Last week’s Architeasers focused on the 1908 Little Rock City Hall. This week’s will look at the five other buildings which have are connected to City Hall. The first opened in 1913 and the most recent structure opened in 1986.
Today’s feature looks at some of the detail on the frieze above the former Central Fire Station. The building was constructed in 1912 and opened in 1913. When the Fire Department moved out in the 1970s (and moved to their current site at 7th and Chester), it was used for storage and a few City offices.
This building was designed in the Beaux Arts Classicism style by Charles Thompson (designer of City Hall) and his associate Tom Harding (who would later design several other Little Rock fire stations).
Following the mid-1980s renovations, it was retrofitted to house more City offices and is now known as the City Hall West Wing (the name predated the TV show by a dozen years). The cornice work and wrought-iron on the front facade reflect the original use of the building as a fire station.