Photograph of Physical Education Building — Photograph by Valis55, CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Physical Education Building-Arkansas Tech University

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

From the record

“The former Physical Education Building of the Arkansas Tech University is a historic academic building at 1502 North El Paso Avenue in Russellville, Arkansas. It is a two-story brick Classical Revival structure, built in 1937 with funding from the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works.”
Wikipedia article Physical Education Building (Arkansas Tech University), CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 38 National Register listings published here for Pope County · listed in 1992 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
Listed as. Physical Education Building--Arkansas Tech University - the National Register files a house under its owner's surname.
Address. Jct. of N. El Paso and W. O Sts., SE corner, Russellville, 72802
When was it listed? September 1992
Category. building
Also known as. Public Schools in the Ozarks MPS
District. District 8
Architectural style. Colonial Revival architecture
National Register reference number. 92001211 - assigned by the National Park Service when the property was listed.

Fires near this property

41 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 41 fires within 5 miles of Physical Education Building-Arkansas Tech University between 1999 and 2020, burning about 200 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 6 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Debris and open burning	14
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	10
Arson/incendiarism	6
Equipment and vehicle use	4
Misuse of fire by a minor	3
Smoking	2
Natural	1
Railroad operations and maintenance	1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
7 September 2005	Misuse of fire by a minor	6.0 acres	Arkansas Forestry Commission	not named
6 September 2000	Smoking	1.0 acres	Arkansas Forestry Commission	not named
30 September 2004	Equipment and vehicle use	2.0 acres	Arkansas Forestry Commission	not named
16 September 2003	Debris and open burning	1.0 acres	Arkansas Forestry Commission	not named
10 September 2005	Equipment and vehicle use	2.0 acres	Arkansas Forestry Commission	not named
10 September 2005	Debris and open burning	6.0 acres	Arkansas Forestry Commission	not named
8 August 2002	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1.0 acres	Arkansas Forestry Commission	not named
6 August 2006	Natural	1.0 acres	Arkansas Forestry Commission	not named

Every fire recorded in Pope County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 38 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 38 workings within 5 miles of Physical Education Building-Arkansas Tech University: 22 unknowns, 8 past producers, 7 producers, 1 occurrence. 7 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone, Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status
Black-Sands Deposit	Titanium	Occurrence
Jacimore Ocher Cave	Iron	Unknown
Bernice	Clay	Past Producer
Shale Pit	Clay	Unknown
Bernice Quarry	Stone	Past Producer
Unk	Stone	Past Producer
Unk	Stone	Past Producer
Unknown	Stone	Unknown
Unknown	Stone	Unknown
Unknown	Stone	Unknown

Every working recorded in Pope County

Storms near this property

60 of 106 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Russellville, the town this property stands in, in 106 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 55 thunderstorm wind, 35 hail, 10 flash flood, 2 tornado. The reports record 4 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
May 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	2 hurt	A tree fell on a vehicle near East 4th Street in Russellville. Two people were extricated from the vehicle and taken to the local hospital.
April 1999	Tornado (F2)	Russellville	2 hurt	no account filed
January 2007	Flash Flood	Russellville	$90,000	Heavy rains fell across Pope County and flooded a number of county and other secondary roads.
April 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	$50,000	Thunderstorm winds blew down trees and power lines.
June 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	$50,000	Thunderstorm winds downed trees and power lines.
February 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	$30,000	Numerous power lines were down across Pope County.
April 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	$25,000	Trees and power lines were blown down. A trained spotter estimated winds near 80 mph.
July 2011	Flash Flood	Russellville	$25,000	Flash flooding occurred near Arkansas Tech University, especially along Arkansas 7.
May 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	$25,000	Trees and large limbs were down east of Russellville and in the city of Russellville. A flag pole was blown over.
October 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	$20,000	Trees and power lines were blown down.
May 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	$20,000	A large tree fell against a house in Russellville, knocking a large hole in one room.
April 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	$20,000	A tree fell on a car at Arkansas Tech University.
April 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	$20,000	Utility poles were blown down.
August 2010	Lightning	Russellville	$20,000	Several transformers were damaged by lightning.
August 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	$15,000	Multiple trees and power lines were blown down.
May 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	$10,000	A tree fell on a house near North Detroit Ave. in Russellville. No injuries were reported.
June 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds blew out some windows of the nuclear power plant.
July 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	$2,000	Large tree limbs were blown down.
May 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	Multiple trees down in and near Dover.
June 2025	Flash Flood	Russellville	-	High water covered multiple roads within the city of Russellville making them impassable.
May 2024	Flash Flood	Russellville	-	Multiple roads in the city of Russellville were underwater and impassable with several stalled vehicles.
May 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	Powerlines were blow down onto Jackson Avenue leading to a fire due to live utility lines.
May 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	A tree was blown down on the southern side of the city of Russellville.
August 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	Multiple trees were blown down in the city of Russellville.
January 2023	Flash Flood	Russellville	-	A report was received from mPING of street flooding and/or vehicles stranded.
January 2023	Flash Flood	Russellville	-	A report was received from mPING of homes or buildings filled with water.
June 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	A report from mPING of trees uprooted and a roof blown off in Russellville.
May 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	Several small trees were snapped or uprooted just north of the I-40 Highway 7 exit at Russellville.
August 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	Some power poles were blown down near the intersection of Weir Road and East Main Street in Russellville.
July 2011	Hail	Russellville	-	Hail was 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter.
December 2008	Funnel Cloud	Russellville	-	A funnel cloud was photographed over the southern part of Russellville.
July 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	Large tree limbs were down on power lines.
December 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	Large trees and power lines were down on the south side of Russellville.
September 2007	Flash Flood	Russellville	-	Streets were flooded in Russellville.
January 2006	Tornado (F2)	Russellville	-	A strong tornado moved out of Yell County and into Pope County about 5.3 miles south of Russellville. Winds were estimated around 140 mph. The tornado downed a number of trees and power lines. Several houses sustained roof damage. The tornado dissipated roughly 5.5 miles south-southeast of Russellville.
April 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	Thunderstorm winds downed some trees and power lines. Several homes sustained roof damage due to fallen trees and blown off shingles from the high winds.
August 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	Thunderstorm winds downed some trees and power lines. Two houses sustained minor roof damage from the falling trees.
June 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	Thunderstorm winds blew down several large trees.
November 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	Thunderstorm winds blew down a large tree.
May 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	Numerous trees and power lines were blown down throughout the Russellville area. A number of power outages were also reported.
May 2003	Flash Flood	Russellville	-	Heavy rainfall of 3 to 5 inches caused flash flooding to occur in and around the Russellville area. Numerous roads and bridges were closed due to the high water. A number of homes and businesses sustained flood damage.
March 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	Several buildings sustained roof damage and a number of trees were blown down.
May 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	Thunderstorm winds downed several trees. A truck sustained damaged when a large tree fell on it.
June 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	Thunderstorm winds knocked down a number of trees in Russellville.
October 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	Thunderstorm winds downed trees and power lines at Russellville.
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	Thunderstorm winds downed some large tree limbs.
July 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	Thunderstorm winds downed numerous trees and power lines. Several businesses in downtown Russellville had windows blown out as well.
October 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	Thunderstorm winds knocked down several trees and power lines.
May 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	Thunderstorm winds blew down a large tree onto several parked cars.
July 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	Thunderstorm winds knocked down several trees.
July 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	Thunderstorm winds downed some trees.
May 2022	Hail	Russellville	-	no account filed
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	no account filed
June 2012	Hail	Russellville	-	no account filed
April 2011	Funnel Cloud	Russellville	-	no account filed
April 2011	Hail	Russellville	-	no account filed
May 2011	Hail	Russellville	-	no account filed
May 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	no account filed
April 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Russellville	-	no account filed
March 2008	Hail	Russellville	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Pope County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
Wilson Hall-Arkansas Tech University	under 500 feet	1992
Girls' Domestic Science and Arts Building-Arkansas Tech University	0.1 miles	1992
Caraway Hall-Arkansas Tech University	0.2 miles	1992
Hughes Hall-Arkansas Tech University	0.2 miles	1992
Williamson Hall-Arkansas Tech University	0.2 miles	1992
Threlkeld House	0.3 miles	2000

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 92001211 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Pope County	All 38 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.