Half-n-Half Post Office Photo Op

Texarkana, Arkansas

The border between Texas and Arkansas runs along the yellow center line of State Line Avenue in Texarkana. For reasons of civic unity (and since Texarkana is the Incredible Two-Headed Transplant of town names), the city's Federal Building/Courthouse/Post Office was built in the middle of this street, supposedly the only building in the U.S. that straddles a state line (We know of another building that straddles the U.S. border). State Line Avenue turns into a traffic circle to avoid this odd obstacle.

The interior of the building is all-business, with security bag screening and no souvenir gift shop. But outside is another matter. To cater to touring transients such as us, Texarkana built a photo op on the south side of the building, and thoughtfully painted a dashed line up the sidewalk that you can straddle. There's a "You Are Here" hitching post with longitude and latitude readings, and a painted sign with simple map visuals of the two states side-by-side. A flag pole further bisects any properly angled photo.

Prove to the folks back home that you really did stand with one foot in Texas, and the other in Arkansas! Is there any other reason to stop in Texarkana? No.

We were impressed by how sparse traffic was on the weekday afternoon that we visited. Parking was easy, and, although this is a main drag, we were able to stand in the middle of the street and snap away with only minor fear of cars disturbing us. One gets the impression that it has always been this sleepy here, which makes this a fine state-straddling photo alternative to the chaos at Four Corners.

Exercise caution, though... and if hit by a vehicle, try to land in the same jurisdiction where you parked.