Another Saenger | Pine Bluff theater shows how fortunate Texarkana is to have the Perot

Recently, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette did a story and photo spread on the grand old Saenger Theater in Pine Bluff.

Built in 1924, Pine Bluff's Saenger is almost identical to Texarkana's Perot Theater, which was built the same year by the Saenger Amusement Co.

There's one big difference, though. Where Texarkana's theater has been restored into a grand venue, a true showplace, the Pine Bluff building is falling apart and part of the 2019 list of the most endangered historic places in Arkansas.

The photos in the Democrat-Gazette article tell a sad story indeed. The once-beautiful bones are there, but the whole place has fallen into disrepair, with plaster falling from ceiling, a leaking roof that ensures water damage and graffiti on the walls along with other signs of vandalism

It should make everyone in Texarkana grateful that our own Perot was fortunate enough to benefit from its namesake benefactor as well as all the work supporters put into the restoration effort.

Groups in Pine Bluff have been trying to save their Saenger, but so far they haven't had much luck.

We wish them every success.

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