We will no doubt make it to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which is making an unlikely art destination out of Bentonville, Arkansas (thanks to Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton who bankrolled the museum in the Wal-Mart headquarters hometown).
I’ve explored northwest Arkansas several times (especially Eureka Springs), but never had a reason to stop in the small city of Bentonville. Now I do, thanks to this new museum , which opened Nov. 11. and promises to put Bentonville on the map not only for American art enthusiasts but tourists in general. A huge complex designed by Moshe Safdie, the museum showcases Walton’s reportedly impressive art collection and also has a sculpture garden and nature trails that wind through 120 acres of forests, gardens and ponds.
Now courtesy of the NYTimes comes some suggestions on tourist amenities present and future there:
- – Table Mesa Bistro, around since 2008.
- – Pressroom, new restaurant located in a former – yes you guessed it – newspaper pressroom. (Sadly, given the deteriorating health of newspapers, more and more newsrooms may face this kind of repurposing…)
- – Laughlin House B&B – recently opened, first B&B in town.
- – 21c Museum Hotel – opening on the town square in Jan. 2013 and an outpost of the original hotel in Louisville.
Also on my list: the famous AQ (“Arkansas Quality”) Chicken House in nearby Springdale, Arkansas.
TakeBetsywithyou 