Category Archives: History

Heritage Month – Albert Retan House

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Albert Retan HouseHistoric homes in Little Rock are certainly not limited to downtown.  Today’s is the Albert Retan House, built in 1893 in what would become Pulaski Heights.

Due to geography, by the late 1800s, the land west of Little Rock stood as the only logical direction for the city to expand.  A group of Michigan investors saw the potential of this area of rolling hills and pine forests as sound investment property and conceived the development of Pulaski Heights, Little Rock’s first planned suburb.  In 1891 this investment syndicate organized the Pulaski Heights Land Company and proceeded to purchase 800 acres located three miles west of Little Rock.  Eight of the investors, including Albert Retan, brought their families to Arkansas to settle in the new suburb.

Retan built his house in 1893 and it remains an important symbol of the founding, growth and success of the Pulaski Heights community.  Architecturally, the structure represents a transitional style incorporating the fluent decorative woodwork of the Queen Anne in its sweeping porch with spindle frieze and the stately lines of the Colonial Revival mode in its hip roofs with projecting cross gables and its Palladian windows.  The suburb attracted professionals and businessmen who desired an alternative to living in the central area of the city without forfeiting convenient access to their places of business in downtown Little Rock.

Once established as a popular neighborhood, Pulaski Heights grew steadily.  As a result, it was incorporated as a town in 1905 and soon after, in 1916 the “Heights” was annexed to the city of Little Rock.  Never having suffered the decay that has threatened many of Little Rock’s other older neighborhoods, Pulaski Heights remains a prominent residential area in Little Rock with the Albert Retan House surviving as an important reminder of the origins and history of the city’s first planned suburb.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 3, 1980.

Little Rock Look Back: Elvis plays final Robinson Auditorium Show

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Photo by Wayne Cranford

Photo by Wayne Cranford

After two visits in 1955 where he was down on the bill, Elvis Presley made his third and final appearance at Robinson Auditorium on May 16, 1956.  This time he was the star and Robinson was packed. The tickets were $1.50 in advance at Walgreens and $2.00 at the box office.  The ads featured 8 great acts in “his” variety show which consisted of the Jordonaires; Rick and Emil Flaim and their orchestra; vocalists Frankie Conners and Jackie Little and comedian-magician Phil Maraquin. A second show was added at 9:30 p.m. to accommodate the ticket demand.

About 30 minutes late, due to a missed flight, Elvis appeared on stage in a purple blazer and started singing “Heartbreak Hotel.”  The crowd rushed the stage. Little Rock police officers were able to control them eventually and get the teenagers back to their seats.  While the crowd was impressed, the police officers were less so.  One of the patrolmen told the Arkansas Gazette reporter: “I wouldn’t know him if I saw him. And I wouldn’t be here unless I was being paid.”

Disc jockey Ray Green recorded the concert that night.  Copies of the concert on CD (which also includes an interview with Presley) are prized possessions of Presley collectors.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette has a special section on its website containing quotes from some of the concert attendees.

Heritage Month – U.S. Arsenal Tower Building

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MacPark ArsenalToday is Armed Forces Day.  It is an appropriate day to look at the U. S. Arsenal Tower Building.  Construction on the Little Rock Arsenal began in 1838 and was completed in 1840.  The complex grew to include more than thirty buildings. The arsenal building itself was a two story brick building with an unusual central octagonal tower between two wings. The tower was actually used to move munitions between floors of the building. Other buildings included office buildings, a storehouse, a magazine, a guardhouse, a hospital and other service structures. The hospital and service structures were built of wood.

On 25 Jul 1873 the Little Rock Arsenal became the Little Rock Barracks and remained that until the facility was abandoned 25 Sep 1890. The tower building was converted into married officer quarters. Douglas MacArthur was born 26 Jan 1880, in the tower building at the Little Rock Barracks to then Captain Arthur MacArthur, Jr. and his wife.

The site was turned over to the city 23 Apr 1892, stipulated for use as a city park. In return, the City of Little Rock gave the U.S. Government 1,000 acres  on which Fort Logan H. Roots was established by the U.S. Congress on the same date, 23 Apr 1892. All of the remaining buildings on the original site were sold or destroyed except the Arsenal Tower building.

The land became known as City Park and later MacArthur Park.  The Tower Building remained empty and in deteriorating condition until the late 1930s, when the City of Little Rock renovated the building.  For many years, the Aesthetic Club met in the building as the only tenant.  When others refused to pay the utilities, the Aesthetic Club members did.  The organization continues to meet in the building.

In 1942, the Museum of Natural History and Antiquities opened in the building; it had previously been located in Little Rock’s City Hall. The name of the museum changed in 1964 to the Museum of Science and Natural History, and again in 1983 to the Arkansas Museum of Science and History. In 1997, the museum moved to a new location in the River Market, where it now is known as the Museum of Discovery.

In May 2001, the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History opened in the building.

The structure was listed in National Register of Historic Places on July 28, 1970.  It was designated a National Historic Landmark on April 19, 1994.

On Armed Forces Day – Visit the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History

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Today is Armed Forces Day.  It is a good day to visit Little Rock’s museum devoted to Arkansas’ military heritage.  Located in the historic Arsenal Tower in MacArthur Park, the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History honors the Arkansans who have served in the armed forces.  Exhibits feature artifacts, photographs, weapons, documents, uniforms and other military items that vividly portray Arkansas’s military history at home and abroad.

The exhibits include:

  • From Turbulence to Tranquility: The Little Rock Arsenal
  • Capital In Crisis and Celebration: Little Rock and the Civil War
  • Alger Cadet Gun
  • Camden Expedition
  • David Owen Dodd
  • Through the Camera’s Eye: The Allison Collection of World War II Photographs
  • By the President in the Name of Congress: Arkansas’ Medal of Honor Recipients
  • Conflict and Crisis: The MacArthur- Truman Controversy
  • Duty, Honor and Country: General Douglas MacArthur
  • The Sun Never Sets on the Mighty Jeep: The Jeep During World War II
  • War and Remembrance: The 1911 United Confederate Veterans Reunion
  • First Call – American Posters of World War I
  • Undaunted Courage, Proven Loyalty: Japanese American Soldiers in World War II
  • Vietnam, America’s Conflict

The MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History is a museum of the City of Little Rock.  It is led by executive director Stephan McAteer who works with the MacArthur Military History Museum Commission.  The museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 9am to 4pm, Saturday from 10am to 4pm and Sunday from 1pm to 4pm.

Heritage Month – Joseph T. Robinson House

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JT Robinson HouseThe Robinson House or the Foster-Robinson House is located at 2122 Broadway.

It was designed by Frank W. Gibb and built in 1904 for lumber man H. H. Foster.  Senator Robinson purchased the home from Foster’s widow and the house remained in the Robinson family until 1972 (following the Senator’s death in 1937 and his widow’s death in 1958). While visiting the state, President Roosevelt stayed at this house.

The Robinson house is a 2-1/2 story wood frame structure resting on a foundation of granite and brick. The exterior is sheathed in clapboards, and the roof is steeply pitched with a complex and irregular plan. There are four chimneys, two of brick and two of granite and brick. The main facade consists of a full-width porch supported by three square granite posts, above which are two pairs of sash windows, topped by a pair of gable ends, each with two small square windows. The gable ends are finished in stucco with decorative half-timbering. The porch is decorated with flattened Tudor-style arches and ornamental brackets, and shelters the main entrance, which is under the right gable, and paired windows under the left gable.

The interior has a wealth of high-quality woodwork, made using some of the choicest and most unusual cuts available at the time.

In addition to the house, the property includes a carriage house built using the same methods as the house. The yard is enclosed by an iron fence on the south and east sides, and a rock wall on the north and west sides.

It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on March 28, 1975.  On October 12, 1994, it was designated a National Historic Landmark.

Little Rock Look Back: Mayor J. V. Satterfield

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SatterfieldOn May 14, 1902, future Little Rock Mayor John Vines Satterfield, Jr. was born in Marion.   He grew up in Little Rock and Earle. J.V. was a star quarterback for the Earle football team and is featured in a painting of that team by respected painter Carroll Cloar.

Following high school, J.V. taught (including, much to his family’s amusement, a course in penmanship) and coached and sold Fords.  He then moved to Little Rock and sold insurance and later securities.  In 1931 he opened his own business; that same year he built a house at 40 Beverly Place in Little Rock, which would serve as his home until his death.

J. V. Satterfield was elected to serve as Mayor of Little Rock in 1939 and served one term, until 1941.  He was credited with saving the City from bankruptcy because of his fiscal policies. Among his efficiencies were the creation of a central purchasing office and using grass moved from the airport to feed the Zoo animals.  Though as a private citizen he had voted against the creation of a municipal auditorium in 1937, Mayor Satterfield fought valiantly to ensure that Robinson Auditorium opened to the public once he took office.  Shortly after he became Mayor, it was discovered that there were not sufficient funds to finish the construction. After the federal government refused to put in more money, he was able to negotiate with some of the contractors to arrange for the building to be completed. He also oversaw a successful special election to raise the money to finish the project.

Satterfield was a staunch supporter of the airport and worked to expand it.  He would serve as the chair of the first Municipal Airport Commission.  He also established the Little Rock Housing Authority (on which he would later serve on the board).  Mayor Satterfield also served as President of the Arkansas Municipal League in 1941.

Following the outbreak of World War II, Satterfield enlisted in the Army and was given the rank of a Major. He later was promoted to a Colonel and worked in the Pentagon during its early days.

In the late 1940s Satterfield became president of a small Little Rock bank called People’s Bank.  The bank changed its named to First National Bank when it moved into new offices at 3rd and Louisiana in 1953.  By focusing on smaller customers and courting corporate customers, Satterfield grew the bank into one of the state’s largest banks.  He maintained his desk in the lobby of the bank so he could interact with the customers and ensure they were having a positive experience.

Due to chronic health issues, Satterfield retired from the bank in 1964. He died in March 1966.

Heritage Month – Hotze House

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Hotze hosueThe Hotze House, located at 1619 Louisiana in Little Rock’s historic Quapaw Quarter district, was built by one of Arkansas’ most successful and prominent businessmen.  Designed by Charles L. Thompson, Little Rock’s most prominent architect and constructed in 1900, the house reflects the Beaux Arts tradition combined with Georgian influence.  The interior was reputed to have been designed by Tiffany Studios of New York.  The house has been remarkably well preserved and remains practically unaltered.

Peter Hotze was born in Innsbruck, Austria, on October 12, 1836.  He was young at the time of his father’s death, but Mrs. Hotze’s inheritance made it possible for her three sons to attend the University of Innsbruck.  In 1857 Peter Hotze moved to Little Rock and went into the general merchandise business.

Returning to Little Rock after service and imprisonment in the Civil War, Hotze went into a business as a merchant in partnership with Capt. John G. Fletcher, who had been his company commander.  Each man put $2,500 into the business.  After a while, they limited their business exclusively to the cotton trade.  In 1873 it was decided that Hotze should move to New York to handle that end of the firm’s business.  He lived there for 27 years, in a fashionable neighborhood near Central Park.

In 1900, Hotze retired and returned to Little Rock.  Upon his return in 1900 he built the large house in which he lived with his daughter Clara and son Frederick until his death on April 12, 1901.  He chose to build his home directly behind the small frame house he had built about l869 and lived in during his previous residence in Little Rock.

The Hotze House is one of the finer homes remaining in the state which expresses the opulence of the period in which it was constructed, particularly in the interiors, which are extraordinarily rich in quality. Resting on three and one-half lots, the Hotze House is remarkably well preserved and appears practically the same as when it was first constructed.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 11, 1975.