The same block of Dickson Street photographed by local resident Lee Wyatt and his late father Gary 36 years apart.
Photo: Gary Wyatt, Lee Wyatt
Last week, a photo album created by long-time local resident Lee Wyatt went semi-viral on Facebook.
The album featured photos taken on Dickson Street by Lee’s late father Gary L. Wyatt in 1976, paired with photos taken by Lee in the same spots in 2012.
Lee said he wanted to recreate the album in memory of his father, who passed away in 2007. “He taught me everything I know,” he said.
Lee’s sister Katie found the original set of black and white photos while working with her mother to digitize some old family albums. According to Lee, they were taken in 1976 after Gary returned from an overseas tour in the service.
“I think he took them all in one day,” he said. “Dickson Street had changed a lot when he got back, and he couldn’t believe it.”
Lee gave us permission to post a few photos below, and the rest can be found in the original album on Facebook.
They provide a great snapshot of one of Fayetteville’s favorite streets, created by two members of the same family, a generation apart.
From Lee’s description on Facebook
A collection of black and white photos shot by my father in 1976, paired up with color replications shot by myself in 2012. In memory of my dad, Gary L Wyatt. These photos are available for everyone to view and share.
Where is that UARK Theater sign/marquee? It never came back from restoration.
I was wondering that myself!
Thats so awesome to see the changes!
Fantastic!
This is very neat. Thanks for posting!
i wish i could have been around to see dickson the way it looked in the original pictures. i love the swingin door cowboy and all of the awnings on the the buildings. thanks for sharing these photos mr. wyatt.
I wish there was still a theater on Dickson. That would be rad. These pictures are great.
Very cool! In some ways, the street has changed so much. In other ways, it looks very similar. Thanks for posting this.
Has the Budweiser sign in the last picture really been there for 40 years?
Same question here.
Two Things –
Somebody needs to bring back the Swingin’ Door Cowboy, that’s freakin awesome.
It appears the theater is showing an X-rated movie, but I can’t make out the title…
Good catch! The movie is called “Inserts” and it’s playing at 7 and 930. LOL!!! Kinda early for porn flicks!
Whoa, it’s not porn…and it actually looks pretty interesting. Sweet.
See http://www.amazon.com/Inserts-Richard-Dreyfuss/dp/B0009X7BGO
Who’d a thunk?
I get a “This content is currently unavailable” message when I click on the Facebook link.
I got that too until I logged on.
So. Freakin. Cool. Thanks Wyatt family for creating and sharing! Thanks flyer for posting. You the best
I remember all of this… I lived in apartments behind the UARK that are still there. Rent was $135 a month. At the old George’s, a bunch of us were sitting around one day when Jerry Falwell came on the TV hawking his particular brand of Jesus. We wrote in for literature and left the address for George S. Lounge. Purvis, if I remember correctly, was an overpriced sporting goods store where the frat boys particularly would buy gear for their intramural teams.
The Bullseye Pub with the AMC Gremlin parked in front was where the WAC now stands. On Fridays a bunch of us would go down and order pitchers and play “Hi Bob” when reruns of the Bob Newhart show would come on. Everytime someone on the show said “Hi Bob” you’d drink. They said that a lot.
This is very cool!
I use to live on Dickson and received a really neat book for Christmas. It was put together as a research project by a couple of graduate students. It has an even more detailed look at Dickson St. Over the years. Each chapter cover each block from up on Mt Seqouyah to the end up on campus. It has maps, lots of picture and even list of property owners throughout the city’s history!
Its a great read or gift for anyone that likes this kiind of photos / details.
Here is the link. (I’m in no way making money off this plug!)
http://www.amazon.com/Once-Upon-Dickson-Illustrated-1868-2000/dp/0976800772
Note: Ethel C. Simpson and Anthony J. Wappel were not graduate students at the time this book was written. She is an archivist in the Special Collections Division of the University Libraries, and had been for quite some time; he is archivist at the Historic Washington County Court House and a former staff member at Special Collections.
By the way: Special Collections is the Warm and Compassionate Division of the University Libraries.
Are you saying the rest of the library is cold and not compassionate? Is the cold in reference to the thermal environment of the library? Or are you implying the library staff (some of whom frequent this staff I believe) are not caring and compassionate with their service to the UA Library patrons?
I refer to a sign that I put on the door of Special Collections while I worked there in the early 1980s. This is not to say that warmth and compassion are not to be found elsewhere, but that Special Collections was the first division of the University Libraries to claim that it was the case.
However, the management upstairs took exception to the claim, for much the same reason as you did, so I had to take the sign down. I replaced it with a sign saying “Special Collections is now Shy and Withdrawn. We apologize for any misconstruction caused by the previous sign.”
That didn’t last long, either.
So in other words, your particular charm is ingrained?
As my mother used to say, “Before they made you, they broke the mold.”
I did get a lovely e-mail from Ethel Simpson this evening, thanking me for the trip down memory lane.
Are you mold-resistant? You always portray yourself as a Fun Guy…
I’ll be here all week, ladies and gentlemen…
I must lodge a formal protist.
Ah, the Library Club (sniff). My one and only bartending job. Having Stir there is akin to building a McDonald’s on an Indian burial ground.
I would have loved to have included Lee’s pictures in Once Upon Dickson, but of course we didnt know about them when the book was published. These are great photos and am happy Lee shared them! I’m now looking for historic photos of Highway 71 (College and School) if anyone has any.
The WAC before and after is telling as there is a Gremlin in the 76 photo….
What no pictures of Poor Richards or the Delux? The Dickson Street Liquor Store looks the same with the exception of the Building addition on the side. Was probably working inside the Liquor Store at the time this 1976 picture was taken. U of A Grad 1976. WPS!
Gift-horse, Mouth
It was paid parking back then!