Today’s Architeaser is a corner of the 1908 Arkansas Gazette building. Now part of the eSTEM campus, from 1908 through 1991, it was home to the Pulitzer prize winning Arkansas Gazette.
The building was designed by Little Rock architect George R. Mann. In 1976 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
“Down in the Holler: A Lesson in Ozarks Folk Speech” is the topic for April’s Legacies & Lunch program.
The words heap, poke, and middlin’ have suprising origins. Learn about the history of the Ozark dialect with Susan Young during the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies’ Legacies and Lunch program on Wednesday, April 3, at noon in the Main Library’s Darragh Center, 100 Rock Street.
Young’s presentation will look at how Ozark dialect was influenced by 16th century England as well as Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Words used by Chaucer and Shakespeare are still alive today in the Ozarks. Young serves as Outreach Coordinaor at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale. She is a fifth-generation Ozarker.
The Butler Center’s Legacies & Lunch program is free and open to the public and supported in part by the Arkansas Humanities Council. Attendees are invited to bring a sack lunch; drinks and dessert will be provided.
The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies is a department of the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS). It was founded in 1997 to promote the study and appreciation of Arkansas history and culture. The Butler Center’s research collections, art galleries, and offices are located in the Arkansas Studies Institute building at 401 President Clinton Ave. on the campus of the CALS Main Library.
For more information, call 918-3029.
This is the side view of the second floor balcony of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette building at Capitol and Scott Streets. It is interesting to note that this is one of the few non-governmental buildings to fly a US flag.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette building was built in 1904 to house the first YMCA program in Arkansas. The YMCA–Democrat Building was built in 1904. The building was designed by Little Rock architect, Charles L. Thompson, in a Renaissance Revival style. Following the relocation of the YMCA to Broadway in 1928, the building was acquired in 1930 by K. August Engel to house the Arkansas Democrat. In 1991, the name of the building was changed to reflect the new name of the newspaper.
The first week of each month, Tales from the South features one person sharing their life story. They call it Tin Roof Project. April features elite runner Leah Thorvilson.
In 2012, Thorvilson qualified to run in the US Olympic Team Marathon Trials where she finished with a time of 2:42:09.
On March 4, 2012, Thorvilson won the Little Rock Marathon for the fourth year in a row with a personal best time of 2:37:26. On April 28, 2012 Thorvilson won the Frisco Railroad Run 50 Mile Race in Willard, Missouri with a time of 6:00:31. This is the fourth fastest 50 miler by a female ever.
Music is by the Salty Dogs and blues guitarist Mark Simpson
Tales From the South” is a radio show created and produced by Paula Martin Morell, who is also the show’s host. The show is taped live on Tuesday. The night is a cross between a house concert and a reading/show, with incredible food and great company. Tickets must be purchased before the show, as shows are usually standing-room only.
“Tales from the South” is a showcase of writers reading their own true stories. While the show itself is unrehearsed, the literary memoirs have been worked on for weeks leading up to the readings. Stories range from funny to touching, from everyday occurrences to life-altering tragedies.
The program takes place at Starving Artist Café. Dinner is served from 5pm to 6:30pm, the show starts at 7pm. Admission is $5, not including dinner.
You MUST purchase your ticket before the show
Previous episodes of “Tales from the South” air on KUAR Public Radio on Thursdays at 7pm.
The Architeaser feature returns. It starts with a recent Culture Vulture discovery along Main Street. On the eastern side of the 500 block of Main, there is a building with six of these classical figures looking out. They are on the second floor level, partially obscured from the street level by an architectural awning.
The building was built in 1925 and sits at what was once 505 and 507 South Main. Technically that is still the address, but in 1986 this building became part of a block long redevelopment. The facade of this building and another from the 1920s were retained. But the interiors were gutted and combined with the new buildings which were built on the rest of the block.
Today much of the building is occupied by state offices. The building is in the midst Mayor Mark Stodola’s Creative Corridor initiative. Though the building itself is not in the plans, the plans for landscaping the block would enhance the building and perhaps draw more attention to these wonderful treasures.
A great way to spend April Fools Day evening (or the day after) is at Robinson Center Music Hall. Celebrity Attractions is bringing the national tour of Spamalot to Little Rock. Performances are at 7:30pm tonight and tomorrow.
Spamalot opened on Broadway in 2005 at the Sam S. Shubert Theatre. Following the trend of other musicals in the 2000s, this show was based on a movie and a spoof of musical theatre. Featuring a book and score by Eric Idle and John Du Prez, this stage version of Monty Python and the Holy Grail skewered not only the Arthurian legend, but also Broadway, popular culture and Spam. At the 2005 Tony Awards, it was nominated for fourteen Tony Awards. It won three Tony Awards including Best Musical.
On tour, the cast is led by Arthur Rowan as King Arthur. Others in the cast include Abigail Raye, Glenn Giron, Adam Grabau, Kasidy Devlin, Thomas Demarcus, Joshua Taylor Hamilton and Joe Beuerlein. The ensemble includes Barbara Jo Bednarczuk, Kimber Benedict, Jason Elliott Brown, Melissa Chaty, Carl Deforrest Hendin, Andrew Leggieri, Amy Owens, Alec Varcas and Ryan Jacob Wood. B. T. McNicholl recreates Mike Nichols Tony winning direction for this production. Scott Taylor recreated the Broadway choreography.
For those who are around the River Market today, there are two “Easter” bunny sculptures they can visit.
In honor of that, today’s Sculpture Vulture features Tim Cherry’s Rabbit Reach.
The sculpture is located at the corner of Sherman Street and President Clinton Avenue across from the Museum of Discovery.
The sculpture is a gift from Whitlow Wyatt and the Carey Cox Wyatt Charitable Foundation. It was given in memory of George Wyatt and Frank Kumpuris. Those two gentlemen were the fathers of Whitlow Wyatt and Dean & Drew Kumpuris.
Cherry’s sculpture was selected for this spot because of its proximity to children at the Museum and in the River Market district. The design and size of the sculpture encourages children to climb on it and to play around the rabbit. While some public art is situated so it cannot be touched, this one is situated to be touched as part of the appreciation experience.
Laurel Peterson Gregory’s Bunny Bump is featured in the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden. Two stylized rabbits make for an interesting piece of artwork when they are not only dancing, but also doing the butt bump while dancing. The smooth surface and color of the bronze add to the illusion. This small piece has been placed on a pedestal to elevate more to eye level.
The sculpture was completed in 2009 and installed in 2010. Gregory has been featured at the Sculpture at the River Market show. (The photo was taken during a December snow. It may be cold now, but not enough for that amount of snow.)
Little Rock Culture Vulture 