Category Archives: Design

May 16 Architeaser: Mosaic Templars Cultural Center

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IMG_5421As part of Arkansas Heritage Month, today’s Architeaser focuses on the cornice over the entrance to the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center.

The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center began as a dream by community leaders who had grown up attending events at the Mosaic Templars of American National Grand Temple. This had been a centerpiece of African American life not just for Little Rock but for the mid-south.

In 1992, the building was slated for demolition so that a fast-food restaurant could be built on the lot. In late 1993, the City of Little Rock purchased the building for $110,000  to save it from demolition as organizers were raising funds for the restoration.  In 2001, the City transferred ownership to the State of Arkansas for the establishment of the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center.

Originally, the Center planned to restore the 1913 Mosaic Templars of America National Grand Temple, but the original building was destroyed by fire in March 2005. The new 35,000 square feet interior is a state-of-the-art museum complex with exhibits, classroom, staff offices, and an Auditorium that seats 400 people. The façade of the new structure is a facsimile of the 1913 building complete with the Annex building façade, which burned in 1984.

The cornice which is featured today is a copy of the original cornice.  The original cornice, as well as the cornerstone, are some of the few things which survived the 2005 fire.  The original cornice is on display.

A museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center is dedicated to collecting, preserving, interpreting, and celebrating African American history, culture and community in Arkansas from 1870 to the present, and informs and educates the public about black achievements – especially in business, politics and the arts.

Through special events, education programs, ongoing research and exhibits such as the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame, the museum celebrates Arkansas’s African American heritage. Tours of the museum provide a detailed look at the history of African Americans in Little Rock and Arkansas.

 

May 14 Architeaser

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towerNot only is the Catlett-Prien Tower Building a great example of the International school of architecture, it is also home to the Department of Arkansas Heritage and several of its agencies, including the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.  Because of this, it is today’s Architeaser feature (as part of Arkansas Heritage Month).  It is also home to the non-profit Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas.

The Tower Building was designed by Dallas architect Harold A. Berry in collaboration with Little Rock architect Frank Eugene Withrow. The Tower Building was Withrow’s first big project.  The building was the brainchild of future Arkansas Governor Winthrop Rockefeller.

Construction of the Tower Building began in 1958 and finished in 1960 for a cost of $4 million.  At 18 stories, it would be Little Rock’s tallest building from 1960 until 1968 when the Union Bank Building was completed.

 

Architecture of new LR library focus of talk tomorrow night

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READThe Architecture and Design Network presents architect Reese Rowland and Dr. Bobby Roberts in a conversation tomorrow night. (Tuesday, May 14)
Entitled “CALS Children’s Library and Learning Center: a New Paradigm,” Rowland and Roberts will discuss the process to design and build this innovative facility. The program begins at 6pm following a 5:30pm reception.  It will take place at the new Children’s Library and Learning Center located at 4800 West 10th Street.
Five years in the making, Little Rock’s new children’s library and learning center offers a range of participatory experiences designed to encourage the growth, development and well-being of its young patrons.
Situated on a six acre, landscaped tract that borders a  residential neighborhood just south of Highway 630, the 30,000 square foot facility is like no other in the region. Designed by award-winning  architect Reese Rowland, the twelve million dollar glass, steel and stone structure houses a collection of more than 21,000 books, CDs and DVDs. Among its special features are a computer lab; a spacious meeting room; a teaching kitchen; a series of study rooms and a multi-use,165-seat  theater. A greenhouse and teaching garden, set apart from the main structure, are  part of the complex which also includes an outdoor amphitheater.
Roberts will talk about how the idea for building a combined   children’s library  and learning center came about. He will also tell  how its  location was selected.  He and Rowland will discuss their roles, as client and architect, in the project’s design. They will talk about the kinds of programming  envisioned for the  facility and discuss  ways in which it plans to  engage with other  institutions and organizations in the community to serve children and their  families.
The event, part of  ADN’s Art of Architecture lecture series,  is free and open to the public. Series’  supporters include the Central Arkansas Chapter of the AIA, the Arkansas Arts Center,  UA’s Fay Jones School of Architecture and CALS. For additional information contact ardenetwork@icloud.com

 

QQA Spring Tour This Weekend

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QQAThe QQA’s 49th Spring Tour of Homes takes place this Mother’s Day weekend in the Park Hill neighborhood.

This year’s tour will include five homes on Skyline Drive.

Sunday, May 12
1:00-5:00 p.m. Self guided home tours, trolley rides, food vendors, kid friendly activities
$20 per person in advance
$25 per person day of tour ($20 for QQA members)

The Spring Tour is the QQA’s oldest function. Since 1963, the tour has been staged for the purpose of fostering appreciation of historic buildings and neighborhoods and the need for their preservation.

Although the basic purpose of the tour has remained much the same since 1963, the manner in which the tour is conducted has changed dramatically. From a casual afternoon open house, the tour has grown into a weekend-long extravaganza which includes both evening and afternoon tours and a variety of activities.

The Spring Tour has proven to be one of the QQA’s most effective methods of changing negative perceptions about the Quapaw Quarter and for recruiting new residents to the area. Members of each year’s Spring Tour Core Committee work to ensure that the tour is used to the best possible advantage for improving the image of the Quapaw Quarter and historic preservation in the Little Rock region.

qqa home tour 20132013 Spring Tour Sponsors

Art Abounds Downtown during 2nd Friday Art Night

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2FAN logo Font sm2Among the various sites featured tonight from 5pm to 8pm as part of 2nd Friday Art Night are:

The Central Arkansas Library System Butler Center Galleries (401 President Clinton Avenue) is opening three new exhibits:

Creative Expressions (which will run through August 25)

This exhibition features artwork from the Creative Expressions Program at the Arkansas State Hospital.  Creative Expressions is a non-profit organization that uses the visual arts to promote and support the self-awareness and growth of individuals with mental illness.

Arkansas Art Educators State Youth Art Show (which will run through July 27)

Arkansas League of Artists Spring Members Show (which will run through June 28 at the Cox Creative Center).

 

studioMAIN (1423 South Main Street) will open a new exhibit – “From Bauhaus to our Haus”

studioMAIN invites you to join us this Friday for our exhibit celebrating the Bauhaus movement. Come learn about that history of the movement and its influence on today’s architecture, design, and education. Several local examples of building inspired by the Bauhaus and International style will also be highlighted.

This will be a great opportunity to learn (or be reminded) about this amazing transition in the history design before the opening of the Arkansas Arts Center’s upcoming exhibit, Bauhaus twenty-21: An Ongoing Legacy (May 24 – September 1).

As part of the member’s opening for the AAC, studioMAIN will be hosting a lecture and panel discussion, stay tuned for further information in the next couple weeks.

 

Historic Arkansas Museum (200 East Third Street)

In addition to the opening of two new exhibits, HAM will have live music by the Rolling Blackouts and an opening reception for two new exhibits. Opening in the Trinity Gallery is Reflected by Three: William Detmers, Scott Lykens and G. Tara Casciano. Opening in the 2nd Floor Gallery will be Painting in the Open Air: Day and Night, with plein air paintings by Jason Sacran.

 

Old State House (300 West Markham)

Up-cycled Jewelry. Create an artful bracelet from unexpected found supplies: safety pins, buttons, charms and fabric. These bracelets make great Mother’s Day gifts.

Purple Moon Dance Project performs in gallery of Arkansas Arts Center

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purple-moonThe Arkansas Arts Center presents a one-of-a-kind experience today at 2pm in the Townsend Wolfe Gallery which is currently displaying the exhibit Wendy Maruyama: Executive Order 9066.

In a special collaboration, emerging within the gallery installation, Purple Moon Dance Project and Artistic Director Jill Togawa will present When Dreams Are Interrupted, a riveting site-specific performance that uncovers the profound imprint left on a neighborhood by the forced removal and mass evacuation of Japanese American communities in 1942.

Dancers Jill Togawa, Ruth Ichinaga and Sharon Sato will explore and infuse with the “Tag Project” to draw out the stories and memories amassed by artist Wendy Maruyama and to highlight local history and stories.

This production captures the painful experiences of hundreds of thousands of Americans of Japanese ancestry forced into concentration camps during World War II through a poignant and stunning combination of original choreography, music, visual art and poetry. It is through artistic and historically authentic expressions such as these that we remember, pay tribute to and honor those who suffered this unspeakable injustice, in hopes that we may prevent such a dark episode in America’s history from ever happening again.

April 18 Architeaser

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IMG_4577There have been many building modifications at Little Rock City Hall over the past 105 years.  One thing has not changed: the Tiffany stained glass window in the rotunda.

Though City Hall once had a dome, the stained glass window has always looked down on the rotunda from the third floor ceiling.  Here are some views of the stained glass in the rotunda.

There was a second, smaller stained glass skylight in the stairwell adjacent to the City Board chamber.  In the 1960s, it was removed.  Records do not indicate what happened to it.

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