| City/Town: • Mena |
| Location Class: • Government • Industrial |
| Built: • N/A | Abandoned: • N/A |
| Status: • Gutted |
| Photojournalist: • Michael Schwarz • James Kirkendall |
Mena made way for a new plant once the condition of the old water treatment plant was found useless and unsafe. Ward Lake was drying up and becoming harder and harder to maintain. As the building sat empty for a few years, people were found breaking in, stripping copper and stealing equipment. Soon the city funded to have everything removed and left the old plant gutted.
Nowadays, upon visiting the plant you will find nothing but a structure of the place and a dried up lake filled with trees. Graffiti blankets seemingly every wall and all the windows are broken. There is no telling what will happen to this place in the upcoming years…
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i would love to go in and do a video shot and do just and explore of the old girl and do research on her history if i may
i would love to get permission to shot a video there some day with my equipment to see what i come up with im sure it could be haunted
WOW, I remember visiting this place waaaaaay back when I was either in my late teens or early 20's? Anyway, it was abandoned at that time but I don't recall any graffiti. I do recall exploring the place with a few friends and about 5 years ago I suddenly started having a terrible reoccurring dream about the place. I had plans to see if I could get permission to visit it again with a friend in hopes of satisfying the ridiculous fears caused by my dreams but before I got around to it the dreams stopped….. still sort of curious… Read more »
I'm actually on this site to find a place I dreamt of.
The photos are very professionally made. They show all the mystery of that abandoned place in details.
I have heard about this plant before and now read about it. Looks like it is a big project by them. Thanks for sharing.
I have heard about this plant before and now read about it. Looks like it is a big project by them. Thanks for sharing.
I say mena should have some people fix it up and paint it white then have a charity where people come out and show off their art skill. Their going to go up there and do it aanyway might as well make some money doing it and make sure there isnt anything bad.
Just my thought.
People also use it to play air soft now though it's dangerous and not recommended
I have 5 recent pics of the northern dam of this place.
If you had walked up the creek upstream (north) of the northern end of the lake you would have found the ruins of an even older rock/concrete dam. It was curved and partially collapsed the last time I was up there, which was about 25 years ago. I have no idea what kind of shape it is in now.
I have a recent picture of that dam. Not in bad shape in my opinion and no graffiti that I am aware of.
I went about 4 years ago still in about the same shape you described
As always, I appreciate your work! Thanks for posting.
I feel the same, Sally. Old buildings have character.
Very close to the Tourist Info Center. I guess it would have been too dangerous for it to be a museum etc. because of the location .Too bad since it is an eyesore now. 🙁
I was living in Mena when the lake was built, so it must have been in the late 1940s or early '50s.
In those days, buildings were built to stand forever. I feel sad when old buildings are abandoned to the elements rather than being recycled for another worthwhile purpose. Guess I want everyone and everything….to have a "Happy Ending."
Good point, Sally! Our hope is to at least save these buildings and their history through pictures and shared memories for generations to come. Sad to see all of these building go waste. Thanks for your kind words!
You're very welcome! It is our pleasure!