Category Archives: Museum

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.

Over 60 films shown at LR Film Festival today PLUS the Awards Gala tonight!

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LRFF2015 longThe Little Rock Film Festival has another jam-packed day today.

At 10am the films are:

  • H. – Butler Center
  • “Made in Arkansas” Shorts Block 6 – The Joint
    • “Go to the Ball with Me, Jenny” (Cole Borgstadt), “Simple” (Scott McEntire), “Stay a While” (Michael Kelley), “Sassy & the Private Eye” (Tanner Smith), “The Whisperers” (Jason Miller) and “Perfect Machine” (Jarrod Paul Beck)
  • “This Life” World Shorts Block – Bill and Margaret Clark Room
    • “The Suburbs Go On Forever” (Mark Day), “The Way Things Are” (Guy Nemesh), “Stella Walsh” (Rob Lucas), “The Youth” (Dehanza Rogers) and “Unmappable” (Diane Hodson, Jasmine Luoma)

Barge starts at 10:30 in the Ron Robinson Theater.

 

The 12:30 lineup includes:

  • Uncle Kent 2 – Ron Robinson Theater
  • The Hunting of the President – Clinton School. Filmmaker Harry Thomason will be present and lead a discussion.
  • Sweaty Betty – Stickyz
  • “Made in Arkansas” Shorts Block 5 – The Joint
    • “Not Interested” (Matt Foss), “The Making of ‘Sensitivity Training’” (Tanner Smith), “’Twas the Night of the Krampus” (Donovan Thompson), “Vampire-Killing Prostitute” (Jordan Mears), “Southern Pride” (Nick Lane), “The Paper Boy” (Thien Ngo) and “I Hate Alphaman” (Hunter West)
  • “Adventure” World Shorts Block – Bill and Margaret Clark Room
    • “Twelve Traditions” (Jonathan Cuartas), “Dust” (Mike Grier), “The Answers” (Michael Goode), “Spearhunter” (Adam Roffman), “The Other Side” (Scott Brown), “Big Boy” (Bryan Campbell) and “September Sketch Book” (Ronnie Cramer)

“Made in Arkansas” The Hanging of David O. Dodd will show at the Butler Center starting at 1pm.

At 2:30 there will be a filmmaker panel on Cinematic Non-fiction in the Filmmakers Lounge.

 

The films at 3:00pm are:

  • Western – Ron Robinson Theater
  • God Bless The Child – Butler Center
  • Cartel Land – Clinton School
  • “Made in Arkansas” Shorts Block 1 – Stickyz
    • “Loser” (Andrew Lisle), “Forsaken” (Krisha Mason), “Monotony Broken” (J. C. Cocker), “Stranger Than Paradise” (Johnnie Brannon), “Rites” (Cody Harris), and “The Dealer’s Tale” (Justin Nickels).
  • “Made in Arkansas” Block 4 – The Joint
    • “The Tricycle” (David Bogard, “What Was Lost” (Romello Williams, “Overgrown” (Bruce Hutchinson, “Pyro” (Cole Borgstadt, and “The Space Station” (Michael Sutterfield)
  • “Explore” World Shorts Block – Bill and Margaret Clark Room
    • “Swimming in Your Skin Again,” “Beach Week,” “The Many Sad Fates of Mr. Toledano,” “Displacements,” “Pequeño bloque de cemento con pelo alborotado conteniendo el mar” and “When I Write.”

 

The last batch of films today are at 5:30:

  • (T)ERROR – Ron Robinson Theater
  • Funny Bunny – Butler Center
  • How to Change the World – Clinton School
  • Applesauce – Stickyz
  • “Made in Arkansas” Block 3 – The Joint
    • “Undefeated” (Nathan Willis), “Little Brother” (Eric White), “Spoonin’ the Devil” (Michael Carpenter), “Meredith” (Scott Eggleston), and “The Town Where Nobody Lives” (Al Topich)
  • “Quirks” World Shorts Block – Bill and Margaret Clark Room
    • “The Department of Signs and Magical Intervention,” “Woman of the World,” “reConception,” “Happy Hour,” “Miss Famous,” “Love in the Time of March Madness,” and “Jake Plays First Base.

 

At 8pm tonight the Little Rock Film Festival Awards Gala will take place at the Old State House Museum.  Winners will be announced for several awards including:

  • Golden Rock Narrative Feature Grand Prize
  • Golden Rock Documentary Feature Grand Prize
  • Made in Arkansas Grand Prize
  • Cinematic Non-Fiction Grand Prize
  • Arkansas Times Best Southern Film

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.

The Tonight Show Starring Kevin Delaney airs on May 22

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Delaney MOD NBC

Photo from Museum of Discovery

David Letterman leaves the air on Wednesday, May 20.  One of the new stars of late night TV returns for his third appearance on Friday, May 22.

Kevin Delaney, director of visitor experience at the Museum of Discovery, will make his third appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” at 10:35 p.m. Friday, May 22, on NBC.  Delaney serves as the show’s “science expert” and performs multiple science demonstrations with Fallon serving as his lab assistant.

“I am honored to return to ‘The Tonight Show’ and represent the Museum of Discovery and Arkansas,” said Delaney. “It’s exciting to have this opportunity to showcase how amazing science is, all while serving the museum’s mission of igniting a passion for science, technology and math.”

Delaney was chosen after “Tonight Show” producers reached out to more than 50 museums across the country in search of the right candidate. Following a test show in February, Delaney made his successful “Tonight Show” debut on May 5, 2014 and returned again on November 7. To watch his first two appearances, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OELiqiIHZEI andhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQWtZd8jM3g

To learn more about Delaney, visit https://www.museumofdiscovery.org/kevin-delaney-tonight-show-jimmy-fallon

The Museum of Discovery’s mission is to ignite a passion for science, technology and math in a dynamic, interactive environment.

Heritage Month – Hinderliter House

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HinderliterThe Hinderliter House is the oldest building still in existence in Little Rock.  It is now part of the Historic Arkansas Museum.

The Hinderliter Grog Shop began as a log structure in 1826-27 by Jesse Hinderliter, a man of German descent. It was his home and business, where he lived with his wife and two slaves until his death in 1834. Popular folklore associates the building with the last meeting of the territorial legislature of 1835. Red oak logs and cypress flooring were used in the grog shop’s construction. The clapboard siding and porch were later additions. Inside, the hand-carved federal mantel in the formal dining room shows that style was important, even in a log house on the frontier.

Many modifications were made to the building over the years.  Work to restore it in the late 1930s and again in the late 1960s removed many of these alterations.

The Hinterliter House and other structures on the Historic Arkansas Museum can be toured daily. They are being showcased today (May 9) as part of HAM’s 42nd Annual Territorial Fair.

The Hinderliter House was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 5, 1970.

42nd Annual Territorial Fair at Historic Arkansas Museum today from 10 to 4

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hamlogoHistoric Arkansas Museum will host the 42nd Annual Territorial Fair on Saturday, May 9, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This popular annual event is a fun and free opportunity for adults and children of all ages to experience what life was like during Arkansas’s Territorial era. Living history performances, blacksmith demonstrations, historical dances and pioneer games will be happening on the museum’s historic grounds, a preserved and meticulously recreated section of an early downtown Little Rock neighborhood.

Living historians will portray residents of the museum’s historic block. Visitors can witness a raucous card game in the Hinderliter Grog Shop, Little Rock’s oldest surviving structure (c. 1827), or visit a territorial lawyer for a land deed.  In the Print Shop, “Arkansas Gazette” founder William Woodruff will be looking for apprentices and young visitors are encouraged to apply!

Blacksmith Terr Fair for webHistoric Arkansas Museum’s master bladesmith, Lin Rhea, will provide demonstrations in the Black Smith Shop and visitors can see how cloth was dyed in the Arkansas Territory. Children will have the opportunity to make Mother’s Day cards just in time for Mother’s Day.

The “Early Arkansaw Re-enactors” will interact with guests on the grounds with historically accurate clothing, tools and accessories. The Arkansas Country Dance Society will lead guests in historical dances to tunes that were popular during the territorial era. The Southern Center for Agroecology will be selling a variety of plants and heirloom seeds for Mother’s Day and spring planting. Lunch will be available for purchase from Gammy & Gamp’s “Home Style” Food Truck.

The museum’s seven galleries of Arkansas-made art and artifacts and the Sturgis Children’s Gallery will be open during the Territorial Fair. There is no charge for parking or admission. The Museum Store will be open for Mother’s Day shopping with a variety of unique Arkansas-made gifts and books. From 12 to 2 p.m. in the Museum Store, guests will have the opportunity to meet author Layne Livingston Anderson and buy a signed copy of “Haunted Legends of Arkansas” a great book for campfire storytelling.

Currently on exhibit:

  • Suyao Tian: Entangled Beauty
  • Suggin Territory: The Marvelous World of Folklorist Josephine Graham
  • Arkansas Made Gallery
  • We Walk in Two Worlds: The Caddo, Osage and Quapaw in Arkansas (permanent)
  • The Knife Gallery (permanent)

Historic Arkansas Museum is open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 1 – 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission to the galleries and parking are free; admission to the historic grounds is $2.50 for adults, $1 for children under 18, $1.50 for senior citizens. The Historic Arkansas Museum Store is open 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 1 – 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Historic Arkansas Museum is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, which was created in 1975 to preserve and enhance the heritage of the state of Arkansas. Other agencies of the department are Delta Cultural Center in Helena, Arkansas Arts Council, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center and Old State House Museum.

May 2nd Friday Art Night features a collaboration between Historic Arkansas Museum and Arkansas Arts Council

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It is once again time for 2nd Friday Art Night!  One of the highlights this month is a collaboration between Historic Arkansas Museum and the Arkansas Arts Council.

The Arkansas Arts Council curated exhibition, (Everyday) Interpretations: Cindy Arsaga, Joe Morzuch, and Adam Posnak, opens in the Trinity Gallery  for  Arkansas Artists and the Year of Arkansas Beer continues  with Apple Blossom Brewing Company.

 

Cindy Arsaga, Joe Morzuch, and Adam Posnak work  in three distinctly different media. Each artist derives inspiration  from everyday experience.
  •  Arsaga, who lives in Fayetteville, uses photography to  capture  images of daily experience and employs a  process of layering encaustic (hot wax) pigment on  her photographs.
  •  Morzuch, who lives in Bono, captures beauty in the  most mundane objects to create dancing color and  light with oil paint on canvas.
  •  Posnak, who lives in West Fork, makes terracotta pottery,  the decoration of which reflects an interest in various  traditional systems of belief, particularly those of  West Africa and the African Diaspora.

For the “Year of Arkansas Beer” this month HAM is featuring Apple Blossom Brewing Company.  

  • Hazy Morning Coffee Stout made with Arsaga’s Coffee – This beer was gently aged on thirty pounds of an Arabica blend roasted by Arsaga’s Coffee Roasters in Fayetteville. Strong notes of coffee in the nose with hints of floral and citrus from the use of American hops. Medium bodied beer  with medium notes of oats and malted barley, and a dominant flavor of coffee.
  •  Armstrong APA – ABBC’s flagship ale features caramel, dried fruit, and nut malt notes with heavy  American citrus hops. Their favorite  blend of India Pale Ale and Strong  American Pale Ale styles.

 

There will be live music by David Bise, Sam Ellis & Drew Morse of The Cons of Formant.

It all takes place from 5pm to 8pm at Historic Arkansas Museum.

Historic Arkansas Museum and the Arkansas Arts Council are agencies of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.