Yesterday’s Architeaser was the 501 Building. That is its imaginative name now – not taken from the fact that it is the area code of Central Arkansas, but taken from the street address on Woodlane Drive. Most Little Rock residents still refer to it by the name the building had when it opened in 1955 – the National Old Line Building.
Here is today’s Architeaser, also for a building which has changed names.
The newest museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center is located at Ninth Street and Broadway in downtown Little Rock. The Center is located in a site that was once the hub of Arkansas’ African American life and culture.
The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center The museum is dedicated to collecting, preserving, interpreting, and celebrating African American history, culture and community in Arkansas from 1870 to the present, and informs and educates the public about black achievements – especially in business, politics and the arts. Through special events, outreach and exhibits such as the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame, the museum celebrates Arkansas’s African American heritage.
Permanent exhibits include “A Building for the Community,” “A City within a City,” “Brotherhood and the Bottom Line,” “Entrepreneurial Spirit” and “African Americans in Arkansas.” In addition, it currently features the exhibits “Soul Sanctuary: Images of the African American Worship Experience” and “Capturing Greatness.”
The roots of the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center date back to 1992 when a group of concerned citizens fought to save the Mosaic Templars of America Headquarters building from being demolished. The building had been built in 1913 as one of what would eventually be a three-structure complex which was home to the Mosaic Templars of America organization. In 1993, the City of Little Rock purchased the building in order to save it. In 2001, the structure became property of the State of Arkansas and the fourth museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.
While renovation plans were underway in March 2005, a fire destroyed the historic structure. But the State, City and other supporters worked to ensure that the museum facility would be rebuilt. Using the original design as inspiration, the new museum opened in September 2008.
The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center is opened Tuesday through Saturday from 9am to 5pm.
Little Rock Culture Vulture 