Category Archives: Architecture

Winter Wonderland Festivus tonight!

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qqa FestivusThere may not be feats of strength or airing of grievances, but that doesn’t mean the Quapaw Quarter Association won’t be celebrating Festivus!

Festivus is a festival for the best of us.

Festivus attendees will not be required to perform feats of strength, air grievances or decorate the pole.  All they will be required to do is have a fun time and enjoy the opportunity to bid on great auction items.

Hors d’ouevres, Beer, Wine and Signature Cocktail, Live Music by Stuart Baer and Charlotte Taylor, Silent Auction and Wine Pull.

When: Tuesday, December 8 6:00-9:00 p.m.

Where: Kramer School Artists Co-Op

Tickets are $50 at the door.  QQA memberships are also available at the door.  The price includes food and open bar.

Proceeds benefit the preservation programs of the Quapaw Quarter Association.

Little Rock Look Back: Clinton Library Groundbreaking

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bill groundbreak14 years ago today the groundbreaking for the Clinton Library took place on December 5, 2001. It was dry and about thirty degrees warmer than the actual opening would be in November 2004.

The former president was joined by then-Mayor Jim Dailey, City Director Dean Kumpuris, then-Assistant City Manager Bruce Moore, contractor Bill Clark, then-Clinton Foundation executives Skip Rutherford & Stephanie Streett, and other dignitaries in turning the dirt. The location for the ceremony is now actually the parking lot for Sturgis Hall – the home of the Clinton School of Public Service and Clinton Foundation offices.

President Clinton was the only member of his family to attend the ceremony, which drew over 400 people. His wife, then the junior Senator from New York, was expecting some important floor votes in Washington DC, and daughter Chelsea was studying in England.

At the ceremony, Clinton joked “We’re going to try to build it in less than it took to build the medieval cathedrals and the Egyptian pyramids, but if I can’t rein in my team it may cost as much!” Of course by then the date was set for November 2004. Coordinating schedules of the current and former Presidents is an intricate act.

Sandwich in History today at the Albert Pike Memorial Temple

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Albert Pike Memorial TempleThe monthly architectural history program “Sandwiching in History” visits the Albert Pike Memorial Temple, located at 712 Scott Street. The program begins at noon today.  A historian with the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program delivers a brief lecture about the church before leading guests on a tour.

Completed in 1924, the three-story, Classical Revival-style temple was designed by George R. Mann and Eugene John Stern for the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. In 1952 a fire damaged the southern end of the building, which was rebuilt and rededicated in 1956. The building’s monumental front facade, which encompasses an entire city block, is lined with nineteen Ionic columns. The interior features beautifully decorated spaces with ornate plaster molding, stained-glass windows, and pink and gray marble.

Sandwiching in History is a program of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.  The AHPP is responsible for identifying, evaluating, registering and preserving the state’s cultural resources. Other DAH agencies are the Arkansas Arts Council, the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, the Old State House Museum, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission and the Historic Arkansas Museum.

 

130 years of Cromwell Firm focus of Old State House Museum Brown Bag lecture today

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OSH Brown BagJoin the Old State House Museum at noon on Thursday, December 3, for a Brown Bag Lunch Lecture led by Dan Fowler, Chief Operating Officer at Cromwell Architects Engineers, as he speaks about the influence and history of 130 years of Cromwell.
The talk is in support of the current temporary exhibit at the Old State House Museum, “Lost + Found.”
“Lost + Found” highlights eight different projects completed or renovated by Cromwell during its 130 year history. These include projects in Little Rock (Little Rock City Hall, the Federal Reserve Bank Building and 615 Main Street), North Little Rock (St Joseph’s Home for Children), Pine Bluff (the Temple Building and the Pines Hotel) and Hot Springs (the de Soto and Majestic Hotels). Many of these structures were designed by Charles L. Thompson, one of the founders of Cromwell and one of the most-known and prolific architects in Arkansas in the 20th century. “Lost + Found” ends December 11.
The talk is free and participants are encouraged to bring a lunch. Soft drinks and water are provided.

 

Little Rock to vote on additional funds for Arts Center, Military Museum

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The City of Little Rock Board of Directors tonight (December 1) voted to refer two hotel sales tax initiatives to the ballot.  The election will be on Tuesday, February 9. 

More details about the specifics of the proposals will be presented on this blog leading up to the election. 

In short, one tax is the third penny for hotels and the other tax is the fourth penny which state law allows for parks.  Because it would be for hotels and similar lodging establishments only, the money would be paid by visitors, not Little Rock residents. 

The City Board also passed a resolution outlining a formula by which the Museum of Discovery, Little Rock Zoo, other parks and other cultural institutions would be able to access any excess bond revenues from these taxes.  

 

#GivingTuesday – support a cultural institution

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Today is #GivingTuesday. Since most of the cultural institutions are non-profits, please remember them when considering a donation.

 

Little Rock Look Back: Clinton Center Opened 11 Years Ago Today

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SkipMany remember November 18, 2004, for the rain and cold wind which greeted visitors to the opening of the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Center and Park.  In the years which lead up to that day, November 18, 2004, was known simply as “Game Day” for a group of people.  The chief one was Skip Rutherford.

Overseeing the planning for the Clinton Presidential Center and the events surrounding it had been the focus of James L. “Skip” Rutherford for many years. A FOB for decades, he had stayed in Little Rock when so many went to Washington DC in 1993.

He oversaw the planning for the Clinton Library and led the Clinton Foundation.  No detail was too small or insignificant for him to consider. For months leading to the opening he led meetings to help restaurants, hotels, and attractions understand the scope of the opening.

Together with Dean Kumpuris and Bruce Moore on behalf of the City of Little Rock and Stephanie Streett of the Clinton Foundation, he reviewed plans for the Clinton Presidential Park and the streets and neighborhoods around the Clinton Presidential Center.

He used his connections with the business community in Little Rock and throughout the state to discuss the importance of a Presidential Library regardless of one’s personal political affiliations.  He withstood critics who second-guessed everything from the cost, the design, the location, the purpose, and even the anticipated tourism and economic impacts.

Finally the big day had come.  If the weather was not ideal, that was almost inconsequential. It was still the culmination of more than seven years hard work.

However, the opening of the Clinton Presidential Center was not the end of the task. It merely was the move from one phase to another. A few years later, Skip’s role would change as he would leave the Foundation and become the second Dean of the Clinton School of Public Service.