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Walnut Ridge, Arkansas: Beatles Abbey Road in Arkansas

The Beatles changed planes at Walnut Ridge airport September 1964. The milestone was noted in 2011 with a 10-foot-tall Abbey Road album cover, fronted by silhouettes of the Fab Four, by local artist Danny West .

Address:
110 SW 2nd St., Walnut Ridge, AR
Directions:
Downtown, at 110 Abbey Road (formerly SW 2nd St.), a half-block south of W. Main St., next to Adriana's Mexican Restaurant.
Hours:
Lit at night. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
Phone:
870-759-2407
Admission:
Free
RA Rates:
Worth a Detour
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Visitor Tips and News About Beatles Abbey Road in Arkansas

Reports and tips from RoadsideAmerica.com visitors and Roadside America mobile tipsters. Some tips may not be verified. Submit your own tip.

Beatles Park

Listed in USA Today as one of the top ten spots in the world for Beatles history, Beatles Park is really more of a district. Many attractions and elements have spawned out of The Fab Four's brief appearance in Walnut Ridge.

Argenta Collection, a large exhibit containing nearly 100 rare photos of the Beatles, is housed in the Lawrence County Library. Art Alley is a project from Make your MARC, where you can see evolving murals from local artists. Sculptures can be found along Abbey Road. Beatles at the Ridge is an annual festival celebrating Beatlemania.

[Stephaney Tucker, 04/15/2023]

Yellow Submarine.

Yellow Submarine

A yellow submarine like the one used by The Beatles [in their 1968 animated film Yellow Submarine] has been reproduced out of layered flat metal. It is on Abbey Road (formally SW 2nd Street) at the intersection "Where Abbey Road meets the Rock n' Roll Highway." This likeness is 15 feet long and six feet or so tall. Great photo op.

[C Snapp, 04/07/2014]

The brief September 1964 Beatles plane-changing at Walnut Ridge's airport is the basis for continuing civic pride, an annual festival, and sidewalk photo opportunities such as the Yellow Submarine.

Beatles Park.

Beatles Park

Giant sculpture etched in heavy metal is a tribute to the Beatles stop-over in 1964 between Dallas and New York concert venues.

[CSnapp, 11/06/2013]

The sculpture commemorates the only time that the Beatles were ever in Arkansas. It's a version of the Abbey Road album cover, and the backdrop contains dozens of hidden references to local lore and Beatles song titles.

Beatles Abbey Road in Arkansas

The only time the Beatles ever set foot in Arkansas was in September 1964, when they changed planes at secluded Walnut Ridge airport en route to a weekend vacation in Missouri. Their time on the ground was measured in minutes, but it was enough for the town to erect a tribute to the Fab Four in 2011.

It's a 20-foot-wide, 10-foot-tall engraved aluminum version of the Abbey Road album cover, fronted by life-size silhouettes of John, Paul, George, and Ringo in carbon steel plate. The sculpture is lit at night, and local artist Danny West worked into it over 30 hidden references to Beatles song titles, album names, and Walnut Ridge.

The sculpture was supposed to occupy the spot where the Beatles actually stood, but was relocated downtown when the airport feared that crowds visiting it would be too large.

[RoadsideAmerica.com Team, 02/11/2012]

Nearby Offbeat Places

The Guitar WalkThe Guitar Walk, Walnut Ridge, AR - < 1 mi.
Parachute Inn: Boeing 737Parachute Inn: Boeing 737, Walnut Ridge, AR - 4 mi.
The Pocahontas MeteorThe Pocahontas Meteor, Pocahontas, AR - 13 mi.
In the region:
Frogs Shooting Pool, Doniphan, MO - 39 mi.

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