Tag Archives: City of Little Rock

Little Rock Look Back: Bonds sold for Robinson Center in 1937

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clr-res-1418On December 20, 1937, the Little Rock City Council adopted Resolution 1,418 which authorized the sale of municipal bonds to fund the municipal auditorium.

Earlier that year, Little Rock voters had authorized the sale of $468,000 of Municipal Auditorium Bonds.  Since that January election, city leaders had been undertaking various steps to plan for the project.  Finally, they were ready to sell the bonds.  On December 20, a public sale was held.  The US federal government made a bid for the purchase of $418,000 of the bonds. It was the only bid received.

The sale was accompanied by an Emergency Clause so that it would go into effect immediately.  The clause noted: “It is ascertained and declared that by reason of the present economic conditions many citizens of the City are out of work, and the improvements herein provided would furnish work for a large number of persons and thereby add to the peace and happiness of the City; further, that the City has no Municipal Auditorium or facilities for large conventions or gatherings…”

The offer by the US Government to purchase the bonds was in addition to an outright grant of $342,000 to help fund the auditorium.

While there would be other issues in financing and funding the project, the sale of the bonds on December 20, 1937, set things in motion which led to the February 16, 1940, opening.

Susan Altrui is new director of Little Rock Zoo

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cc15 altruiSusan Altrui will take the helm as the Little Rock Zoo’s new director, City Manager Bruce T. Moore announced today.  Altrui, who has been with the state’s only accredited zoo since 2005, fills the position left open by the retirement of longtime director Mike Blakely in October.

“Our goal is for the Little Rock Zoo to become one of the top mid-sized city zoos in the country,” Moore said. “Susan is the person to get us there because of her experience, dedication and vision. I’m excited to have her leading the Zoo as it continues its growth as a world-class institution focused on education, conservation and recreation.”

Altrui began her career at the Zoo as the director of marketing and development and executive director of the Arkansas Zoological Foundation. In July 2015, she was named the Zoo’s assistant director. She has been responsible for marketing, public relations, special events, development, government relations, and fundraising for the Zoo and has helped to maintain the Zoo’s accreditation.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to take on this important new role as the next director of the Little Rock Zoo. I’m ready to work hard with our city leaders, staff, volunteers, board members and other members of the community to grow and develop our Zoo,” Altrui said. “The Zoo is a place that nurtures our passion for animals and encourages respect for all living things. It’s a place where learning lives.”

Under Altrui’s guidance, the Zoo has raised funds for the Laura P. Nichols Penguin Pointe exhibit, the Laura P. Nichols Cheetah Outpost, Diamond Express Train and the Arkansas Heritage Farm exhibit, which opened in April of this year.

Altrui served as project manager for a new master plan and strategic plan. She also worked on the Zoo accreditation by attending hearings on three separate occasions before the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Accreditation Committee. She has developed several successful fundraisers, including Zoo Brew and the annual Wild Wines event, which is now one of Arkansas’s largest food and wine festivals.

Altrui holds a master’s degree in Applied Studies in Communication from Colorado State University and a bachelor’s degree in the same area from Arkansas State University.

Ninety years ago, the Little Rock Zoo brought wildlife to the citizens of Arkansas with just two animals: an abandoned timber wolf and a circus-trained bear. Today, the Zoo is one of Arkansas’ most attended attractions, with approximately 300,000 visitors annually. It cares for more than 700 animals representing 200 different species, many endangered.

The Zoo is part of the AZA Species Survival Plan aimed at saving threatened/endangered species through cooperative breeding, a program that Altrui seeks to expand.

“My goal as Zoo director is to enhance our conservation education efforts and to provide an engaging experience for every guest every time they walk through our gate,” Altrui said. “Updating and renovating the Zoo is essential and we have already begun the planning process for the next major animal exhibit. We are also revamping education efforts to provide exciting, engaging programming that helps inspire who you want to be and who you can become. We will help cultivate the next generation of biologists, wildlife scientists and conservationists.”

Little Rock Look Back: J. J. McAlmont (Little Rock Mayor and UAMS founder)

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McAlmontJohnJ_fFuture Little Rock Mayor John Josephus McAlmont was born on this date in 1821 in New York state. (Various reports give his birth date as December 22 — but the family reports December 19 as the date.)

After studying medicine in Pennsylvania and Ohio, he arrived in Little Rock in March 1850 with his family.  After practicing medicine in nearby Benton, he returned to Little Rock in 1852.  In addition to being a physician, he was a pharmacist.

During the Civil War, he relocated his family out of Little Rock (to a spot where the present day community of McAlmont bears his name).  Following the war, he moved them back to the City.  In 1866 he was elected Mayor of Little Rock, the first elected Mayor since local government resumed following the Civil War.

In October 1879, he and seven other physicians founded the Arkansas Industrial University Medical Department in Little Rock. This institution has grown into the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.  He served on the faculty of the medical school for several years.

Dr. McAlmont died in September 1896.  He is buried at Mount Holly Cemetery.  In addition to the McAlmont community bearing his name, there is a McAlmont street in downtown Little Rock which was named in his memory.

Little Rock Look Back: Christmas songs on Robinson Center front steps

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Today, the Arkansas Symphony wraps up its holiday music concert at Robinson Center.

Similarly, 77 years ago,on December 18, 1939, the sounds of Christmas carols filled the air at Robinson. Only that time it was outside the building, not inside.

That afternoon, 500 school children from elementary schools were joined by the A Capella Choir of Little Rock High School as they sang Christmas carols on the front steps of the auditorium on a weekday afternoon. The singers were accompanied by the Little Rock High School Brass Sextet. The invocation for the event, which was sponsored by the Little Rock Council of Parents and Teachers, was delivered by the Right Reverend Richard Bland Mitchell, the Episcopal Bishop of Arkansas.

A Christmas tree in front of City Hall was lit up as part of the ceremony as well. Media coverage noted that the audience witnessing the program stood on the front steps of the Pulaski County Courthouse, the side lawn of City Hall and in front of the steps of Robinson Auditorium. It was also noted that most windows in the nearby government buildings were filled with people watching the ceremony.

Little Rock Look Back: Charles Bussey

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Future Little Rock Mayor Charles Bussey was born on December 18 in 1918. 

Throughout his life he was a trailblazer. He was the first African American Sheriff’s Deputy in Pulaski County and expanded the Junior Deputy program into the African American community.

In 1968 he became the first African American elected to the Little Rock City Board of Directors. He was not the first African American to run for the City Board, but he was the first to win a race. Mr. Bussey sought support not just from the African American community, but from all sectors of Little Rock.

Apparently, while campaigning in 1968, he deliberately went into the Arkansas headquarters of segregationist presidential candidate George Wallace to see about leaving campaign literature. A hulking man with a broad smile, he shocked the young receptionist. He was undoubtedly the first (and probably last) African American to enter that campaign headquarters.

He served from 1969-1977 and again from 1979 through 1991. In 1981 he was selected by his fellow City Directors to serve as Little Rock’s Mayor, which made him the first African American Mayor of Little Rock. He served as Vice Mayor of Little Rock for a total of 8.5 years which is the longest of anyone in the City’s history.

Throughout his lifetime Mayor Bussey championed youth outreach efforts. He also was active in the Arkansas Municipal League, National League of Cities, West Little Rock Rotary Club, Elks, Shriners and many other organizations.

In 2006 he was posthumously inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame. The previous year, 20th Street in Little Rock was renamed in his honor. In 2015 he was included in the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail.

Little Rock Look Back: Gordon N. Peay, Little Rock’s 23rd Mayor

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Mayor PeayOn December 12, 1819, future Little Rock Mayor Gordon Neill Peay was born.  The Peay family arrived in Arkansas from Kentucky in 1825.  They quickly became one of Little Rock’s leading families.  Mayor Peay’s father, Nicholas Peay served on the Little Rock Board of Trustees (which existed before the town was incorporated) and later served on the City Council and was acting mayor.

Godon N. Peay served as mayor of Little Rock from 1859 to 1861.  During the Civil War, Peay served as Captain and later Colonel of the Capital Guard.  He later received a pardon from the federal government.  In the days leading up to the Civil War and during it, Mayor Peay was one of a select group of civic leaders who corresponded with President Lincoln and other Union leaders. It has been said that this conciliatory tone is a reason that Little Rock fared better during Federal occupation and Reconstruction than did many other Confederate cities.

The Peay family owned the Peay Hotel, Little Rock’s first hotel, and were also co-founders of what became Worthen Bank.  They were also a founding family of Christ Episcopal Church. Mayor Peay later served as Pulaski County Chancery Clerk.

He died on December 14, 1876, and is buried at Mount Holly Cemetery along with many members of his family.  A nephew of his, Ashley Peay, served on the City Council in the 1920s.  Mayor Peay’s great-grandson Joseph Barber Hurst, Sr. served on the Little Rock City Board of Directors from 1967-1971. One of Mr. Hurst’s sons, Howard, was born on Mayor Peay’s birthday.

Little Rock Look Back: LR votes to Restore Robinson!

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restore-robinson-121013On Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2013, voters of Little Rock overwhelmingly chose to renovate the historic Joseph Taylor Robinson Memorial Auditorium.

By a vote of 5,183 For and 1,800 Against, Little Rock citizens approved a plan to use a portion of the city’s existing 2 percent restaurant and hotel tax to repay bonds for a renovation of Robinson Center.  The campaign was chaired by businessman Charles Stewart, restaurateur Capi Peck and former LR Mayor Jim Dailey.

Robinson has long been a landmark in central Arkansas. Construction of the Joseph T. Robinson Memorial Auditorium began in 1938 (after a December 1937 groundbreaking under a deadline) and officially opened February 1940. The structure was a PWA (Public Works Administration) project, and is an excellent example of the Art Deco style architecture of the time. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

The facility is owned by the City of Little Rock and managed by the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The 1940 structure suffered from a wide array of deficiencies, including stage loading and unloading, stage size, acoustical insufficiency, dressing room access and inadequate wing space within the performance hall. Also, structural, mechanical and electrical issues, public circulation and outdated conference center spaces existed within the facility.

Knowing the center is in need of major upgrades if the facility is to continue to serve central Arkansas into the future, the Little Rock Advertising and Promotion Commission (LRA&P) empanelled a Robinson Center Concept Team in October 2011. The group was tasked with evaluating all aspects of the existing facility, researching user needs, proposing conceptual solutions and estimating the cost and construction schedule of the proposed additions and renovations. The concept team was led by Mike Steelman of SCM Architects, PLLC, and included representatives from WD&D Architects, Shuler Shook Theatre Planners, Jaffe-Holden Acoustical Consultants, TME Inc. Mechanical and Electrical Engineers, ECI Inc. Structural Engineers, McClelland Consulting Engineers Inc. Civil Engineers, East Harding Construction, HVS Consulting and Hunt Construction Group.

Additionally, stakeholder and tenant organizations representing the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Celebrity Attractions of Tulsa, Oklahoma and the Double Tree Hotel participated in the planning. The concept team findings were presented publicly on June 5, 2012.

On January 17, 2013 the LRA&P announced the selection of Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects, partnered with Ennead Architects, as the architectural and design team for the future renovations. On March 28, 2013 CDI Contractors LLC, partnered with Hunt Construction Group, were selected by LRA&P as the general contractors and construction managers.

On September 23, 2013 the final schematic renderings and cost estimates were presented publicly. The schematic plans depict major interior upgrades within the performance hall including additional volume to create a two-balcony setup, increased lobby space, acoustical improvements, theatrical upgrades, loading dock expansion, a larger stage area, and new dressing room facilities. Additionally, an enhanced modern ballroom and small conference center was unveiled. New technology, mechanical systems, and outdoor plaza spaces were included in the presentation.

Construction would begin on July 1, 2014.  It reopened on schedule and on budget on November 10, 2016.