Later this week the Arkansas Arts Center will host its Tabriz fundraiser event. In keeping with that, today’s Architeaser features the entrance to the old Museum of Fine Arts in MacArthur Park. When the Museum was reorganized into the Arkansas Arts Center and the building was expanded, the former entrance was incorporated into the new building.
The original building was designed by architect H. Ray Burks. It was built by the Works Progress Administration and incorporates the art deco and neo-classical elements which were usually found in WPA buildings. The entrance typifies this. The arches contain the ridges, clean lines and fluting often found in art deco as well as classical figures in a frieze.