When thinking of Cultural Heritage in Little Rock, the Quapaw Quarter Association, or QQA, immediately comes to mind.

Incorporated in 1968, the QQA grew out of an effort to identify and protect significant historic structures in Little Rock during the urban renewal projects of the early 1960s. Throughout its existence, the QQA has been a driving force behind historic preservation in Greater Little Rock.

They accomplish this mission through advocacy, education, and marketing. Historic preservation is more than saving old buildings; it is a means of revitalizing neighborhoods, containing urban sprawl and returning life to historic places.

The QQA advocates at the local, state and federal level for preservation incentives that encourage adaptive reuse of historic structures.

The QQA offers a wide range of programs and services to help property owners and others interested in historic preservation in the Little Rock area. The QQA staff is also available to answer questions about historic preservation, historic rehabilitation tax credits, Capitol Zoning District Commission, Little Rock Historic District Commission and other relevant issues. They also sponsor Preservation Conversations which address a wide range of architectural history and preservation topics.

The Quapaw Quarter Association announced the Cheryl Griffith Nichols Historic Building Marker Program in 2015. Since then, QQA has presented over 50 markers. They display the building name and date of construction. They may be pole-mounted, or attached directly to a building.

The program’s goals are to recognize historically and architecturally significant buildings located anywhere in the city of Little Rock that have been well-maintained or have undergone exemplary rehabilitation; to bring to the attention of the general public buildings that are unique assets to the Little Rock; and to promote the QQA as Little Rock’s leading historic preservation organization.