Tag Archives: City of Little Rock

LR Zoo Breaks into Spring

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Little-Rock-zoo-logo-4-c-with-tagSpring starts tomorrow, but the Little Rock Zoo is ready for Spring Breakers all week.

In addition to the new Cheetah and Penguin exhibits, the Zoo is home to elephants, bears, rhinos, giraffes, lions, gorillas, chimpanzees, tigers, and a host of birds and mammals.  And of course no visit to the zoo is complete without a stop off in the reptile house.

In addition, each day there are animal feedings for the public to witness.
10:30am |  Vampire Bats
1:15pm |  Penguins
1:30pm |  Great Ape Scatter Feeds

Speaking of feeding, visitors can take care of their own needs by dining at Cafe Africa.  It is located across from the Civitan Pavilion in the heart of the Little Rock Zoo.  The Cafe features menu items such as hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hotdogs, fries, soda, ice cream, and other food items.

The Little Rock Zoo is the proud home of the Arkansas Carousel, a one-of-a-kind Over-the-Jumps antique carousel that is the only fully operational carousel of its kind in the world.

The Little Rock Zoo is open from 9:00am to 5:00pm, with the last admission is at 4:00pm
The front gates will close at 4:00 pm. Guests who have entered may remain in the park until 5:00pm.

Admission Price
  • Adults: $10.00
  • Seniors 60+: $8.00
  • Children 12 and Under: $8.00
  • Children Under 12 Months of age are admitted free!
  • Active Duty Military (with ID or Adult Dependent ID): $2 off regular admission

Little Rock Look Back: Mayor Pat L. Robinson

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IMG_4517On this date in 1900, future Little Rock Mayor Pat L. Robinson was born.  While I cannot verify that he was indeed named after St. Patrick, it would be fairly reasonable to assume there might be a connection, especially given the fact that he was Catholic.

Robinson was a rising star of Little Rock Democratic politics.  In April 1929, just weeks after his 29th birthday, he was elected Mayor.  He had twice been elected as City Attorney (1926 and 1928) and was one of the youngest to serve in that position.

During Mayor Robinson’s tenure, he announced plans to construct a new airport.  That project led to the creation of what is now the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport.  Mayor Robinson was also involved in helping Philander Smith College secure the property where it is now located.  In addition, during his tenure, what is now the Museum of Discovery was folded into the City of Little Rock.

Single at the time he was in office and generally considered good looking, Mayor Robinson was sometimes referred to as the “Jimmy Walker of the Southwest.” Walker was the handsome and charming Mayor of New York City at the time.

Mayor Robinson ran afoul of some of the Democratic party leaders. Records don’t seem to indicate exactly what actions he took or did not take.  One thing that is brought up is that the City went into financial distress during his tenure.  Considering the Wall Street crash happened shortly after he took office, that financial state was not unique to Little Rock.

IMG_4532During this era in Little Rock, it was customary for an incumbent mayor to be given a second term. But City Clerk Horace Knowlton challenged Robinson in the primary.  It was a bitter campaign with Robinson linking Knowlton to disreputable denizens and Knowlton charging Robinson with “an orgy of spending.”  Robinson initially came out 17 votes ahead. But after a review and a lawsuit, it was found that Knowlton ended up with 10 more votes and became the nominee.  At the time, being the Democratic nominee was tantamount to election.

After he left office, Robinson practiced law for a few years in Little Rock and then left the city.  Records do not indicate where he went but he no longer appeared in the City of Little Rock directory by the early 1940s.

CALS opens new Children’s Library and Learning Center today

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CALS-Childrens-Library-and-Learning-Center-1-630x472Books, plants, vegetable soup, playwriting, and computers. Children will be able to learn more about each of these at the Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) Children’s Library and Learning Center, 4800 W. 10 St., when it opens today.

Set on a six-acre site, the $12 million, 30,000 square foot Children’s Library includes a computer lab with fourteen computers, teaching kitchen, large activity area, individual and group study rooms, theater, and community room in addition to a collection of more than 21,000 books, DVDs, and CDs.

In 2007, Little Rock voters approved a bond issue to provide funding for the Children’s Library.

Community input from library patrons as young as eleven years old helped CALS fine tune the concept of a vibrant, happy place for families with children to come for hands-on learning and enrichment. Activities and programs will be geared toward preschool, elementary, and middle school students and key subject areas will focus on the amenities of the site. The teaching kitchen is large enough to accommodate an entire class in learning about all facets of culinary arts, including nutrition, growing, cooking, and eating food.

In the 165-seat theater, children can experience all aspects of theater, including designing and building sets, writing plays, acting, and costume design. The state-of-the-art sound system, lighting, and projection screens will also be used for movies, concerts, and lectures.

The Children’s Library’s grounds are integral to the entire facility’s program. A greenhouse and teaching garden will help children learn about growing healthy foods as well as provide produce that will be used in the teaching kitchen programs. The grounds reflect the topography of Arkansas’s ecosystems, from the native hardwood trees in the highlands to vegetation of the wetland areas, which are both planted and original to the site. Walking paths offer families an attractive place for exercise while learning the names of the trees and plants, and an amphitheater has seating for outdoor programs or nature watching.

Homework and projects may be completed in the lab with fourteen computers or on laptops available for checkout using free Wi-Fi access. Early childhood computers and iPads with literacy apps allow small children to practice reading and computer skills. A limited number of computers and materials are available for adults who bring their children.

The Children’s Library will be open Monday – Thursday from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Architectural, engineering, construction, and landscaping services were provided by Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects; East-Harding Construction; Engineering Consultants, Inc.; TME, Inc.; McClelland Consulting Engineers, Inc.; Viridian; Ecological Design Group, Inc.; Grubbs, Hoskyn, Barton and Wyatt, Inc.; and Landscape Architecture, Inc. Additional funding for streets, parking, and walking paths came from the City of Little Rock and Pulaski County.

For more information contact 918-3086.

Little Rock Look Back: Mayor Byron R. Morse

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20130222-185157.jpgOn February 23, 1917, future Little Rock Mayor Byron R. Morse was born. A founder of the real estate firm of Rector-Phillips- Morse, he was long active in civic affairs of Little Rock.

Mayor Morse was first elected to the City Board of Directors in November 1960. In 1963, he was chosen as Little Rock Mayor. After serving two years as Mayor, he chose to not seek re-election to the City Board. In 1980, he was appointed to the City Board to fill out an unexpired term. He was later asked to fill another unexpired term but declined.

In 1983, he was elected national president of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors. Mayor Morse also served as president of the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, the Little Rock United Way, the Little Rock Red Cross, and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Little Rock Boy’s Club. He was a member of the Fifty for the Future. On July 25, 2001, Mayor Morse died.

LR Look Back: Mayor John Wassell

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JWassellFuture Little Rock Mayor John Wassell was born on February 15, 1813 in Kidderminster, England.

In 1829, he came to the United States.  He learned carpentry and construction in Ohio and ended up in Little Rock.  One of his jobs was as the finishing contractor on the State Capitol building, now known as the Old State House.  He later gave up carpentry and became an attorney.  (It is said that he did so after becoming embroiled in a legal dispute arising from one of his construction jobs.) Wassell also served as a judge.

In 1868, he was appointed Mayor of Little Rock by President Andrew Johnson.  He is Little Rock’s only Mayor to have served through a military appointment.  Mayor Wassell died in January 1881 and is buried at Mt. Holly Cemetery along with his wife and other family members.  One of his grandsons, Samuel M. Wassell also served as Mayor of Little Rock.

There is still time to ENVISION Little Rock

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envisinolrIn honor of the 100 year anniversary of John Nolan’s 1913 document Report on a Park System for Little Rock, THE 2013 ENVISION Competition seeks to challenge design professionals and the public to generate imaginative ideas about a new gateway into the City.

“I’m so excited about this project, I’ve been dreaming about it for 25 years,” said Keep Little Rock Beautiful Commissioner Bob Callans. “The partnership we’ve formed with the City of Little Rock and studio MAIN is making this historically significant event possible.”

The competition site lies at the eastern terminus and intersection of Capitol Avenue and I-30 in Ward 1.  Nolan’s plan envisioned Capitol Avenue as a ceremonial boulevard and this site as an iconic gateway to the City with the capitol building forming the western terminus.

“Right now Capitol Avenue ends on I-30 and it just kind of falls apart in terms of any design significance,” said studio MAIN spokesman James Meyer. “The inherent question is how do we build a structure that forms a gateway that makes it important for Little Rock residents and all the people who drive through the City on I-30.”

A jury panel will award a $1500.00 prize to the winners in the Professional, Public and Student categories.  Also, the public will vote for Best Iconic Design, Best Thorough Plan and an anything goes category called Wildcard. These winners will each receive $250.00 in prize money. ENVISION ideas competition is open to all students, design professionals, artists and anyone with a strong affinity for the future of Little Rock’s urban agenda.

“I’m excited to see what’s going to happen with the ideas and having been a part of an exercise of this with the Broadway Bridge, I’m particularly pleased to see these partners coming up with some competition and money that people can win by virtue of being selected,” said Mayor Mark Stodola. “This is a great opportunity to stimulate a lot of different ideas. Participants will have a nice window of time to think about this and look at what can be created.”

Participants can go to http://envisioinlittlerock2013.tumblr.com to register.

LR Look Back: Mayor W. W. Stevenson

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On this date in 1797, future Little Rock Mayor William Wilson Stevenson was born in South Carolina.  In 1811, he came to Arkansas when his family settled in Batesville.  An ordained Presbyterian minister, he married Ruana Trimble in 1821 and had two children.  After she died, he married Maria Tongray Watkins in 1831 and had two more children.

In 1831, he ran for Mayor in the first election for the office but was defeated by Dr. Matthew Cunningham.  The next year he ran to succeed Cunningham and was elected.  After leaving the Mayor’s office on December 31, 1833, he continued public service.  He was State Commissioner for Public Buildins in 1839.

In 1849, he delivered the funeral oration at the ceremony for Hon. Ambrose H. Seveier.  Later that year, he was hired as a geologist for the Little Rock and California Association which was created to take advantage of the gold rush.  He and his two oldest sons moved to California and never returned to Arkansas. He died in 1888.

No known photograph of Mayor Stevenson is known to exist.