Category Archives: Architecture

Little Rock Look Back: First City Auditorium Approved

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1906 auditoriumOn August 20, 1906, the Little Rock City Council approved plans for the City’s first municipal auditorium.

A week earlier, businessman A. C. Read petitioned the City for the right to construct a skating rink.  The matter was referred to the Street & Fire Committee, the Superintendent of Public Works and Aldermen Louis Volmer and Benjamin S. Thalheimer, who represented the Sixth Ward, in which the structure would be located.

Neither the Gazette nor the Democrat carried a mention of this petition in their coverage of that meeting.  By the next Council meeting a week later, the committee had reported back with a recommendation for approval.  Resolution 288 was adopted giving Mr. Read the right to build the skating rink.  Interestingly, the resolution did not contain the words “skating rink” though the original petition had.  Instead it permitted Mr. Read to construct a building “suitable for purposes as defined” by the City.  The resolution also stated that within three years the building would become property of the City.

Based on photos and postcards, the exterior of the building appears to have been covered in stucco.  It was said to be modeled after San Antonio’s Alamo, but what that really meant was that it was in the Spanish Revival style.  It was shorter and had more entrances than the Texas building did.  The Markham Street façade featured faux windows and a front portico which extended the length of the building only interrupted by three entrance archways. The center one was taller and wider than the eastern and western entrances.  All three, which projected southward from the building, mimicked the outline of the auditorium building.

The building was located on the western half of the City Hall property (and was constructed before City Hall).  In 1912, the new Little Rock Central Fire Station (now the City Hall West Wing) was built between the auditorium and Markham Street.  The auditorium stood until 1920.  During that time it was used as a roller rink, opera house, rifle range, National Guard armory, convention hall, and gymnasium.

Sandwich in History at Oak Forest United Methodist Church today at noon

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ofumc sandwichThe monthly architectural history program “Sandwiching in History” visits Oak Forest United Methodist Church, located at 2415 Fair Park Boulevard. 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.

The church was founded in 1943 and is located in the Oak Forest neighborhood near UALR. The building was built in 1949 and was designed by Little Rock architect John Parks Almand. The distinctive stone building features elements of the Gothic Revival style as well as a Mission-style parapet and bell tower

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

Cleanup day at William E. Woodruff House announced for Saturday, Aug 8

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The historic Woodruff house.

The historic Woodruff house.

The QQA acquired the William E. Woodruff Housein December 2014 with the help of the City of Little Rock and the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.   The QQA has donated interior and façade easements to protect the house in perpetuity, and we continue to work with the City and AHPP to stabilize the house and make repairs before selling it for development.

On Saturday, August 8 from 8am to 12 noon, join other volunteers at the Woodruff House (1017 East 8th Street) for a cleanup day.

The main task is basic landscape cleanup surrounding the house.  Before the house can be treated for termite damage and repaired, weeds and shrubs surrounding the foundation must be removed.  There is also trash on the property that needs to be picked up.

Volunteers must sign a waiver before working, they will be available on site.  Volunteers should wear old clothes, sturdy closed-toe shoes, and bring work gloves. If you would like to be involved but can’t join us on the 8th, you can help by donating cold drinks, snacks, or lunch to our volunteers. Contact the QQA office at qqa@quapaw.com or 501-371-0075 to make arrangements. If you have supplies you would be willing to let us borrow, drop them by QQA office, clearly labeled with your name and phone number, or just bring them with you when you volunteer.

If you’re interested in sponsoring this or future work days at the Woodruff House, please contact the QQA office at qqa@quapaw.com or 501-371-0075. 

The Quapaw Quarter Association’s mission is to promote the preservation of Little Rock’s architectural heritage through advocacy, marketing and education. 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.

Learn about Little Rock’s earliest auditorium (which also was a roller rink AND rifle range) today at noon at Old State House Museum Brown Bag Lecture

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11805726_10154024863604908_1192217255_nToday at noon, the Old State House Museum will have another Brown Bag Lecture.  This one focuses on three decades of unsuccessful efforts to build a municipal auditorium in Little Rock.  That time period was filled with big dreams, lawsuits, personality clashes, disappointments, and a Roller Rink that was also a Rifle Range.

In April 1904, Little Rock Mayor W. E. Lenon spoke of the need for a municipal auditorium in Little Rock. It would take thirty-six years for that dream to be realized. Along the way there were numerous twists, turns, detours and disappointments as the saga was played out in the newspapers, courtrooms, and offices of every major Little Rock architect at the time.

Until a permanent auditorium could be found, the City made do with vaudeville houses, high schools, and even a roller skating rink which doubled as a rifle range. Over the three decades of planning for an auditorium, some names came and went, others such as Mayor Lenon, architect Charles L. Thompson and Arkansas Gazette publisher J. N. Heiskell appeared time and time again. This Brown Bag Lunch Lecture explores the time period from 1904 to 1934 as it looks at the numerous unsuccessful attempts to construct a municipal auditorium in Little Rock.

In 2016, there will be a Brown Bag Lecture to look at construction and opening of Robinson Center Music Hall.

Scott Whiteley Carter is Special Projects Administrator for the City of Little Rock. As the unofficial historian of Little Rock City Hall, he can often be found leafing through sheaves of papers in the City Clerk’s vault or furiously scribbling notes in Little Rock research libraries. He is also the author of the LRCultureVulture.comblog. A native of Little Rock, he is a graduate of Missouri State University.

Tonight’s QQA Preservation Conversations: Fine Art Repair and Appraisal Workshop

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QQAJennifer Carman and Laura Bryan will be collaborating to discuss art repair and appraisal to coincide with the Antiques Roadshow making its way to Little Rock on July 25.
Jennifer Carman, of J. Carman, Inc., is an art appraiser and advisor and works on everything from pottery to paper. Jennifer helps with a variety of appraisal projects.
Laura Bryan, of Bryan and Devan conservation, works to conserve and rehabilitate artifacts that have seen years of wear or abuse.
Together these women will discuss conservation methodology and appraisal. The event will be hosted at historic Curran Hall. Beer and wine will be provided.
It will start at 5:30 pm.

Robinson Renovation Tops Out

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LRCV 1The Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau (LRCVB), members of the Little Rock Advertising and Promotion Commission (LRA&P), local officials, and members of the design and construction teams hosted a topping out ceremony July 1, 2015 at 10:00 AM for the Robinson Center’s new conference facility, signifying a one–‐year milestone in the 28–‐month, $70 million renovation and expansion project.

Following a press conference and ceremonial beam signing held on the western side of the Robinson Center, local media and special guests were given tours of the magnificent ballroom platform and conference center located on Robinson’s north side. This new addition not only provides some of the most dramatic enhancements of the project, but will also provide groups with spectacular views of the Arkansas River and the city’s illuminated bridges.

Along with additional meeting and pre–‐function space situated above its ballroom, the new conference center will also provide a new connection to the DoubleTree Hotel, with an adjoining lobby and additional pre–‐function space.

LRCV 5For more information on the Robinson Center Second Act renovation and expansion project, visit http://www.RobinsonCenterSecondAct.com and follow us on https://www.facebook.com/pages/Robinson–‐ Center/276515585880 and https://twitter.com/RobinsonCenter .

Robinson Construction Facts to Date:

  • Nearly 10,000 tons of material have been recycled, representing 91% of the waste material diverted 1,216 tons of steel has been erected
  • 2,300 cubic yards of concrete has been placed
  • 470 individuals have gone through CDI/Hunt Safety Orientation
  • 73% of the project subcontractors are local
  • 130,000 man hours have been spent.

LRCV 6LRCV 4LRCV 7

Master Mix-Off celebrates historic cocktails to promote historic structures

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Master-Mix1-300x278Preserve Arkansas, the Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas, is hosting the First Annual Master Mix-Off tonight.  This will features some of Central Arkansas’s best bartenders engaging in a bartending competition.  It promises to be a rip-roaring good time celebrating prohibition-era mixology!!!

Eight of Central Arkansas’s best bartenders will mix for the masses with a prohibition-era drink, hoping to win the “People’s Choice” Award. Then our “best in the business” judges will judge a second round of mixing, where bartenders will serve an updated, modern version of their favorite prohibition-era drink.

Joann “Jojo” Sims of Cache Restaurant, the reigning Arkansas Times Best Server in Little Rock, will be the emcee.

Participating Bartenders are:

The “Best in the Business” Judges are:

DATE: Thursday, June 25, 2015
TIME: 5:30-7:30 pm
LOCATION: Albert Pike Memorial Temple, 712 Scott Street, Little Rock