Tag Archives: Robinson Center Performance Hall

Creative Class 2016: Gretchen Hall

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cc16-hallA hardhat and reflective vest have been part of Gretchen Hall‘s work wardrobe almost every day for the past 30 months.  As the President and CEO of the Little Rock Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, she has been actively overseeing the deconstruction and reconstruction of Robinson Center Music Hall. Taking a New Deal era assembly hall and making it into a state-of-the-art performance facility is not an easy task. Gretchen and her team have worked with the architects, engineers, designers and consultants to make it happen.

Gretchen joined LRCVB in 2001 and has worked her way up through the organization.  In May 2011, she was named to her current position.  Since that time, the LRCVB has undertaken numerous efforts to enhance Little Rock’s cultural life including a new amphitheatre in Riverfront Park, enhanced programming at the River Market, and increased financial support of cultural organizations.  In addition, she helped lead the effort to see the additional penny of the hotel tax be dedicated to support the Arkansas Arts Center and MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History. That tax was approved by voters earlier in 2016.

The new Robinson Center will feature seats that are closer to the stage and acoustics that can be adjusted to maximize the different needs of a symphony performance and a Broadway musical.  The changes in the facility have already attracted bookings by the national tours of The Phantom of the Opera (in 2017) and The Lion King (in 2018).  In addition, there will be new special event space including a ballroom and meeting rooms.  The historic lobby at the top of the iconic front steps is being restored to its original appearance — much of which was stripped away or covered up in the early 1970s.

After the November 10 ribbon cutting, Robinson Center will be re-opened.  As Hall points out, almost all residents of Central Arkansas have a connection to Robinson Center. She notes in her family alone, her mother played basketball there, her own high school graduation was there, and her niece has appeared in Ballet Arkansas’ The Nutcracker there.

Brown Bag lecture at Old State House today focuses on Robinson Center construction

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robinson-auditorium-by-scott-carterToday (Thursday, October 6) at noon at the Old State House, the Brown Bag lecture focuses on the construction of the Joseph Taylor Robinson Memorial Auditorium.

After three decades of failed attempts to build a municipal auditorium in Little Rock, the New Deal finally offered the opportunity to build a structure for performances and conventions. But there were still many roadblocks on the way to the opening of the Joseph Taylor Robinson Memorial Auditorium.

For this Brown Bag Lunch Lecture, Scott Whiteley Carter will examine the changes and chances from October 1935 to April 1940 leading up to the opening of Robinson Auditorium. The period featured a reluctant but triumphant mayor, a crusading newspaper editor, political intrigue, financial chaos, and a plethora of frustration — all ultimately leading to a monument to civic pride.

A native of Little Rock, Carter is Special Projects Administrator at the City of Little Rock. Among his duties in this capacity are research and functioning as the city’s historian.

Little Rock Look Back: Cornice placed on Robinson Auditorium

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JTR CorniceOn June 1, 1939, the cornice was installed on Robinson Auditorium.  This granite slab noted the name of the building as the Joseph Taylor Robinson Memorial Auditorium.  (It is interesting to note that it used the more modern “u” instead of the classical “v” which was often used in buildings during prior decades – as evidenced by the Pvlaski Covnty Covrt Hovse across the street.)

This was a milestone marking the completion of the front facade of the structure.  Much work would continue on the interior of the structure.  This step in the construction was considered major enough that the Arkansas Gazette mentioned it in a news article.

Today the cornice is again surrounded by construction materials and braces. The front lobby, the cornice and columns are pretty much the only parts of the building not currently under construction as Robinson Center is readied for its second act.  It is scheduled to open in November 2016.

Arkansas Heritage Month – LR Mayor Satterfield oversees opening of Robinson Auditorium

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Satterfield AuditUpon taking office as mayor in April 1939, J. V. Satterfield felt he was getting a handle on Little Rock’s precarious financial situation. He would soon discover that it was more unstable than he had imagined.  Included in this was Robinson Auditorium, currently under construction across the street from his office in City Hall.  Mayor Satterfield disclosed that he had voted against the auditorium in 1937 because he felt the finances were not sufficient. But as the mayor, he promised to open the building.

By the summer of 1939, it was becoming apparent that there would not sufficient money to finish the construction.  Even with the issuance of the final round of approved bonds (which had been held back as a reserve), there would not be enough money.  The Mayor and Harvey Couch made plans to go to Washington DC to try to get more money from the federal government.  Mr. Couch was a personal friend of President Roosevelt as well as head of Arkansas Power & Light.  The pair made the trip but returned with no additional money.

At the same time, the Auditorium Commission, which had been appointed by Mayor Overman to oversee the governance of the building, resigned as a group. They said they had been appointed to administer a building, not a construction site. Since it was uncertain as to when the building would open, they stepped down.

Mayor Satterfield was able to negotiate a series of deals to get the necessary work completed for construction of the building to be completed. Part of it involved issuing another round of bonds after the building had been officially opened to finish furnishing the building as well as complete the landscaping.  In January 1940, with a new opening date becoming a stronger possibility, the mayor appointed a new Auditorium Commission.

At the same time, regular events started to take place in the lower level exhibition hall.  There had been a few in November and December, but with a lack of utilities and ongoing construction upstairs in the music hall, those were curtailed.

On February 16, 1940, Joseph Taylor Robinson Memorial Auditorium officially opened. Mayor Satterfield was joined onstage for the ribbon cutting with Senator Robinson’s widow and her sister-in-law, who was a member of the Auditorium Commission.

In April 1940, Little Rock voters approved the final round of bonds which allowed for the building to be finished.

After only two years in office, Mayor Satterfield chose not to seek another term. He left City Hall in April 1941 with finances in order and a new municipal auditorium across the street.

Arkansas Heritage Month – LR Mayor Moyer and a Municipal Auditorium

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Moyer AuditIn anticipation of the November 2016 reopening of Robinson Center Music Hall, this week’s Arkansas Heritage Month entries look at seven Little Rock Mayors who worked on proposals for a municipal auditorium between 1904 and 1940.

After having served as Pulaski County Judge, Charles Moyer was elected Little Rock Mayor in April 1925.  He concluded his inaugural address later that month with a request that all Little Rock voters should support the auditorium district proposal in the May 1925 special election.  Voters approved the auditorium, but the concept of an auditorium district was thrown out by the Arkansas Supreme Court after a legal challenge.

Mayor Moyer then led a statewide effort to get a Constitutional amendment approved to allow for public bonds to be used on auditoriums and a host of other structures, as long as voters approved the issuance of bonds.  This was approved by voters in October 1926.  Though Mayor Moyer publicly advocated for an auditorium after that election, he did not lead a subsequent effort to create one.  During his tenure, conventions were largely centered around the Hotel Marion.  A new Little Rock High School was built (now Little Rock Central High) with that auditorium supplanting its predecessor as the location of choice for large-scale performances.

He left office in April 1929.  In the final weeks of Mayor Moyer’s second term, Planning Commission Chair J. N. Heiskell (editor of the Arkansas Gazette) started discussing the need for a civic center for Little Rock which would include space for a municipal auditorium.

Charles Moyer returned to the office of mayor for an additional two terms in the 1940s. By that time Robinson Auditorium had been opened.

Arkansas Heritage Month – LR Mayor Brickhouse and a Municipal Auditorium

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Brickhouse AuditIn anticipation of the November 2016 reopening of Robinson Center Music Hall, this week’s Arkansas Heritage Month entries look at seven Little Rock Mayors who worked on proposals for a municipal auditorium between 1904 and 1940.

Former Alderman Ben D. Brickhouse took office as mayor in April 1919.  As an alderman, he had been party to the discussions and hand-wringing over the existing “temporary” auditorium, which was twelve years old at the time.  In June 1920, he and the City Council authorized City Engineer James Rice to have the building demolished.  (Rice’s grandson Jim Rice is an integral member of the team overseeing the restoration of Robinson Center Music Hall.)

On what seemed to be an annual basis, Brickhouse entertained options for a new municipal auditorium.  Sometimes it would be private groups, on at least one occasion, Mayor Brickhouse himself led the effort.  Funding and location always seemed to be stumbling blocks.  Arkansas law forbade the use of public dollars on an auditorium, so the money would have to be raised privately. Few private entities had the money for this type of project.  Another temporary auditorium had been proposed for City Park (now MacArthur Park), but aldermen balked at the expense for a temporary building.

During the Brickhouse administration, the Hotel Marion was the main site for conventions. The auditorium at the Little Rock High School (later East Side Junior High) was used frequently for performances.

Mayor Brickhouse worked behind the scenes to have the Arkansas General Assembly pass legislation to allow for the creation of an auditorium taxing district, much like a street improvement district. In May 1925 Little Rock voters would be given the chance to approve this.  But Brickhouse would not be mayor by the time that election came around.  He was defeated in his bid for a fourth term and left office in April 1925.

Ben D. Brickhouse did return to public service in 1938, when he was elected to the Arkansas General Assembly.  He was reelected in 1940 and died in June 1941.

Arkansas Heritage Month – LR Mayor Taylor and a Municipal Auditorium

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Taylor AuditIn anticipation of the November 2016 reopening of Robinson Center Music Hall, this week’s Arkansas Heritage Month entries look at seven Little Rock Mayors who worked on proposals for a municipal auditorium between 1904 and 1940.

Charles Taylor became Little Rock’s mayor in April 1911.  He inherited the temporary auditorium that was already showing signs of wear and tear after four years.  Throughout the eight years he was in office, he and the City Council wrestled with the question of what to do about the auditorium.

Time and time again, there would be calls to tear the building down. Its proximity to the 1913 fire station was causing the insurance rates on that building to be increased. It was viewed as structurally unsound and had outlived its useful life.  However, without that building, there would be no public space for conventions and community meetings.  While the Hotel Marion offered convention facilities in its ballroom, it did not necessarily lend itself to trade shows. In addition, as a private entity, it was able to set its own rules without necessary regard to the general public.

A 1913 proposal by planner John Nolen had called for an auditorium to be built on a new plaza area near City Hall.  Due to funding issues, that plan never gained traction, despite repeated attempts by its backers to push for it.

At the time he left office in April 1919, Mayor Taylor had still not been able to solve the problem of a municipal auditorium.