Arkansas connections among 2017 Writers Guild Awards nominees

Posted on January 4, 2017 by Scott

Courtesy of Skip Rutherford comes news that the Writers Guild Award nominees include two with Arkansas connections.

The first is that Little Rock native Jeff Nichols scored a nomination in the Original Screenplay category for LOVING. (If it is nominated for an Oscar, it would be in the Adapted Screenplay category — because the Oscars don’t always have the same rules as other awards.)

The second is that Command and Control is nominated for Documentary Screenplay. This film depicts that Titan II silo explosion at Damascus. It features a telescript by Robert Kenner and Eric Schlosser, story by Brian Pearle and Kim Roberts. Based on the book Command and Control by Eric Schlosser;

Little Rock Look Back: Pulaski Heights Annexation Election

Posted on January 4, 2017 by Scott

On January 4, 1916, voters in Little Rock and Pulaski Heights voted overwhelmingly to annex the latter into the former.

First platted in 1890, Pulaski Heights had been incorporated as a city in August 1905. By 1915, Pulaski Heights was booming. It was growing so fast, that its infrastructure and public safety needs were far outpacing the city’s ability to pay for them. Though there was a ribbon of commercial businesses along Prospect Avenue (now Kavanaugh Boulevard), it did not produce enough sales tax revenue to pay for City services. Then, as now, property taxes were also an important part of city revenue sources but not sufficient without sales taxes.

The City of Little Rock, likewise, was looking for ways to grow physically. At the time, the City was hemmed in by a river to the north and low, marshy land to the east. Current development was to the south, but even that presented limits in the foreseeable future. The best option was to grow to the west, but Pulaski Heights was in the way. In 1915, Little Rock Mayor Charles Taylor (after failing in a previous attempt to re-annex North Little Rock into Little Rock), approached Pulaski Heights leadership about the possibility of annexation.

010516 PH election In November 1915, there were public meetings in Little Rock and Pulaski Heights to discuss the issue. As a part of the annexation, Little Rock promised to build a fire station in the area and to install traffic lights, sidewalks and pave more streets.

On January 4, 1916, Little Rock voters approved the annexation of Pulaski Heights by a ten-to-one margin. The majority of Pulaski Heights residents also approved the deal. The suburb became the city’s ninth ward.

Another special election was held in January 1916 to select the first two aldermen from the 9th Ward. L. H. Bradley, John P. Streepey and Tom Reaves ran for the two slots. Bradley and Streepey were the top two vote recipients. Streepey served until April 1921 and Bradley served until April 1928.

This established a couple of precedents for the City of Little Rock which are in effect to this day. The first is that Little Rock would not be a central city surrounded by a variety of small incorporated towns (in the manner that St. Louis and other cities are). It was this thought process which has led the City to continue to annex properties.

Little Rock Look Back: Groundbreaking for Museum of Fine Arts (forerunner to Arkansas Arts Center)

Posted on January 3, 2017 by Scott

On January 3, 1936, the ground was broken for the Museum of Fine Arts building in City Park. The facility would face Ninth Street and be to the west of the Arsenal Tower Building. That building was the one remaining structure of more than 30 which had populated the grounds when it was a federal military establishment.

Excavation for the building uncovered the foundation for another structure. New footings for the Museum would be poured into the old footings.

The cornerstone would be laid in October 1936, and the building would open in October 1937. The building would serve as the museum’s home until the new construction for the new Arkansas Arts Center began in 1961. That construction would enclose the original Museum of Fine Arts. By that time, the City had long renamed the park in honor of General Douglas MacArthur, who was born there when it had been a military installation.

Subsequent additions to the Arkansas Arts Center over the decades have further expanded the museum’s footprint. After the 2000 expansion, the original 1937 facade was featured more prominently than it had been since 1963. With the Arkansas Arts Center again slated for renovation and expansion, the original 1937 facade will be maintained and possibly even further highlighted.

But it all began on January 3, 1936.

Happy 2017 from the Sculpture Vulture

Posted on January 1, 2017 by Scott

Several of the sculptures in the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden and Riverfront Park have figures which mimic a “1” and a “7.”

To celebrate the start of 2017, here is a look at Seventeen of them. And stay tuned for the 10th Sculpture at the River Market Show and Sale on April 21-23, 2017! Who knows, there could be some sculptures in that show that also have the “1” and “7” features.