Texarkana, TX – Join the Texarkana Museums System on December 5, beginning at 3:30 p.m. for a special walking tour of stained glass installations in Downtown Texarkana, USA. This guided tour will feature the lovely works of glass art in several of Texarkana’s most historic churches and includes a tour of stained glass pieces on exhibit at the Museum of Regional History. Tickets must be purchased in advance and are on sale now at TexarkanaMuseums.org/Events. Tickets are $15 per person or $10 for members of the Texarkana Museums System.
Downtown Texarkana is the historic Heart of the community. Some of the oldest churches were founded and are still located within the Original City Historic District. Architecturally, these buildings run the gamut from Italianate to Gothic, but one thing they have in common is an abundance of extraordinary stained glass art. The Texarkana Museums System is offering a guided tour of these wonderful windows beginning at 3:30 p.m. on December 5 at Saint Edward’s Catholic Church on Beech Street.
“Saint Edward’s is the home of some of the most beautiful stained glass in the city,” says TMS Curator, Jamie Simmons. “One of the windows was donated by the same family who built the Ahern Home Museum a block away. It’s still known as the ‘Ahern Window.’”
The tour will include churches on both the Arkansas and Texas side, ending at the Museum of Regional History (MoRH). MoRH has a small, but beautiful collection of stained glass windows salvaged from demolished historic buildings.
“The windows at MoRH were once part of many types of buildings. The ‘H’ glass so many have remarked on in our lobby was once the front entrance transom window of the Huckins House hotel,” added Simmons. “The hotel was torn down in the 80s and the glass was saved by the late Ida Lou Moores Ames. She donated several of the salvaged art glass pieces in the museum.”
Participants are encouraged to wear comfortable clothes and to dress for chilly weather. The tour begins at Saint Edward’s Catholic Church, 407 Beech Street, and ends at the Museum of Regional History, 219 N. State Line Avenue. Refreshments will be provided at the end of the tour. Tickets are $15 per person or $10 for TMS Members. The tour route is wheelchair friendly.
The Texarkana Museums System operates the Museum of Regional History, the P. J. Ahern Home, the Ace of Clubs House and the Discovery Place Interactive Museum in Historic Downtown Texarkana, USA. TMS hosts programs and events every Saturday of the month.
