Coca-Cola Building

The Coca-Cola Building is one of most important landmarks in Morrilton. Constructed in 1929, it housed branch locations of what would become two of the largest companies in the world, Coca-Cola and Walmart. It was the fifth Coca-Cola bottling plant in the state and operated for seven decades before becoming Walmart Store No. 8. The building also served as City Hall and housed the police department. In terms of architecture, the building was designed in the Colonial Revival style and features fine classical detailing that is uncommon in commercial buildings. It is now home to an engineering firm called the Crow Group.

Architecture firm Thompson, Sanders, and Ginocchio designed the building. It features horizontal stone-string courses and an Art Deco "Coca-Cola" sign with two Coca-Cola bottles on either side. The bottling room was located on the first floor and the manager's apartment, a boardroom, and a storage room were all located on the second floor. People could look into the bottling room through windows on two sides of the building. The plant opened to great fanfare on August 7, 1929. Around 10,000 people came for the event (at the time, there around 4,000 residents in Morrilton) and they enjoyed unlimited amounts of Coca-Cola. The plant provided jobs and provided a boost to the local economy.

Bottling operations moved to a new and larger building in the mid-1960s. Walmart Store No. 8 opened on October 24, 1968. It was the company's first research and development store, which tested new products. Despite being a no-frills store set up like a warehouse, it was successful. The store moved to a larger facility in the mid-1970s and the city acquired the 1929 building. The city converted it into offices and built jail cells as well. The city occupied the building until 2016. The Crow Group bought it two years later and proceeded to renovate it. The building reopened on September 27, 2019. Given its impact on the city, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

"Coca-Cola Building." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. December 22, 1982. https://www.arkansasheritage.com/docs/default-source/national-registry/CN0184-pdf.

Graves, Cathy. "Downtown Cornerstones: The Coca-Cola Building – Morrilton, AR." Accessed August 12, 2021. https://aboutrvmag.com/2021/02/01/downtown-cornerstones-the-coca-cola-building-morrilton-ar.

Tyler, Eric. "Crow Group to host grand opening." KVOM. September 10, 2019. https://kvom.com/news-sports-headlines/crow-group-to-host-grand-opening.