The monthly architectural history program “Sandwiching in History” visits the old Little Rock Fire Station No. 2 located at 1201 S. Commerce Street (on the southwestern corner of MacArthur Park).

Located in the MacArthur Park Historic District, Little Rock Fire Station No. 2 was built in 1917 and served as a fire station until the late 1950s. The Craftsman-style building was constructed with a mixture of materials. It features exposed rafter tails, false half-timbering, and triangular knee braces under the eaves.

From the early 1960s through the 1980s, it had a variety of uses by the City’s Parks Department and other entities. In the 1980s through the mid-1990s, it served as storage and preservation space for the nearby Museum of Science and History (then-located in the Arsenal Tower building on the northern edge of the park.)

It sat largely vacant for a couple of years and sustained damage during January 1999 tornado which ripped through downtown.  For the past several years, a group has been working to convert it into a 30-bed hostel and museum.

Sandwiching in History is a program of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.