Category Archives: Government

Pulaski Heights officially became Little Rock’s Ninth Ward on January 13, 1916

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On January 13, 1916, the Little Rock City Council formally accepted Pulaski Heights into the City of Little Rock.

The Council had held a regular meeting on Monday, January 10, 1916, which was the same evening as the final meeting of the Pulaski Heights City Council.

Three days later, on Thursday, January 13, 1916, Mayor Charles Taylor again convened the Little Rock City Council to take the steps to officially annex Pulaski Heights into Little Rock.

By Ordinance 2259, the City’s boundaries were increased to include the land which had been Pulaski Heights.  Resolution 918 directed city staff to replat the land, which was necessary to bring the land in accordance with existing city plats and documents.

Resolution 919 set forth January 20 as a special election date to elect the two new members of the Little Rock City Council who would represent the new Ninth Ward of Little Rock.  Those who won would serve until April 1916.  The election would also serve as the primary for the April election.  Back then, winning the Democratic primary for a City race was tantamount to winning the race.  Since there were two seats being created, one would have a two year term, the other would be for only one year.  The candidate receiving the most votes on January 20 would, after April, take up the two year term and be able to run for re-election in April 1918. The candidate with the second highest total of votes would win the one-year term and be up for re-election in April 1917.  At the time, there were three publicly declared candidates for the two seats.  Another had been interested, but dropped out that morning.

Making Pulaski Heights the Ninth Ward was not the only focus of the City Council meeting.  An ordinance was also approved which allocated $438 for the purchase of beds, mattresses, chairs and other furniture for the City hospital.  (That is the equivalent of nearly $10,000 today.)  The Council then reimbursed a doctor the $438, which presumably had been spent on making the purchases.

80 years ago today – Basketball came to Robinson Auditorium

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Coach Earl Quigley in the 1940s

While Joseph Taylor Robinson Memorial Auditorium is known today as a performance and meeting venue, in its early days it was also the home to sports. Eighty years ago tonight the first basketball game was played at Robinson.

With the renovation dropping the orchestra level down many feet, one of the basketball goals would have been approximately where the cast of Wicked is currently performing.

One of the first regular activities which took place in the lower level exhibition hall was a series of boxing and wrestling matches.  Building on the success of this, basketball came to the convention hall in January 1940.

A series of games featuring Little Rock High School and North Little Rock High School were announced by Tiger Coach Earl Quigley to take place from January 11 through February 16, the official opening day for the facility.

At that time, neither high school had a gymnasium; therefore both schools played their basketball games on their school auditorium stages with fans seated in the audience. The convention hall offered a regulation size floor (made of pecan block parquet) with seating for over 1,300 people along the sidelines and in the balcony.  The first men’s basketball game in Robinson Auditorium took place between the Little Rock High School Tigers and the North Little Rock High School Wildcats on January 11, 1940.

The Tigers lost the game before a crowd estimated to be 1,300.  Earlier in the evening there had been an exhibition between two women’s basketball teams.  The cost for admission to the games was 35 cents for the reserved seating and 25 cents for general admission.

Flannel Up and Join the Little Rock Zoo as they celebrate Zaara’s 1st Birthday

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You only turn one once, so don’t miss your chance to wish the Little Rock Zoo’s sloth bear cub, Zaara, a happy first birthday!

All are invited to come to the Zoo on Saturday, January 11, 2020, at 11 a.m. to wish her another great year.  This flannel and bear lodge-themed party, held in indoors in Café Africa, will be great winter fun!  Beginning at 11:30 a.m., guests are invited to enjoy cake and refreshments while supplies last.

This special celebration will include story time by the fireplace, bear keeper chats, craft-making, hot chocolate, and s’mores.  Guests will enjoy a slide show presentation on Zaara’s first year.  Guests will also have a chance to meet the Zoo staff who hand-raised Zaara. Each of these birthday activities are included in admission prices.

Café Africa will feature a specially-priced hearty meal that will include a choice of soup and/or salad and/or a sandwich for $7.

Zaara’s birthday is so important because The Little Rock Zoo was one of only two zoos in North America to have a sloth bear cub birth. Of the 40 sloth bears housed in Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited Zoos in the United States, the Little Rock Zoo has four of them; that’s 10 percent!

Zaara’s birth came as a recommendation of the American Species Survival Plan ® Program, known as SSP.  The SSP Program, developed in 1981 by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), helps to ensure the survival of select species in zoos and aquariums, which are either threatened or endangered in the wild. Native to the Indian subcontinent, sloth bears are listed as a vulnerable species, meaning one that is likely to become endangered unless the circumstances that are threatening its survival and reproduction improve.

Learn more about Zaara and other endangered animals at their birthday celebrations throughout 2020.

Pulaski Heights City Council meets for final time on January 10, 1916

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104 years ago today, the Pulaski Heights City Council held its final meeting.  Following the January 4 annexation election, Mayor L. H. Bradley convened the Pulaski Height City Council for the final time on January 10, 1916.

Five of the eight aldermen were present for the final meeting.  E. T. Reaves, R. G. Trickett, W.A. Turner, J. B. Webster, and H.C. Locklar.  Absent were J. S. Murphy, J.H. Hicks, and W. H. Keeton.

The City Recorder was A. M. Edwards, while O. E. White was Treasurer and Jonathan P. Streepey was City Attorney.

At the meeting, bills were paid and allowances were made for the transfer of assets and responsibilities to the City of Little Rock.  The minutes do not reflect if there were any valedictory addresses by any of the elected officials, which were often the practice in that era.

Once Mayor Bradley and the Council had worked their way through the agenda, Alderman Reaves made the motion to adjourn the council sine die which was seconded by Alderman Webster. The motion passed unanimously.  With that, the Pulaski Heights City Council, which had first met in 1904, finished its business.

#2FAN at The Bookstore at Library Square – DebiLynn Fendley plus ASO

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No photo description available.The Bookstore at Library Square is proud to present the 2nd Friday Art Night reception for “Circus of Imaginings” by Arkansas artist DebiLynn Fendley at this free monthly event #2FAN

DebiLynn Fendley works within cultural subgroups to produce both documentary and conceptual realism pieces in photography, printmaking, drawing, and painting. As a visual storyteller, she pushes the boundaries between fantasy and reality and strives to make work that crosses boundaries between subgroups and mainstream norms. She is a founding member of and active exhibitor with the Arkansas Society of Printmakers and holds membership in the Southern Graphics Council, Audubon Artists Society, Allied Artists of America, and Professional Photographers of America.

She has been published in multiple national publications on photography, printmaking, and painting, including works from North Light Books, and recently completed her first IMBd credit as still photographer on the film Ride Hard, Live Free. This show can be viewed Monday-Saturday 9am-5pm until it’s closing February 6th, 2020.

In addition, members of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s Quapaw String Quartet will be hosting an instrument petting zoo in the Bookstore at Library Square during the 2nd Friday Art Night festivities. Come play with an instrument and meet a musician leading up to the ASO’s January Masterworks concert!

Join the Bookstore at Library Square on the 2nd Friday of every month for 2FAN (2nd Friday Art Night) a free downtown art gallery walkabout in the River Market District from 5-8pm with light refreshments, art show, and bookstore shopping.

#2FAN in the Galleries at Library Square – Art by 5 Artists

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The Galleries at Library Square, inside the CALS Bobby Roberts Library are featuring five different artists.

Concordia Gallery: Into the Woods: Arkansas Champion Trees by Linda Williams Palmer & Turned-Wood Vessels by Gene Sparling

Celebrating the natural beauty of Arkansas’s trees, artists Linda Williams Palmer and Gene Sparling have created works that highlight the unique qualities of these precious resources. Working in Prismacolor pencil on paper, Palmer has created her “Champion Tree” series showcasing the largest specimens in Arkansas. Sparling uses the wood from native trees to create his sculptural turned-wood vessels that provide another viewpoint from which to appreciate the beauty of the trees.

Underground Gallery:  Inside and Out: Figurative Works, figure drawings by Robert Bean, Jeremy Couch, and Logan Hunter

In this exhibition of figurative works, artists Robert Bean, Jeremy Couch, and Logan Hunter strive to convey the surface beauty of the human form as well as communicate our inner dialogues and expressions.

The Galleries at Library Square and The Bookstore at Library Square participate in 2nd Friday Art Night (2FAN). On the second Friday of each month, The Galleries at Library Square and The Bookstore at Library Square participate in 2nd Friday Art Night (2FAN), a time, once-a-month, when the galleries, museums and businesses in downtown Little Rock, are open from 5-8 p.m. for an after-hours gallery walk. This event is FREE and open to the public.

#2FAN at Old State House Museum – Brae Leni in concert tonight

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Join the Old State House Museum for another round of excitement at the monthly 2nd Friday Art Night!  2020 kicks off with a concert.

Inspired by Motown, Arkansas native Brae Leni will share his soul sound at the Old State House Museum for the first #2ndFridayLR of the year. For an extra special twist, Brae Leni and The Blackout is adding a horn section for the evening!

2nd Friday Art Night is downtown Little Rock’s monthly after-hours art and culture event. Attendance is free, and a trolley will take you between different participating venues for free. The museum also serves free snacks and beverages.