Pictured: A Venue for You at 303 Ozan Avenue
PRESCOTT – On a recent visit to Prescott, we discovered an amazing jewel that we felt you needed to know about. Tucked away in the old industrial area of the town, 303 Ozan Avenue to be exact, is A Venue for You. Karen Ward, a lifelong resident of Prescott, purchased the historic Potlatch truck repair shop, which had been abandoned for a number of years. She purchased the building with the intent of restoring it to be used for weddings, meetings, family reunions, etc. With a huge heart and a great deal of hard work, Mrs. Ward has converted the once lifeless building into a first-class place to gather for the community which has been open for five years now. As evidence of her keen eye for detail, two massive wooden industrial doors stand tall at the entrance. Once you step inside, you are greeted by an authentic antique railroad baggage wagon. This wagon is symbolic of the Prescott & Northwestern Railroad Office Depot, once located across the street. Instead of a new carpet floor, the original concrete flooring still lines the floor below. When you’re seated in the venue, hanging above is a ginormous handmade custom chandelier made to represent grinding gears. Also, in the middle of the truck shop, you can still find a chain driven lift that was used to lift up Potlatch trucks so they could be repaired.
We sat down with Mrs. Karen Ward to learn more about her passion project:
Reporter: What was this originally?
Karen: “It was a mechanic shop for the Potlatch Lumber Mill. They would bring trucks into the bay and work on them.”
Reporter: What shape was it in when you bought it?
Karen: “It was terrible. It had been abandoned for eight to ten years at that point. When I first walked in here, it was as if everything had been left as it was from the last day of work. There were hard hats all over the place and there was thick grease on the floors. So we got to work painting and powerwashing. We also installed central air & heat for the first time in the building.”
Reporter: What makes A Venue for You unique?
Karen: “I would describe it as having an industrial vibe for sure. We tried to capture and preserve some of the things that were already in the building, letting the history speak for itself.”
Reporter: What are some types of events that have taken place here?
Karen: “We have had proms, birthday parties, class reunions, family reunions, and special parties, so a bit of everything.”
A Venue for You is a place all of Southwest Arkansas can be proud of. Much tender-loving care has gone into the refurbishing of this neat Prescott site. We thank Mrs. Karen Ward for her time, and we wish her and her passion much success in the future. If you have a special event coming in the future, we can wholly recommend Mrs. Karen Ward at A Venue for You. To contact her, you can either call or text 870-703-0649 or email her at Karen.Ward@avenueforyou.com.
Pictured: Mrs. Karen Ward speaking at an event at A Venue for You
Pictured: Inside of A Venue for You during an event