I have finally traveled to all 50 states, being able to check off Arkansas!
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| Arkansas State Capitol (1900-1915, by George R Mann in Classical Revival style) in Little Rock, AR (KSS) |
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| Hand-polished bronze doors were purchased from Tiffany & Co |
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| Rotunda view of the dome (KSS) |
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| Old Supreme Court room |
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| At age 32, Bill Clinton was, at the time, the youngest governor ever in the country |
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| Unfortunately the photo does not accurately show the 14 colors of the original paint scheme |
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| Arkansas is unique in allowing its citizens, and curious tourists, to enter the Treasurer's office to see and hold actual "tax" dollars according to consitutional mandate that citizens may come and verify the money has not been stolen by politicians; Tamiko holds 22 pounds worth $600,000 and Kent holds ten dollars in quarters (a Roadside America attraction) |
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| This vault is largely symbolic and does not hold much more than what we handled |
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| The 22,000-pound outer vault door required building a railroad spur up to the level of the Treasurer's office to deliver it |
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| The Governor's Reception Room has a portrait of former Governor Mike Huckabee, father of the current governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders (KSS) |
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| House Chamber |
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| Bronze doors of an elevator |
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| Senate Chamber |
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| Drapes were installed in the Senate to dampen the noise and echoing in the chamber; note that the House and Senate Chambers each have a Tiffany chandelier |
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| Monument to Confederate Women (1913, by J Otto Schweizer) |
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| A sculpture of an eagle soaring towards us marks the Medal of Honor Memorial (1999-2000, by John Deering) |
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| The Eternal Flame (1969) symbolizes the Spirit of Freedom and celebrated the American Legion on its 50th anniversary |
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| The Ten Commandments (2nd one, 2018) is not listed as a monument on the State Capitol's list |
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| Bauxite Boulder (placed 1943) symbolizes the state's contribution to World War II; they provided 98% of the US-mined bauxite for aluminum production |
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| Testament: The Little Rock Nine Salute (2005, by John Deering) honors the nine Black students who integrated Little Rock Centrall High School in 1957 (KSS) |
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| The Little Rock Nine figures face the window of the Governor's Office; it was the first civil rights monument located on any state capitol grounds in the South (KSS) |
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| Monument to Confederate Soldiers (1905, by Frederick Ruckstuhl); it is fitting to honor the Arkansans who died in war; however, "our furled banner ... we adore it" and sentiments at the dedication such as "the Confederate cause ... is not a lost cause" have resulted in a persevering belief held by generations, which is difficult to change |
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| Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site Visitor Center (2007) tells the story of the nine Black students who sought to attend an all-white high school (after the Supreme Court decision of Brown vs Board of Education, ruling that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional) and faced defiance of the state and local officials, especially the Governor |
President Eisenhower was a bit soft on negotiating with Governor Faubus, but eventually he federalized the Arkansas National Guard, so that they no longer took orders from the governor. Although the governor was responsible for maintaining law and order, Little Rock Mayor Woodrow Mann pleaded with President Eisenhower to send federal troops to control the armed mob at the school.
On September 23, the nine Black students were escorted into Little Rock Central High School by members of the 101st Airborne Division, brought in from Fort Campbell in Kentucky. Black journalists were attacked by the mob, which was now cordoned off from school property.
It seems all along, teachers were providing assignments to the Black students, and when white students left the school on September 23, school administrators did not allow them back to school without a parent conference. As the school year progressed, the federalized National Guard took over escort duties. Yet the Black students continued to suffer attacks and insults in school, and Elizabeth Huckaby, a vice principal charged with protecting the six Black girls, also was attacked and received threats. Ernest Green became the first African American to graduate from Central High School in May, 1958, with Dr Martin Luther King, Jr attending his graduation.
Still in defiance of integration, Governor Faubus closed the schools for the entire 1958-1959 year. When they reopened in August 1959, the eight remaining Black students ended up completing high school at other schools or through correspondence. Information after 1959 peters out, yet Faubus continued to be governor of Arkansas until 1967, having shifted his stance to be less confrontational.
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| Little Rock Central High School (1927, by John Parks Almand in Neo-Gothic Revival style) is still a functioning school, and we were not allowed on the property until all the students were gone (we did not tell them we had parked in the high school lot!) (KSS) |
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| Magnolia Mobil Gas Station (1920s, in the Southwest model style) had a pay telephone in 1957, and became a media center for newspaper and television reporters to communicate with home offices and file stories,being located across the street; the gas station building was the Central High Museum and Visitor Center 1997-2007 |
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| Daisy Bates House (1955) was the home of the president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) State Conference of Branches and she published the African-American weekly newspaper Arkansas State Press with her husband |
We ran into two gentlemen at the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site Visitor Center, then again at the Daisy Bates House. They were in Arkansas for a reunion of Japanese-Americans who were forcibly relocated during World War II to Arkansas internment camps at Rohwer and Jerome. They were cousins whose parents had been in the camps. Before returning home to California and Maryland, they were seeing the Civil Rights Trail sites in Little Rock.
MacArthur Park:
Next: Arkansas Museum of Fine Art.
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| Governor's Mansion(1947-1950, by Frank J Ginocchio, Jr and Edwin B Cromwell in Colonial Georgian Revival style) |
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| Arkansas Korean War Veterans Memorial (2007) was mostly funded by the sister city of Hanam City in South Korea, and includes a group sculpture (2007, by David and Bre Harris) of an African-America soldier (signifying the end of racial discrimination on the US armed forces) and a medic reaching out to Korean children (symbolic of humanitarian efforts) |
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| Blooming (2018) depicts swans from the city of Hanam bringing love to its sister city of Little Rock |
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| MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History (2001) is located in the historic Tower Arsenal building (1840); General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was born here when his father was stationed at the arsenal |
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| First Missionary Baptist Church (1882, in Gothic Revival style) was first organized in 1845, making it one of the oldest African-American congregations in Arkansas; Dr Martin Luther King, Jr gave a sermon here in 1963, and Governor Bill Clinton gave the 145th church anniversary address |
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| Old State House (1833-1842, by Gideon Shryock in Greek Revival style) is the oldest surviving state capitol building west of the Mississippi River |
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| H U Lee International Gate/Songahm Martial Arts Gate (2007, in Korea) was donated by the heirs of Grand Master Haeng Ung Lee, who had his American Taekwondo Association (ATA) headquarters in Little Rock (a Roadside America attraction) |
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| Half statue of Grand Master H U Lee |
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| H U Lee International Garden with a fountain in a Songahm Star base, which is created by a square overlapping a square turned 45 degrees |
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