How Arlington transformed a historic downtown street into a walkable urban center

When the Northern Texas Traction Company opened the Interurban public transit system between Fort Worth and Dallas in 1902, the trolley had a stop in the middle of Arlington at the intersection of Abram and Center streets.

The station there served the city’s tiny population of just over 1,000 people, which would triple by the time the service came to an end in 1934.

It’s probably safe to say that no one in those days would have imagined what would come to pass in the little town known then only for the therapeutic waters from the mineral well just a block away from where the Interurban stopped.

While the town continued on a slow growth trajectory, very little changed before 1951, until General Motors acquired property that would develop the intersection of Abram Street and Highway 360.

The big automobile assembly plant would become the eastern “bookend” of the street that once stretched along the old Interurban route through the center of downtown and reached the other bookend at Cooper Street some seven miles to the west.

When city leaders turned out a week ago for the Abram Street ribbon cutting to celebrate and commemorate the completion of the largest street rebuild in Arlington’s history, a true transformation had been realized.

The $50 million voter-approved project launched a six-year venture that provided a long-needed upgrade to the infrastructure serving the original eastern section of the city and leading into a downtown in the midst of historic revitalization.

And that is where you will find a whole new concept in street design, with a primary purpose of welcoming pedestrians with easy access to restaurants, shops and more. The new boulevard is just a couple of blocks away from the University of Texas at Arlington campus and its more than 40,000 students.

Abram Street has also become the home of residents in two multi-story apartment buildings enjoying the attractions of urban life. They can look out their windows, see the abundant new lighting, decorative banners, streetscape and native landscaping and imagine what it would be like to watch riders passing by in the Interurban trolley cars a hundred years ago.

A focal point of the new street is the Founders Plaza between city hall and the Levitt Pavilion. Crowds, once we’re beyond the coronavirus pandemic, will gather for special events, such as the state’s largest Independence Day Parade preceded by fireworks the night before, free concerts and other public attractions on the Levitt lawn.

Yes, the big project provided some challenges to businesses that had to contend with the construction. The city’s MyAbram campaign included updates on the rebuild website and social media, along with in-person meetings with stakeholders.

There was also an “Open for Business” video marketing project that highlighted 15 businesses in the construction zone and encouraged customers to keep supporting their favorite restaurants, shops and service providers.

Downtown Arlington Management Corporation CEO Maggie Campbell talked of the “shared vision for a walkable, vibrant downtown neighborhood that can be everyone’s neighborhood.”

And according to the Texas Chapter of the American Public Works Association, Campbell’s optimism is justified. The chapter named the project as its 2020 Transportation Project of the Year in the $25 million-$75 million category.

During the excavation, workers unearthed a very old and thoroughly rusted cast iron Interurban vehicle wheel, now on display in the city’s new downtown library. The artifact provides an opportunity to imagine what it must have been like along Abram Street a century ago — when no one then could envision what it has now become.