Yesterday’s Architeaser showed a Gothic styled lamp on the exterior of Little Rock’s Christ Episcopal Church. though this building was not standing at the time, this was the church where Douglas MacArhtur was baptized as an infant.
Here is today’s Architeaser. It is another lamp, but of a more recent architectural style than Gothic. It (and it’s twin) may be the only lamps in Little Rock with purple-tinted glass.
For art lovers, 2nd Friday Art Night is a great way to explore the visual arts in Little Rock. This month there are twelve stops the free trolley will be making between the hours of 5pm and 8pm. Some highlights of this month’s offerings include:
Christ Episcopal Church (500 Scott Street) is highlighting its new exhibit: “The Cross” which features interpretations of the cross in a variety of mediums by several artists including Wes McHan, Melverue Abraham, Sister Maria Liebeck, Janet Copeland, Susan Peterson, Lynn Frost, Betsy Woodyard, Jai Ross and Mark Alderfer.
Hearne Fine Art (1001 Wright Avenue) is featuring “Southern Spirit: An Exhibition of Southern Folk Art” through March 3. This gallery has consistently championed African American artists for two decades in downtown Little Rock.
Historic Arkansas Museum (200 East Third Street) will be featuring the opening of new exhibits by Bryan Massey, Tom Richard and Doug Stowe. Serenading visitors will be award-winning musician Bonnie Montgomery.
Mosaic Templars Cultural Center (501 West Ninth Street) will be a first time participant in 2nd Friday Art Night. The featured exhibit is Daufe 1 by LaToya Hobbs. Visitors can also explore the many other galleries and exhibits in Little Rock’s newest history museum.
studioMAIN (1423 South Main Street) will have its grand opening. This design collective focused on encouraging collaboration in the creative fields including architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, urban design, furniture design and public art will have exhibitions during each 2nd Friday Art Night. This month is an exhibit of Pettaway Park designs.
Other locations include Old State House, Butler Center Galleries, Canvas Community, Courtyard by Marriott, The Green Corner Store, Dizzy’s Gypsy Grill and Copper Grill.
The world famous vocal group Anonymous 4 will perform at Christ Episcopal Church on Wednesday, February 1, 2012, 7:30 p.m.
Renowned for their unearthly vocal blend and virtuosic ensemble singing, the four women of Anonymous 4 combine historical scholarship with contemporary performance intuition to create their magical sound. The ensemble has performed on major concert series and at festivals throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, including appearances at Tanglewood, Wolftrap, BBC Proms, Edinburgh Festival and the Brisbane Biennial. Enchanted both by their live performances and by their eighteen recordings of medieval, contemporary, and American music, Anonymous 4′s listeners have bought nearly two million copies of the group’s albums on the harmonia mundi label.
All tickets are $20. Tickets may be purchased in advance through the Christ Church Bookstore, (501)537-1698. Tickets will be available the night of the performance. For more information about the group, check out their website.
Today marks the birthday of one of Little Rock’s most reluctant native sons. Douglas MacArthur was rarely at a loss for words, opinions, or nerve. But when it came to admitting he was born in Little Rock, he was, reticent.
MacArthur was born in Arkansas by mistake. His mother, the product of multiple generations of Virginia breeding, had wanted all of her children born in Virginia. His father, being a career military man, was stationed in a variety of places outside of Virginia. Thus, the problem.
Mrs. MacArthur was not able to get back to Virginia from her husband’s new assignment in Little Rock. So on January 26, 1880, Douglas MacArthur was born in Little Rock at the U.S. Army Arsenal. He would be baptized at Christ Episcopal Church, but the family left Little Rock in June 1880.
MacArthur would not visit Arkansas again until 1952 when he was testing the waters for a potential Presidential bid. At the time, Little Rock had its first (and to date only) Republican Mayor in Pratt C. Remmel. The park which now stood where the former military arsenal was located had been named in MacAthur’s honor in 1942.
In the 1952 visit, MacArthur made a speech from the Foster Bandshell in MacArthur Park. He also visited Christ Episcopal Church, though the existing building had been built after his baptism.
The only structure remaining from the Arsenal, the Tower Building, is purportedly the building in which MacArthur was born. Since 2001, that building has housed the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History. That museum is dedicated to telling Arkansas’ military history past from territorial days onward. While it does have an exhibit about MacArthur, the museum is not solely dedicated to him.
A previous tenant of the building, the then-Museum of Science and Natural History, hosted the premiere of a movie about General MacArthur entitled MacArthur. Gregory Peck played the five star general and attended the premiere. Though partially inspired by the success of Patton earlier in the decade, this film was not as successful.
General MacArthur is also featured as one of the twenty-five Medal of Honor recipients with Arkansas connections. The Arkansas State Capitol features a memorial to the honorees.
As proof of how fast time passes, it is again the second Friday of the month which means “2nd Friday Art Night.”
Started in 2005, this downtown art gallery walk in the River Market District vicinity showcases a variety of museums and galleries. In addition to viewing art, there are refreshments and usually live music at the various stops along the way. There is also a free art shuttle to take visitors from location to location. The event runs from 5pm to 8pm.
Among the various participating sites are Historic Arkansas Museum, Arkansas Studies Institute, Christ Episcopal Church, Hearne Fine Art, Mediums Art Lounge, Copper Grill, Dizzy’s Gypsy Bistro, Lulav and Third Street merchants of the River Market District.
Little Rock Culture Vulture 