Tag Archives: Arkansas Heritage Month

Arkansas Heritage Month – Public Art comes to Little Rock with Henry Moore’s LARGE STANDING FIGURE: KNIFE EDGE

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HenryMooreIt was 1978, Bill Clinton was making his first run for Governor, Dallas and Robin Williams both made their TV debuts, disco was dominating the music scene, and Little Rock received its first major piece of public art.

Arguably Little Rock’s most famous piece of public art is Henry Moore’s 1961 creation Large Standing Figure: Knife Edge, which is known locally as “The Henry Moore Sculpture.”

The original model was created in 1961; this sculpture was cast in 1976 and purchased in June 1978 by the Little Rock Metrocentre Improvement District.

The purchase price was $185,000 — a princely sum at the time but now a bargain for a Henry Moore sculpture. (Adjusted for inflation, that amount would be the equivalent of $705,000 today.)

A committee consisting of Townsend Wolfe (then the director and chief curator of the Arkansas Arts Center), James Dyke and Dr. Virginia Rembert traveled to England to meet with Moore about the sculpture.

It was originally placed on Main Street when the street had been bricked over as part of the Metrocentre Mall pedestrian mall plan. As portions of the street became unbricked and reopened to vehicular traffic, it was moved to the intersection of Capitol and Main. Finally, when the last segment was reopened to vehicular traffic, it was put at its current location of the southeast corner of Capitol and Louisiana. Because it was purchased by the Improvement District, it must stay within the boundaries of the district.

There is currently discussion about the Metrocentre Improvement District disbanding and the sculpture being relocated elsewhere in the City.

A replica of the sculpture is featured in the 1980s classic The Breakfast Club.

Arkansas Heritage Month – LR Mayor John E. Knight

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May is Arkansas Heritage Month. This year’s theme is “Arkansas Arts: Celebrating Our Creative Culture.”

Did you know that a former Little Rock mayor was a published songwriter?

John Elliott KJno E Knight signight (1816-1901) published a song entitled “I A Near to Thee” in 1858. He wrote the lyrics while Benjamin Scull wrote the music.  The song was dedicated to Mary Woodruff, a daughter of Arkansas Gazette publisher William Woodruff.

 

As an attorney and newspaper editor, John E. Knight collected documents about the settlement of Little Rock. Those papers are now part of a collection at the Arkansas History Commission.  The majority of these papers are from William Russell to Chester Ashley, pertaining to pre-emption claims in and around Little Rock. Other material concerns the 1819-1822 dispute related to the the New Madrid Certificate and pre-emption claims of James Bryant, Stephen F. Austin, and William M. O’Hara.

Heritage Month – Federal Building

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Federal BuildingThe newest property to be added to the National Register of Historic Places closes out the month.  The Federal Building’s inclusion on this list was announced earlier this month.

The seven-story Federal Building at 700 West Capitol Avenue  was constructed in 1959-61.  It was designed in a modern style, featuring a uniform exterior grid of spandrel and plate glass framed by rows of aluminum bands and columns of white stone.

“The Little Rock Federal Building is a good example of the commercial work of two noted Arkansas architecture firms, Swaim & Allen & Associates and Ginocchio, Cromwell & Associates,” according to the National Register nomination. “The building’s design is consistent with modern high-rise office facilities in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Its uniformly packaged facades, defined by a grid of glass, aluminum, and stone, reflected a growing trend in which Federal buildings began to more closely resemble their commercial counterparts.”

The vertical bands mimic the neoclassical columns of the adjacent 1930s Federal Courthouse. While both structures are unique and representative of their architectural styles, a harmony exists based on the strong vertical lines and the use of the white and grey based primary color scheme.

 

Heritage Month – Paul Laurence Dunbar High School

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dunbarNow known as Dunbar Middle School, this building originally house students from junior high to junior college.  For years the Paul Laurence Dunbar High School was known throughout Arkansas and the south as an outstanding school for African American students.

From 1929 until 1955, Dunbar High School provided a high-quality education for African American students, not only within Little Rock but also from far-reaching corners of the state.   Today the National Dunbar Alumni Association is a well-organized network of former students with active chapters throughout the United States. 

The school is located in a residential area south of downtown Little Rock. George H. Wittenburg and Lawson L. Delony designed the edifice, built on a southeast-northwest axis. Both architects contributed to the design of Little Rock Central High School (1927; listed on the National Register in 1977), which is nine blocks west of Dunbar.

Dunbar was designed to accommodate an academic curriculum as well as the more traditional vocational programs often considered the limit of education for blacks. In 1980, Dunbar Junior and Senior High School and Junior College was listed on the National Register.

The significance of Dunbar Junior High School derives both from the unique place it occupies in the history of education in Arkansas and from the modern architectural concepts with which it was designed. Dunbar was a center of quality education for black Arkansans in the state’s segregated public school system, functioning as a junior high school, high school, and junior college until its last high-school and junior-college classes graduated in 1955.

It had further distinction as one of only two industrial arts schools in the south to attain junior college rating, also in 1931-1932, as well as the recognition and acceptance of the Dunbar curriculum as the basis for admission to colleges and universities throughout the United States. In 1943 the school was involved in a controversy concerning equal pay for black and white teachers in the Little Rock School System, which was resolved in Morris v. Williams, 149 F. 2d 703, heard before the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. This was a landmark case in establishing the principle of “equal pay based on professional qualifications and services rendered.”

The architects’ achievement in designing an architecturally eminent setting for this progressive passage in Arkansas history is also noteworthy. With an eye toward form following function, the plan of the building promotes maximum use of space and expedient circulation. Aesthetically, the building is decidedly modern, with decorative brick and stone work and striking towers reflecting an interest in the Art Deco style of the period.

Heritage Month – White-Baucum House

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ahpp_nom_whitebaucumhouse_largeThe White-Baucum House is an architecturally significant structure with important historical. associations. The building, with its strong principal entrance, dominant porches and careful detailing, is one of the earliest and best examples of Italianate architecture in the state.

The home was constructed in 1869-1870 for Robert J. T. White, who was then Arkansas Secretary of State. In 1876 the building was sold to George F. Baucum, who entered business in Little Rock after distinguished service in the Civil War. Baucum operated a wholesale grocery business, was a cotton broker, was president of the Bank of Little Rock for a time and was one of the founders of the Board of Trade of the city. The Baucum family lived in the how until the mid-1920s. Lora B. Busick occupied the place from 1935 to 1957.

After being left vacant for four years, the house was adapted to new uses, It served as the home of two restaurants, an interior design studio, a nightclub, an advertising agency, and later an engineering firm.  For several years it sat vacant and fell into disrepair.  It has since been restored.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Leap Day (February 29) in 1980.

Heritage Month – Knoop House

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Knoop HouseToday’s historic property is unique for Little Rock.  It is one of the only (if not the only) Art Moderne style residences in Little Rock.

The Knoop House was built in 1936-1937 in Hillcrest for Werner and Faith Knoop. Designed by the architectural firm of Brueggeman, Swaim & Allen, the Art Moderne style of the house departed dramatically from, the mere typical period revival styles of the Hillcrest neighborhood. The Knoop House was (and still is) an outstanding Modernistic architectural statement in an area filled predominantly with English Revival, Colonial Revival, American Four Square, and Bungalow styles.

The house was built by Werner and Faith Knoop in 1936-1937.  In 1948, the original garaged was enlcosed and a new garage was added to the front of the house. Mr. Knoop was a mechanical engineer and founding principal in what is now the Baldwin & Shell Construction Company.  After having served on the school board, in 1957 Mr. Knoop became the first Mayor of Little Rock under the “new” city manager form of government and continued to serve the City on various committees even after his term as Mayor ended. Faith Yingling Knoop was a well-published author of magazine articles, textbooks, and children’s books.

The Knoop House’s simple, restrained detailing is typical of the Art Moderne style, as is the emphasis upon large uninterrupted expanses of smooth wall surface, the preference far a light palette and the selection of such modern materials as metal casement windows and glass block.

The Knoop House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in August 1990.

Heritage Month – Villa Marre

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villamarreThe Villa Marre is located at 1321 Scott Street. The Second Empire-style Villa Marre was built in 1881 by Italian immigrant and Little Rock saloonkeeper Angelo Marre, who also served on the Little Rock City Council.

The distinctive home features a mansard roof covered in patterned slate, a central tower topped by wrought-iron cresting, and hood molding above the doors and windows. Marre died in 1889, and his widow, Jennie, remained in the house until about 1900. Arkansas Governor Jeff Davis rented the house for a few years, and in 1905, the home was purchased by E. B. Kinsworthy, former state senator and attorney general of Arkansas.

It is probably most famous today for being the outdoor exterior of Sugarbakers design firm in the CBS sitcom “Designing Women.”  For several years, it was the home of the Quapaw Quarter Association. It later returned to a private residence.  Currently it is a venue for weddings and other events.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 15, 1970.