Category Archives: Architecture

Little Rock Look Back: A Municipal Auditorium approved by LR Voters in 1937

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On January 26, 1937, Little Rock voters went to the polls to vote on three different municipal bond issues.  One of them was the construction of a municipal auditorium.

The bonds for the auditorium would be $468,000 in general obligation bonds which would be paid off between 1940 and 1971. This was toward a total cost of $760,000 for the entire project.

The official campaign for the auditorium was sponsored by the Little Rock Forward Committee which was led by W. H. Williams. In campaign advertisements it showed the value of conventions in New York City which was estimated at $100 per convention attendee. Little Rock organizers were estimating a $10 a day expenditure by visitors, which the committee stressed was very conservative. The campaign committee emphasized the importance of acting at that time due to the federal government money involved.

Various committees and organizations endorsed the auditorium project including the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, Little Rock Federation of Women’s Clubs, and the Young Business Men’s Association.

The thrust of the campaign focused on the economic benefit to Little Rock as well as the fact that the auditorium would be for all citizens. This message was picked up in editorials by both the Democrat and Gazette. In editorials on January 23 and 25, the Democratopined that the benefits of the auditorium would be distributed among all classes of the citizenry. The next day, both papers ran editorials which touted the economic boon an auditorium would bring through conventions and meetings.

The Democrat’s approach broke down the current value of conventions to Little Rock with, what it termed, the city’s “existing inadequate” facilities. The paper emphasized a conservative estimate of what the added value to Little Rock’s economy would be with the new auditorium.

In expressing support for the auditorium the Gazette stressed the values for local, statewide and national groups. “An auditorium would provide a more convenient and better adapted community center for all kinds of local gathering,” and continued that it would make Little Rock “the logical meeting place for state conventions of every sort.” In discussing the value of state, regional and national meetings the paper stressed that the outside money spent by convention attendees has an impact beyond stores, hotels and restaurants.

Both papers also echoed the importance of the federal government financing to make this possible. The Democrat noted that the Public Works Administration grant and federal low cost loan made this an ideal time.

On January 26, 1937, Little Rock voters approved the auditorium bond by a vote of 1,518 to 519. It passed in each of the city’s 23 precincts. Little Rock Mayor R. E. Overman expressed his pleasure at the outcome of the vote and extended his thanks to the voters.

After the election, a Gazette editorial commented on the low turnout for the special election by commenting that the weather had been nice and there were no other barriers to voting. The editorial writer opined that those not voting in the election must not have been opposed to the endeavor.

Little Rock Look Back: LR finally takes possession of Robinson Auditorium

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On January 25, 1940, the City of Little Rock officially took complete possession of the Joseph Taylor Robinson Memorial Auditorium. By assuming custody of the structure from the contractor and the PWA, the City accepted responsibility for any of the remaining work to be completed.

This event happened one day shy of the third anniversary of the election which approved plans to issue bonds for an auditorium.  The act took place only about five months behind schedule.

E. E. Beaumont, the Auditorium Commission chairman, stated that an opening date could not be set until more work was completed. A major unfinished task was the laying of the front sidewalk which had been delayed due to cold weather.

The night before Little Rock took possession, Robinson Auditorium had been a topic of discussion at the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce annual meeting. The new Chamber president Reeves E. Ritchie (who as an Arkansas Power & Light executive had been engaged in the lengthy discussions about the installation of the steam line and transformers of the building) pledged that the Chamber would work to bring more and larger conventions to Little Rock at the Joseph Taylor Robinson Memorial Auditorium.

Arkansas Preservation Awards tonight

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The Arkansas Preservation Awards will honor outstanding achievements in historic preservation from all over the state, including this year’s recipients of the Parker Westbrook Award for Lifetime Achievement, Hot Springs architects Anthony Taylor and Bob Kempkes.

The awards are presented by Preserve Arkansas. Rex Nelson will be the emcee for the awards. The evening will begin with a reception at 5:30pm at the Albert Pike Masonic Center.

Anthony Taylor and Bob Kempkes founded Taylor/Kempkes Architects, P.A. in Hot Springs in 1986. Over the years, Taylor and Kempkes have demonstrated a strong commitment to the preservation of our state’s built environment and the revitalization of downtown Hot Springs. Their notable Hot Springs projects include the restoration and/or rehabilitation of the Mountain Valley Spring Company Building, Old Post Office, Quapaw Bathhouse, and the Thompson Building.

Other award recipients are:

Excellence in Heritage Preservation – Ginger Sandy – “Cedar Grove/Mobley Historical Preservation” Facebook page

Excellence in Preservation through Rehabilitation
– Des Arc Public Library (Historic First Presbyterian Church), Des Arc
– Griffin Auto Company Building, El Dorado
– ScholarMade Achievement Place, Ivy Hill Academy of Scholarship (Historic James Mitchell School), Little Rock

Excellence in Preservation through Restoration
– Brunson House, Historic Washington State Park
– Methodist Manse, Cane Hill
– Shiloh Meeting Hall, Springdale

Outstanding Achievement in Preservation Education – University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture + Design, Department of Landscape Architecture for “Rising Above – Rohwer Reconstructed: Interpreting Place through Experience” website

Outstanding Achievement in Preservation Advocacy – U.S. Congressman Bruce Westerman, Representing Arkansas’s 4th District, for his efforts to save the Federal Historic Tax Credit during tax reform

Ned Shank Award for Outstanding Preservation Publication – University of Arkansas Press for “It’s All Done Gone”: Arkansas Photographs from the Farm Security Administration Collection, 1935-1943 by Patsy G. Watkins

Excellence in Personal Projects

  • Commercial: Mary Ann Lee, Indigo Blue Coffeehouse, Pine Bluff
  • Residential: Greg Gallagher, 1919 Beech Street, Texarkana
  • Honorable Mention: Cecil and Denise Ennett, Kleinschmidt House, Little Rock

 

Preservation Conversation tonight – Mason Toms discusses Little Rock’s built environment

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A city’s built environment is a tangible link to the past. Walking the streets of cities can be a lesson in architectural history, if you know where to look. Due to the its economic and cultural prominence, Little Rock boasts the best collection of architectural styles in the state of Arkansas . The first Preservation Conversation of 2019 will explore the multitude of different forms that the architecture of the city has taken on over the last 189 years. Learn about what these styles meant to the people that built them and how they related to each other.

The event will take place in the Mixing Room at the Old Paint Factory in the East Village, 1306 East 6th Street, 72202
What Time: 5:30 pm (reception); 6:00 pm (lecture)
RSVP: The event is free and open to the public, but please RSVP. 
Parking: There is parking directly in front of the doors that are marked “live”, “print”, “meet.” If those spots are taken. park in the parking lot to the right. There is also street parking in front of the building.
Entrance: Enter the event space through the door facing 6th Street marked “Meet.”

Questions? Call 501-371-0075 ext. 3 or email qqa@quapaw.com

Speaker Bio: 

Mason Toms is an architectural historian and preservation designer at the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. He works within the Main Street Arkansas program to assist building owners in historic downtowns to preserve their facades and storefronts, while still making them visually appealing to the changing demographics of the areas. Mason also works closely with the National Register and Survey staff to research and survey Mid-Century Modern architecture around Arkansas. To get the word out about the many remarkable Modernist structures in Arkansas to the general public, Mason created and continues to administer the Facebook group Mid-Century Modern Arkansas, which features a different Modernist building in the state every Friday.

Mid-Century Modern work of Frank Doughty topic of architecture lecture

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Tonight (January 8), the Architecture and Design Network (ADN) continues its 2018/2019 June Freeman lecture series by taking a look at the Mid-Century Modern work of architect Frank Doughty (1930-present), a lecture by Mason Toms, architectural historian and preservation designer at the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.  The program is entitled “The Unexpected Modernism of Frank Doughty.”

There is a reception starting at 5:30pm followed by the lecture at 6pm. It is in the lecture hall of the Arkansas Arts Center.

Frank L. Doughty was born and raised near Tunica, Mississippi at the dawn of the 1930s. After high school and military service during the Korean Conflict, Doughty attended the University of Arkansas architecture program. After graduating from the program, he went to work for internationally renowned architect and Arkansas native, Edward Durell Stone, in his New York office. This was followed by work in the Fayetteville office of equally renowned architect, E. Fay Jones. Eventually he moved to Boca Rotan, Florida, where he operated his own practice before returning to Arkansas to teach at the University of Arkansas School of Architecture.

Though primarily remembered for his 23 years as an architecture professor at the University of Arkansas, Doughty also created a small but meaningful body of work that injected Modernist architecture into the most unlikely of places in a profound and elegant way. Located mainly in the Arkansas Delta region, Doughty’s work drew inspiration from the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and Edward Durell Stone as well as the surrounding rural landscape. He uniquely designed his buildings in such a way that they simultaneously stood out and blended into their individual settings.  The excellence of construction and high level of architectural skill present in each of the structures has made them hidden gems of Modernist design in predominantly traditional areas.

Mason Toms is an architectural historian and preservation designer at the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. In college, Mason developed a passion for Mid-Century Modern architecture, but was disappointed to learn that there was little research being done on Mid-Century Modern architects in Arkansas. This led him to work closely with the National Register and Survey staff to find, research, and document Mid-Century Modern architecture around the state.

In an effort to raise awareness of the many remarkable Modernist structures in Arkansas, Mason created and continues to administer the Facebook group Mid-Century Modern Arkansas. The group page features a different Modernist building in the state almost every Friday. Additionally, Mason collaborates with local preservation organizations to create tours and present lectures that center on the significance of Mid-Century Modern architecture in general and the unique examples found here in Arkansas.

Architecture and Design Network lectures are free and open to the public. No reservations are required. Supporters of ADN include the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, the Central Section of the Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and friends in the community.

Sandwich in History at noon today at St. Luke’s UMC in program sponsored by @SavingARPlaces

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The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program each month sponsors a Sandwiching in History tour which familiarize people who live and work in central Arkansas with the historic structures and sites around us.

The tours take place on Fridays at noon, last less than an hour, and participants are encouraged to bring their lunches so that they can eat while listening to a brief lecture about the property and its history before proceeding on a short tour.

Today (January 4) at 12 noon, this month’s tour is at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, located at 6401 West 32nd Street.

Founded in 1956, St. Luke’s United Methodist was one of the first congregations created in the Broadmoor development of Little Rock.  The sanctuary, bell tower, and prayer chapel are early examples of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Organic Architecture in a church.

The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Little Rock Look Back: 1936 groundbreaking of Museum of Fine Arts

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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 prominently in a gallery, giving it more visibility than since 1963. With the Arkansas Arts Center again slated for renovation and expansion, the original 1937 facade will be maintained and re-exposed as an entrance to the building.

But it all began on January 3, 1936.