THE CLIFTON AND GREENING STREETS HISTORIC DISTRICT HAS SERVED AS A VIBRANT RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY IN CAMDEN, ARKANSAS SINCE THE 1890'S AND FOR SOME SIXTY YEARS WAS A CHOICE AREA FOR HOMEBUILDING. THE AREA ENCOMPASSES SEVERAL RESIDENTIAL BLOCKS ON THE NORTHWEST FLANK OF CAMDEN'S COMMERCAIL DOWNTOWN AND CAN BE GENERALLY DESCRIBED AS A QUADRILATERAL BOUNDED ON FOUR SIDES BY GREENING, CLIFTON, AND DALLAS STREETS AND CLEVELAND AVENUE- WITH EXTENTION\S AT SEVERAL CORNERS
HISTORICALLY THE AREA REFLECTS THREE SPECIFIC ERAS OF CAMDEN RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT. FIRST CAME THE "TURN OF THE CENTURY" EXPANSION TO THE HISTORIC CITY CENTER WHICH WAS FOLLOWED BY THE BUILDING WAVE ACCOMPANYING THE OIL BOOM. AFTERWARD CAME THE CONSTRUCTION BROUGHT BY THE POST-WORLD WAR II DEFENSE INDUSTRY BOOM .
ARCHITECTURALLY, THE DISTRICT IS DISTINCTIVE IN PRESENTING A SUBSTANTIAL NUMBER OF HOMES WHICH HAVE ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE AND WHICH HAVE NOT BEEN SUBSTANTIALLY ALTERED- WHILE OFFERING A VISUAL DISPLAY OF SEVERAL SEQUENTIAL PHASES OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDING PREFERENCE. SIGNIFICANT CLUSTERS OF QUEEN ANNE, COLONIAL REVIVAL, AND CRAFTMAN HOUSES ARE MIXED WITH OCCASIONAL EXAMPLES OF CLASSIC REVIVAL, TUDOR REVIVAL, AND MINIMAL TRADITIONAL STYLES.
RECOGNITION OF THE CLIFTON GREENING AREA AS A NATIONAL REGISTER HISTORIC DITRICT IS A CULMINATION OF A NEIGHBORHOOD REVIVAL MOVEMENT ENERGIZED ENTIRELY BY RESIDENTS AND HOMEOWNERS WITHIN THE AREA-WHO COLLECTIVELY WORKED TOGETHER TO REVERSE SERIOUS DETERIORATION ACCOMPANYING THE ECONOMIC DOLDRUMS AFFECTING THE WHOLE COMMUNITY IN THE EARLY 1990'S. RESIDENTS, HOMEOWNERS, AND PATRONS OF THE CLIFTON AND GREENING STREETS HISTORICAL PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION HOPE THAT AN APPRECIATION OF OUR ARCHITECTURAL AND RESIDENTIAL HERITAGE WILL BE EXTENDED WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.
HISTORICAL STYLES IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD ARE ILLUSTRATIVE OF TWO PROMINENT BUILDING WAVES. THE FIRST CONSISTED OF SEVERAL QUEEN ANNE STRUCTURES-- WITH SEVERAL COLONIAL REVIVAL AND CLASSICAL REVIVAL HOMES DENOTING THE END OF THIS PHASE. THE SECOND WAVE CAME WITH THE OIL BOOM EXPANSION OF THE 1920'S AND LASTED INTO THE 1930'S. MOST OF THE LATTER STRUCTURES WERE CRAFTSMAN-- STYLE BUNGALOWS WITH A SMALL NUMBER OF TUDOR REVIVAL AND MINIMAL TRADITIONAL HOUSES BUILT LATER. A FEW ADDITIONAL STRUCTURES PROVIDE REMINDERS OF THE POST-WORLD WAR II BUILDING BOOM.
