Texarkana's Wildest Radio Station!
Texarkana's Wildest Radio Station!
August 2, 2026
TEXARKANA, Texas — The Texarkana Arts & Historic District Committee says a decade of investment in downtown redevelopment, public art and cultural programming has generated millions of dollars in economic activity, according to a report submitted as part of the district's 10-year recertification as a Texas Cultural District.
The district received its Texas Cultural District designation from the Texas Commission on the Arts in 2016. Under the program, authorized by House Bill 2208 of the 79th Texas Legislature, designated districts must be recertified every 10 years.
The report has been submitted. A recertification decision rests with the Texas Commission on the Arts.
The economic figures come from the committee's own report, prepared in support of its application, and have not been independently verified by KTYT. The full report is posted publicly on the district's website at visittexarkanadistrict.com.
Earlier measurements offer a benchmark. A 2023 economic impact study compiled by Lisa Thompson, economic developer for the City of Texarkana, Texas, found the district accounted for $6.5 million in direct spending and $2.6 million in indirect expenditures in 2022, for a total impact of $9.1 million. That study counted roughly 71,561 visitors at district events that year, including 22,899 at the Perot Theatre.
The district is a bi-state partnership. Its steering committee includes the cities of Texarkana, Texas and Texarkana, Arkansas, the Texarkana Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Texarkana, the Texarkana Museums System, the Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council and the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra.
State support has continued through the designation. Texas Commission on the Arts grants for fiscal 2025 included $15,400 to the district for restoring a trolley and existing murals and commissioning new ones, $14,000 in operational support and $13,862 for signage and wayfinding to the Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council, and $7,000 in operational support to the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra.
The Texas Cultural District program is administered by the Texas Commission on the Arts. Because it is a Texas program, the designation attaches on the Texas side, though the district's programming and partnerships span both cities.
Information about the district is available at 903-792-7191 or visittexarkanadistrict.com.