP removed the old cottonbelt yard in 2019 I think but the big yard is still there working daily.

[@AllenGraetz]

Reminds me of downtown Meridian MS

[@MileageMike485]

Interesting. I still need to check out some of those deep south states.

[@KG-du5rr]

Well, I checked the population makeup of the cities and it just clicks. There are tons of vibrant lively small towns all across TX (not counting the suburb "small town"), as long as the people who make up the population can sustain it. Nobody wants to admit or say it out loud but it's the truth, no matter where it is, big city or small town.

[@willymccoy3427]

I was born and raised in the Texarkana area. I moved out for good 20 years ago, but still have family in the area. Last I heard the old Grim Hotel was being rebuilt into apartments. Downtown Texarkana started dying off in the late '70s (or earlier) with most everything moving closer to the I-30 and over to Texas side north of the downtown area... The Arkansas side city government before I moved to TN, was busy annexing large areas to the east where folks had moved to get out of the city in order to build their tax base back up. My old family home is in the Genoa area east of Texarkana and when I left, there were a lot of folks moving from Texarkana into Genoa to get away from the city.

[@lonewolf1401]

great video ...

[@geardo3635]

If you do NY, the Buffalo-Niagara Falls area might be interesting not only for the famous falls plus the connections to Canada. Albany has some interesting maybe unique highway design including how I-87 meets I-90 including this is where the New York State Thruway changes from a North-South direction along I-87 to West-East along I-90. Finally you do not have to drive it but there is the unfinished I-86 Southern Tier Expressway.

[@MileageMike485]

Sounds interesting. Definitely planning to check the buffalo area.

[@Steelers2841]

Remind me of Bristol Tennessee/ Virginia got check that out VT Is on the Virginia Side the Bristol Motor Speedway is on the Tennessee side. Then there Beckley , WV, -VA another City as well

[@RobertRadio757]

I got some Texarkana/report radio stations today in Austin, Texas on FM radio

[@brianarbenz1329]

2 states, 1 downtown, but 0 people. That's baffling. About 60,000 population combined, but where are they? You could use that for the set of a dystopian sci-fi film.

[@larondab31]

Downtown Texarkana is changing. A lot of bars and night life goes on down there nowadays and festivals are held down there during the day and evening. They are also building more of housing downtown. But as far as the town as a whole, it’s definitely not as live as a big city but it’s a lot busier than what you have shown.

[@emilkoch4098]

Interesting video. Hahaha you made the town look bad. @17:15 looks like something out of an Edward Hopper painting. This town reminds me of some of his paintings of desolation. My dad went down to Texarkana for work a couple of times times back in the early 70's for Texas Instruments. I'm not the most social guy, but even I would have talked to one of the locals you walked by for a few minutes about the town. You should do that in the next town you visit. I'm getting the vibe that you're not a people person hahah.

[@davepov]

I've visited Texarkana several times while I've lived in Longview, TX. My take on this town is, while it clearly has problems, it has a lot going for it. The CHRISTUS hospital on the north end along I-30 is amazing and that area is growing/developing. The downtown has great potential. Some of the architecture is wonderful. The oldest and tallest buildings need to be fully renovated. I know one is being turned into apartments. The other tall one should be too. The original train station building is fantastic. It would be great if that could be fully renovated and used as an Amtrak station, a train museum and maybe a mixed use facility. Then, something has to be done to get white collar businesses back in the downtown and it can't be just all lawyers. Short of that, maybe the city should wipe out a couple blocks or more of old, abandoned buildings and create a park, then surround that park with new housing...single family, condos, apartments. Get people living in the central city and you'll get other small businesses like restaurants and pubs. Are there any big festivals there? How about one downtown called the Tri-state Festival featuring the best in food, music and culture from the three states and more.

[@56BIGM]

interesting--thanks--i've just been looking at the streets of philadelphia, detroit and san francisco

[@cjthompson420]

I’ve always been fascinated by this city as a Texan. The only city in 2 states (the Kansas cities are 2 separate cities) so it’s kinda sad to see how desolate it looks. 😮 maybe the I-49 project will help?

[@PelicanGuy]

I am SHOCKED at how dead the Texas side of downtown is. I thought the two cities would work together more for the benefit of the region, but I guess it's not that important to them.

[@chrisbankhead9669]

Come to the Rockford, IL/state line area! I see extreme potential with the infrastructure and the location! It’s a unique place.. lol

[@avlisk]

You'll be so close to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, Mt. Washington, North Conway and the tourist railways, it might be worth a look.

[@gopet400]

I guess the beer Jerry Reed was talking about isn’t there anymore 😢

[@joestephan1111]

I years ago knew an old Blues singer named "Peppermint" Harris who was from Texarkana.

[@sarhndjamena1411]

Drove through Texarkana back in April, I've been through some badly run down areas, like Cairo IL or Gadsden AL, but Texarkana was still surprising. Maybe because it is Texas, you expect something different

[@adminbird]

Texas has some real run down places. You ever been to temple?

[@endingtasks8538]

​@@adminbirdI don't live too far from Temple, but Texarkana is way worse, at least in temple you don't see the sky looking through windows from the street, Temple also isn't completely abandoned, honestly in my experience Killeen is more rough

[@russm4677]

This is extremely similar to Shreveport LA about a little over an hour south. DEAD downtown, used to have extensive passenger rail, used to have a bustling city, walkable vibrant downtown..... but like Texarkana it's dead. Suburban sprawl can be blamed for a lot of the problems.... but there's more. These interior deep south cities all suffer in similar ways for really the same reasons

[@fldon2306]

Plenty of Parking Downtown! Great Set for a ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE Movie! I bet there’s plenty of “dispensaries” in town, especially the BMX and wife beater in the back pocket type!

[@babydriver8134]

Drove right through there a couple years back.

[@shearperfect3150]

Would love to see you do a beautiful port city like Savannah

[@lillyliion]

I wish you'd gotten to see the Perot Theater. The Perot is absolutely my favorite part of downtownish area

[@balistic04]

@MileageMike to be fair the city has come far in some areas like Richmond rd and i30 area and west. Right now downtown is getting a face lift with some of the old buildings being turned into future condos downtown has become more of an entertainment district for late night. Also i do live in this boring town

[@claudermiller]

I went to a Halloween party in the Grimm Hotel around 85? It looked abandoned. I don't know how they were able to have a party there but the atmosphere was perfect. Seemed like the setting for a slasher movie.

[@chuxtuff]

I saw an interesting piece on "one of the neglected corners of Iowa" that looked much like Texarkana. There were entire small towns seemingly abandoned with nobody living there. As that's farming country there'd be a different vibe there so it's probably worth a looksee. Anyway what happened to a town that grew that big Texarkana and yet today it's the same thing - there's nobody living there?? What was there and why isn't it still there?? I enjoy your videos!!

[@murrayterry834]

agenda 21 at work?

[@Markkos1992]

I guess next will be the Twin Cities of South Fulton, TN, and Fulton, KY. 😉

[@MileageMike485]

😂 You never know. Just might be.

[@codywaterman3612]

Background music makes it trippy

[@lindanoles6664]

I have been through Texarkana several times coming and going between Arkansas and Texas.

[@donnavorce8856]

Our species is so weird. Rather than utilize good old buildings we waste energy erecting new buildings and waste all the energy that had been used to construct the original structures. Leaving swaths of forgotten places, simply rotting down. Something I'll never understand. Makes me sad how we act.

[@demogorgon2580]

currently here in tk, it seems like downtown might be lively soon again. buildings are being renovated and reused so that's a good thing. talks of maybe getting a new park but i doubt that.

[@joethomas2354]

There have been several attempts over the years to revive downtown. They've always failed because people just don't want to go there anymore. Sad. Now, just a block up from that tragic abandoned building you saw is a small success, the Grim Hotel, which has recently been renovated to be turned into apartments. It used to look a lot like the building you were looking at.

[@sport2ful]

Someone is trying to renovate that abandoned building you're talking about, but they must have run out of money.

[@fordsmobile1672]

I’d quite like to see your take on Indianapolis. It is the crossroads of America after all.

[@MileageMike485]

Yes. Looking forward to visiting it.

[@tomfuelery2905]

Meh. It's just the typical thing that has happened to hundreds of places that get bypassed by the interstate. The retail, industry and housing move to areas that are faster to access via interstates. The downtown was viable when the US highways were the main and often only routes through an area.

[@cbonz7734]

A lot of these small to medium Texas cities are dying. Lubbock, Amarillo, Abilene, Texarkana just to name a few. The only ones growing at a furious rate is the Midland/Odessa area where they're building houses as fast as they can yet downtown is vacant and infrastructure is not catching up any time soon. Nice job!

[@BadTV1993]

Midland/Odessa area has that unlimited oil money :)

[@gusthesheltie154]

Trucked out of red river is army depot during desert storm..seemed busy then

[@johngreen3543]

You need to hit some cities along the Mississippi River from St Louis north. They are distinctly different from the rural parts and very interesting.

[@BadTV1993]

I love the st charles st ann areas up there near st louis... always poppin on the weekend

[@jserkiz06]

I am glad to note NO GRAFFITTI. Ya'll keep it nice, and that will bless you at the right time. Thanks for this visit.

[@h_ymusicgroup5051]

Tk is a hub city. Its " town" for the surrounding rural area which includes maud, genoa, fouke, ashdown, lewisville, redwater, new boston, domino, doddridge and more

[@joelangner2261]

Duluth, Minnesota and along the North Shore (of Lake Superior) is quite the place.

[@MileageMike485]

Oh yeah I'll be checking that one out soon.

[@joelangner2261]

@@MileageMike485 Awesome!

[@matt007]

I remember this town from that film “The Town That Dreaded Sundown”.

[@alexlincoln2]

I think youll find midwest infrastructure as being inbetween northeast and south. A bit more public transpory infrastructure than the south but smaller highways. And very few expresslanes. I80 in omaha needs some. I didnt know texarkana had a Gary like downtown

[@edwardhuster8466]

Interesting. Did know Texarkana wad a rail town.

[@MariMiniattL]

Syracuse would be a great stop. Right now I-81 is supposed to be redone as it goes through the city, but there are people fighting the change. Also you need to go to the Onondaga Lake parkway, just not in a large truck, the bridge takes out someone that doesn't pay attention to the 10+ signs about the low bridge, almost monthly

[@MileageMike485]

Interesting. I was under the impression that they had already decided to make I-81 into a surface boulevard and expand I-481 to compensate?

[@MariMiniattL]

@@MileageMike485 That is the plan. What gets me about the people that are opposing the change now, is they had plenty of time to put in their ideas. It was over 10 years ago I went to a public forum about what needed to be done. We were allowed to brainstorm and the boulevard was the top idea.

[@fermisparadox01]

I remember when a football game was played there every year as a kid.

[@north6star]

2 billionaires come from TK Around 20 professional athletes There are 3-4 billion dollar factories with thousands of jobs in the area. The town is far from dead, and growing quickly. Old Downtown on the other hand, has been dead for years. The modern “downtown” is centered on Richmond road.

[@LoneCourier2281]

I wonder if you are going to do Pine Bluff next. If not, you definitely should. Another interesting place that might seem weird is Conway, Arkansas and see what they have done there

[@MileageMike485]

Yes. Working on it now.

[@LoneCourier2281]

@@MileageMike485 noice! I honestly figured that’s the place you were referencing at the end, but wasn’t sure. I’d also totally love for you to do another Memphis video, the I-40 one was great and shared it with my friends here

[@marcuslieberman3577]

It's sad to see small towns in this condition. It did look like some of the buildings were being renovated. Someone must have an idea to put a spark of life into these rual areas.(?)

[@Turdboi47]

That horror music in the background 🤣👍👍

[@flarrfan]

Mike...Have you ever been to E. St. Louis IL?