The Allen building was constructed c. 1914 as a single-story brick masonry structure on a concrete block foundation and first serviced Siloam Springs as a general store. According to a ghost sign visible in a 1928 photograph, the store was owned and operated by R.M. Petty. The sign read, “R.M. Petty Groceries Flour Feed” above a Coca Cola advertisement. The eastern elevation of this building possessed a band of ten small windows with rusticated sills and a side entrance lighted by a transom. A photograph from c. 1920 shows a large display window lit by three transoms above on the front of the eastern elevation. Though the building’s openings were altered in the 40s, the side entrance still rests in the same location. 

In 1943, the building, along with the block, was altered when the Eagans built the Spot Theatre. Delbert Allen, brother of Mrs. Van Eagan, owned the two buildings on either side of the Spot and installed the same tile façade on his buildings to modernize the structures in the Art Deco style. The storefront, facing E. Main, is now composed of a tiled façade covering the upper façade, piers, and bulkheads with a recessed single-leaf entrance flanked by large display windows. The transom windows were filled in with structural glass blocks. This building is considered contributing to the historic district. 

For more information on this building’s history, contact the Siloam Springs Museum at Don@siloamspringsmuseum.com. For information on building improvement consultation, grants and tax credit opportunities, contact Main Street Siloam Springs at info@mainstreetsiloam.org. 

Allen Building, d. 1944, National Concrete Masonry Association. 

Ability Tree, d. 2020, Main Street Siloam Springs.