Tag Archives: City of Little Rock

April 29 Architeaser

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IMG_5067Later this week the Arkansas Arts Center will host its Tabriz fundraiser event.  In keeping with that, today’s Architeaser features the entrance to the old Museum of Fine Arts in MacArthur Park.  When the Museum was reorganized into the Arkansas Arts Center and the building was expanded, the former entrance was incorporated into the new building.

The original building was designed by architect H. Ray Burks.  It was built by the Works Progress Administration and incorporates the art deco and neo-classical elements which were usually found in WPA buildings.  The entrance typifies this.  The arches contain the ridges, clean lines and fluting often found in art deco as well as classical figures in a frieze.

Little Rock Look Back: Mayor Sam M. Wassell

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IMG_5025On this date in 1883, future Little Rock Mayor Sam M. Wassell was born.  His grandfather John W. Wassell had been appointed Mayor of Little Rock in 1868.  He is the only Little Rock Mayor to be a grandson of another Little Rock Mayor.

Sam Wassell served on the Little Rock City Council from 1928 through 1934 and again from 1940 through 1946.  He is one of the few 20th Century Little Rock Mayors who previously served on the City Council.

Wassell was an attorney.  He practiced law privately and also served as an Assistant US Attorney.  In 1930, he ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for the US Congress representing the 5th Congressional District, which at the time included Little Rock.

Wassell ran for Mayor in 1947 and was unopposed in the general election.  He was unopposed in his bid for re-election in 1949.  During his second term, President Harry S. Truman visited Little Rock.  In 1951, he sought a third term as Mayor.  No Little Rock Mayor had sought a third consecutive term since 1923.  Though he received the Democratic nomination, the Republican party nominated Pratt Remmel who defeated Wassell by a 2 to 1 margin.

With a new USS Little Rock under construction, it is interesting to note that Mrs. Sam Wassell christened the previous USS Little Rock in 1944.  At the time, she was a City Councilor’s wife.

Mayor Wassell died on December 23, 1954 and is buried at Roselawn Cemetery in Little Rock.

April 26 Architeaser

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IMG_4940In 1986, the main City Hall building and the former Central Fire Station building were renovated.  A new structure was built to link the two buildings.  The front facade of that structure of that structure is featured today.

The structure is basically an enclosed walkway to connect the two buildings.  Doing any more would have required extensive redesign since the two buildings have different levels for their stories.  The structure mimics the neo-classical style found in both the City Hall and Fire Station buildings without matching either of the original buildings.

With this construction, each of the buildings in the City Hall complex on the corner of Markham and Broadway is now connected.

This complex does not house all of the City offices downtown.  For three blocks to the west of City Hall, there are five other City buildings. In addition there are other City structures downtown and in a variety of locations.

April 25 Architeaser

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IMG_4948In 1953, forty years after the original Central Fire Station opened, a new addition was constructed on the north side.  It was designed by K. E. N. Cole Jr. during the administration of Little Rock Mayor Pratt Remmel and Fire Chief Gann Nalley.  This structure was used for additional offices and storage.

It is fairly representative of mid-century government architecture.  With a flat roof and clean lines, it uses buff brick (which more closely matches the 1936 garage and 1938 jail than the 1913 fire station). The building features corrugated metal used as a decorative accent.  It does not appear there was any attempt to try to seamlessly blend in with the original building.

As part of the mid 1980s renovation, new windows were installed in this structure, but the original window style remains.  Today the building houses various City offices.

April 24 Architeaser

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IMG_4942In 1938 a new jail building was constructed north of the original City Hall building.  It was constructed by the WPA in a simplified Art Deco style.  It is connected to the Garage building.  The buff brick was accented by come granit flourishes and a frieze.  When the jail was closed, the building was used for storage.  From 1960 to 2007 it was used for storage of old files and some equipment.  Also during that time period some windows and doors were bricked in as well as other exterior and interior modifications were made.

Some of the exterior bars and interior jail doors still exist.  The exterior bars are visible today.  In 2007, the storage was relocated to an off-site location.  A portion of the old jail has been retrofitted as a fitness area for City employees.  In addition, the Parks and Recreation Department continues to use part of the facility for equipment storage and maintenance offices.

 

April 23 Architeaser

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IMG_4944In 1936 a City Garage was constructed behind City Hall (on the north side of the property).  Previously there had been a non-City factory on this site.

It was built in a very utilitarian style with a brick facade on the east and west faces and a curved Quonset roof atop brick walls on the north and south faces.  Over the years the building has been modified repeatedly (as is evidenced by the various shades of buff bricks visible not only in this picture but also throughout the actual building).

At one time offices were put in part of the building but they have been removed.  Today it is used to store City vehicles.

 

April 22 Architeaser

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IMG_4937Last week’s Architeasers focused on the 1908 Little Rock City Hall.  This week’s will look at the five other buildings which have are connected to City Hall.  The first opened in 1913 and the most recent structure opened in 1986.

Today’s feature looks at some of the detail on the frieze above the former Central Fire Station.  The building was constructed in 1912 and opened in 1913.  When the Fire Department moved out in the 1970s (and moved to their current site at 7th and Chester), it was used for storage and a few City offices.

This building was designed in the Beaux Arts Classicism style by Charles Thompson (designer of City Hall) and his associate Tom Harding (who would later design several other Little Rock fire stations).

Following the mid-1980s renovations, it was retrofitted to house more City offices and is now known as the City Hall West Wing (the name predated the TV show by a dozen years). The cornice work and wrought-iron on the front facade reflect the original use of the building as a fire station.