Little Rock and Capitol Sites

Our original plan was to spend a week in Little Rock to tour the capitol and check out the area, but it turned out we could not get a reservation for that long. That meant we had to spend two days rather than one at another RV park between Waco and Little Rock.

We stayed at Ramblin Fever in Mount Pleasant. It turned out to be a great stop because we found Anvil Brewing in nearby Pittsburg. The building was originally a feed store and it was really neat!

The food was good, the beer was good and they had music. This duo played a great variety of music. The rock tunes with the fiddle where very cool. If you are in the area make sure you check out Anvil Brewing.

We stayed at Downtown Riverfront Park in North Little Rock on the banks of the Arkansas River with a nice view of the city. The park is a great deal and with Passport America it is by far the least expensive urban camping we have done in our years on the road.

Right by the park is the old Rock Island Railroad bridge that is now part of a walking and biking trail along the river. A real bonus was the light show on the bridge ever evening. The last night we were there it was a red, white and blue tribute to America.

The William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library is right on the other side of the bridge making it well within walking distance from the park. We toured the Clinton Library on an earlier visit to Little Rock so it was not on our to do list this time.

The Arkansas capitol is the 33rd we have toured. It was built in the early 1900's on the site of the old state prison. The prisoners were used to construct the building which started in 1899 and was not completed until 1915, even though they started using it in 1911. The building is of neo-classic design with the dome rising 213 feet above the ground. Like many capitols, it ended up costing double the $1.1 million that had been budgeted. Arkansas limestone was used for the exterior walls while softer Indiana limestone was used for the dome.  

In the rotunda they have the official portraits of four former governors including Mike Huckabee who served from 1996 to 2007.  Another portrait we recognized is a very young looking Bill Clinton who, at 32,was elected governor in 1979 and was the youngest in the nation at that time. He lost his bid for reelection but came back in 1983 and won the first of five more terms before becoming president in 1993.   

The Senate chamber. There are thirty-five senators who are allowed to serve up to 16 years in the General Assembly. The lieutenant governor, who is the presiding officer of the senate, sits at the marble desk.

The skylight in the Senate was originally crystal glass that resulted in to much glare from the sun. In 1914 it was changed to stained glass. About the same time the drapes were added to give the chamber better acoustics. Unfortunately, the House Chamber was undergoing a major renovation so we did not get to see it. There are 100 members in the House that serve under the same rules as the Senate which allow only a total of 16 years in the General Assembly.

The interior walls and floor are of marble from Vermont. 

The fluted columns are of marble that was quarried in Colorado and the grand staircase was carved from Alabama marble.

The only works of public art in the capitol are these which are located in the grand halls leading to the legislative chambers. The first two are Education and Justice in the Senate hall. The other two are War and Religion in the House hall. This capitol has the fewest pieces of art work of any of the capitols we have toured.

The Governor's Reception Room is used for staff meetings, press conferences, bill signings and other public events. There is a fireplace at each end of the room with marble sculptures. One honoring Native Americans and the other honoring European explorers and settlers. Without a doubt, this was the most ornate room in the capitol.

The old Supreme Court Chamber was used by the court from 1912 until 1958 when a new Justice building was built. While the design is rather simple, the shields around the ceiling are symbolic of the principles of justice and law. The green shield is for defense and watchfulness, the gray shield for safety, truth, intelligence, amity and purity and the terracotta shield for wisdom and enlightenment.

If you tour the Arkansas capitol don't miss the tour of the Treasurer's Office. The vault door weighs 11 tons but moves easily on the huge hinges. A safe by the same company survived the explosion of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima.  This is Terry, our guide, who really, really loved his job. 

Here is why you need to tour the vault. Terry took us into the vault and let Nanc hold this stack of money. That is five bundles with one thousand $100 bills each. Do the math, she is holding a half million dollars. That is A LOT OF MOOLA!!!!!!

And when I asked to hold some money look what he gave me, a roll of quarters. Do the math, that is a lousy $10.00. No wonder Nanc is all smiles. Of course there were no free samples but we did get a commemorative coin. 

We always love seeing people expressing their right to petition the government. They were protesting for more services for the forgotten poor. We later saw on the news that several were arrested for acts of non-violent civil disobedience modeled after Gandhi and Martin Luther King.  

There are several monuments of the grounds of the capitol. This statue honors the Little Rock Nine, the first group of African Americans who defied the Arkansas governor and integrated Central High School in 1957. We toured the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site on an earlier visit.  Here is the link to the park service web page about those events.

This monument honors the fallen firefighters from Arkansas. There is also one honoring fallen police officers.

While this is not one of the fancier capitols we have toured, as always, it is an interesting experience learning about the state's history.

The Old State House was the original capitol building in Arkansas. It is a Greek Revival building that was already under construction when Arkansas became a state in 1836. It is now a museum that celebrates Arkansas history from the time it became a state. This building was used by Bill Clinton on election nights in 1992 and 1996 to celebrate his election as president.

One of the special exhibits was A Piece of My Soul – Quilts by Black Americans. I thought these two were very interesting. The one on the left is called the Broken Dishes Quilt and on the right is the Center Medallion Quilt. We are always amazed at the time people put into quilts and how they are such works of art.

The 1836 House of Representatives Chamber has been restored to its original appearance. A larger house chamber was added to the back of the building in 1885 to accommodate the growing size of the government. That room now has displays of Arkansas political figures.

 One of the exhibits has the gowns of the first ladies. Since Clinton served six terms, there were six gowns worn by Hillary.  

While we did not get to stay in Little Rock as long as we had planned, we had a great visit and we may have to return someday.