Walking Tour of the Capitol Grounds

Today we went out early this morning and took a walking tour of the Arkansas State Capitol Grounds. There are 12 memorials to groups, individuals and events of Arkansas. In addition to the memorials, there are hundreds of trees, shrubs and flower gardens. This memorial is the War of 1812 Memorial Fountain. Many veterans of the War of 1812 received land grants in Arkansas Territory in lieu of pay for their service. This is a memorial to the 56 War of 1812 veterans who are buried in Arkansas and was dedicated in 1917. So....in return for risking their life in a war, they were given some land out in Indian Territory.
Rose in the rose garden.

Zinnia in one of the flower beds. Absolutely the most beautiful zinnias I have ever seen were in this bed of all sizes and colors.

The Eternal Flame symbolizing the "Spirit of Freedom". The flame was first lit on July 11, 1969.

The War Prisoners' Marker: The Capitol sits on ground that used to be a state prison. During the Civil Way, both Union and Confederate prisoners were held in this prison. This marker is in remembrance of the Confederate prisoners imprisoned here.

The Little Rock Nine Monument sits on the north side of the capitol. This sculptural grouping was dedicated in 2005 to honor the courage of the students who enrolled at Little Rock's Central High School in 1957. Their action was a major event in the Civil Right's movement. Quotations from each of the Nine are feature around the bronze figures.

A Liberty Bell Replica also sits on the North Side of the Capitol. The bell is one of 50 distributed to the states in 1950 after a successful Liberty Bond drive. The bond sale raised $6.5 billion to help pay the military costs of World War II. In 1977, it was incorporated into the present design along with a nearby fountain to pay tribute to American's Bicentennial.

Arkansas Governor's Mansion

The Governor's Mansion sits on 8.5 acres in the heart of the historic Quapaw Quarter of Little Rock which is not far from downtown and the Capitol. The 3 story home was built in the late 1940's at a cost of $100,000. The design is a modified Georgian-Colonial Style and contains over 300,000 bricks. The brick was taken from the old Arkansas School for the Blind which sat on the property from 1880 to 1939 before being relocated. Construction was completed in 1950 and becamse the first official residence for the governor. The combined area of the house, atrium, Grand Hall, etc is just over 30,000 sq ft. The landscaping is beautiful. Major renovations were made during Governor Huckabee's administration. He moved into a triple wide mobil home on the mansion grounds while the renovation was being done. His reason was to save cost by not having to relocate the security detail during the renovation. The Quapaw Quarter is full of hugh, beautifully restored homes with many of them being on the National Register of Historic Places.

North Little Rock's Argenta District

We went across the river to North Little Rock's Argenta District for lunch today. The town of Argenta, Arkansas was surveyed and platted in 1866. In 1890 the name was changed to North Little Rock. The area has been beautifully restored. Plants and light poles like these are all along the street.

Lunch was at the "Starving Artist Cafe". The walls were covered with paintings - soom good and some terrible, in my humble opinion. The restaurant food was excellent. The owner was a chef at a restaurant in New Orleans when they won the James Beard Award. After a couple of more places, they came up here and opened some restaurants here.

They mainted murals on the utility boxes along main street. What a great idea!

Baker House Bed & Breakfast on Main Street. It is a Queene Anne Victorian built in 1898. The house was restored in 1977 and placed on the National Register of Historic Structures in 1978. The original hitching post in in the front yard.

Catching-Up Day

Hard to believe we got here 4 weeks ago today. In some ways it seems like we have been here much longer and Tucson seems a long time ago. Today was declared a "Catching-Up Day" which meant catching up on reading, laundry, spending time with His Majesty, entering data in my genealogy data base, etc. We even went to the mall and did some shopping. There is a Dillards here that we have fallen in love with! It is HUGH and I love their selection of women's clothes. Larry has a good time in the men's dept and we both supported the local economy while at the store. By the way, the Headquarters for Dillards is here in Little Rock. It even rained some this afternoon but no big thunderstorm like I'm waiting for. Larry and Morris hope we leave here without experiencing one. Next week it's back to exploring and checking things off out list before we leave here on Aug 30th. This pic shows Morris's favorite sleeping place and sometimes he let's Larry share it.

Arkansas State Capitol

Today we took a tour of the State Capitol Building which is a beautiful building. It was constructed between 1899-1915 on the site of an old state penitentiary using prison labor. The original cost was $2.3 million. The interior walls and floors are almost all marble. The marble on the floors came from Vermont, the marble columns from Colorado and the grand staircase from Alabama. The exterior limestone is from Batesville, AR and the limestone used for the dome is from Indiana.

The 3 - 10 ft tall bronze east entrance doors were purchased from Tiffany's in 1910 for $10,000 and today would be worth over $250,000 today. The doors are polished daily.

This is the ceiling of the rotunda which is 213 ft high.

I got a close-up of the rotunda chandelier from the 4th floor. It is suspended by a 73 ft chain, weighs 4,000 lbs and is approximately 12 diameter and 18 ft high. The chandelier is lowered about every 4 years for cleaning and to change the light bulbs.

This room was the home of the Arkansas Supreme Court from 1912 - 1958. It is now used for committee meetings. In 2000, it was retored to its 1912 appearance.

House of Representives for the 100 members. Seating is determined by senority. The chandelier is a smaller version of the one in the rotunda.

Day lily blooming on the capitol grounds.

Lazy Day

Not much happening today... After a trip to the Walmart Supercenter, to pick up a perscription and get some groceries I spent the afternoon doing genealogy research. The Little Rock Main Library, 1.5 blocks from us, has a wonderful genealogy section. They not only have a HUGH Arkansas section but also have some good stuff on most other states, especially states that border Arkansas. Anyway, on Monday I was able to find by dad's great-grandfather which really unlocked the door for a lot of information. I was then able to find a bunch of Public Trees that traces the line back to the 1600's when they immigrated from England to the US. I went back today, while Larry cat set Morris, and found some more info. But....I still can't find my maternal grandfather when he was a child in Missouri.

Mountain View, AR

Today was a drive up north to Mountain View, AR which is about 2.5 hours over 2-lane winding roads. Our destination was the Ozark Folk Center that I had been looking forward to seeing. We finally get there and find out it is closed Sun-Tues even though there was nothing about that on their web page or in their brochures. So....we visited the gift shop and went into Mountain View. The town is about 2,800 residents and Route 66 goes through the middle of town along one side of the town square. I didn't realize such a place still existed that wasn't commercialized. I didn't see one sigh touting Route 66 like in the other towns I have seen where the road goes through town. The above picture is the Greers Ferry Dam and Lake that we crossed on the way up.

Main Street/Route 66 in Mountain View, AR.

Soda fountain in the town drug store. It was a VERY busy place.

Burns Park in North Little Rock

Burns Park is one of the largest municipal parks in the country with 1,700 acres. The park is located between the Arkansas River and an Interstate Freeway. It has a handicapped accessible fishing pier, camping area, two 18-hole golf courses, two 18-hole disc golf courses, baseball, softball complex, 17 soccer fields, 27 tennis curts (6 indoor), 6.2 miles of paved hiking trails, 4 miles of unpaved hiking trails and 7 miles of the River Trail which runs up and down the Arkansas River from Little Rock. This pic is taken from the River Trail.

Log Cabin built in 1849.

Covered Bridge in the park.

Flowers along the river.

Bush near the log cabin.

Geese crossing the road in the park.

Pros and Cons of Hi-Rise Living

We've been Hi-Rise residents for 3 weeks now and have definitely formed some opionions about the pros and cons. There are a lot of positives. #1 is the view - it is amazing. This picture was just before sunrise the other morning. It's fun looking down on the world and watch people's comings and goings or emergency vehicles zipping past with red lights and sirens going. A few nights ago there was a false alarm at the museum across the street and 8 fire turcks plus ambulances and police cars responded. It was about 9 p.m. and that was good entertainment for awhile since there was no damage. It's really neat to be able to walk to the River Market area with the shops and restaurants or to walk a block to the neighborhood pub. There is a concierge on duty 18 hours/day in our building down in the lobby. David, the day person, knows everything about everyone and where to go for what. We like dropping the dry cleaning off with him on Tuesday and picking it up from him on Friday after the dry cleaner have brought it back. The parking garage is secured with a gate and there is assigned parking. The lobby is also secured.

And now for the negatives........It's 4 miles, one way, to the nearest grocery store which isn't far but I was spoiled with being around the corner from Albertsons. Plus here, you have to wait for the elevator, walk to the car in the garage and then do down a level, wait for the gate to roll up before you even get on the street. A new thing we noticed this morning, when we went outside our apt door was the strong smell of bacon that someone had cooked for breakfast. It was throughout the halls and elevator area. However, the single biggest negative is that we don't have any place to sit outside or get fresh air into the apt. We could go up to the outside deck area on the 18th floor but that's not like opening the door and going out on the patio. There is a door in our glass wall with a French balcony which is just a waist high heavy screen thing over the bottom half of the door so you don't fall out. However, we can't open the door because you know who would immediately jump up on it and keep going over the side while practicing his flying skills so we keep it closed.

All in all, it fun for 2 months but we can't imagine being here in the Hi-Rise permanently.

Busy Saturday Morning

The picture really doesn't have anything to do with today but I've been waiting for a chance to use it. 8-) We were over at the Peabody Hotel this week and I took the pic of a flower arrangement that was in the lobby. The arrangement is about 3 ft high plus the table it is sitting on. Absolutely gorgeous! Saturday is the main Farmer's Market so we were up early and down there by about 7:30 a.m. I swear there must be a waiting crowd waiting for them to open because it was packed a 1/2 hour after it opened at 7. Soooooo much goooooood stuff to pick from.... It was a light shopping day for us since we only got corn and tomatoes. Larry can't believe how much stuff some people buy! I've already developed my favorite stalls depending on what we are wanting. And then we can go back to the "mini Farmer's Market" on Tuesday morning to get stuff for the rest of the week. After we get our veggies, etc, we go to the bread store and have breakfast of coffee/coke and usually have hugh, fresh crossiants. The whole area is just packed with people parking 4-5 blocks away and walking down to it. Then it was back down to the Library store (2 blocks away) where they have "gently read books" and gifts. This weekend is the Library's 3 Day Book Sale. The main sale is in the basement of the library where paperbacks go for $0.50 and hardbacks for $1 - doesn't make any difference what they are or what the original cost way. Hugh turnout! It is wonderful to see the Libraries here supported like they are and open 7 days/week. Tonight is back to the Peabody to listen to the jazz duo in the Lobby Bar and drink Pink Lemonade. 8-)

Scott Plantation Settlement at Ashley's Bayou

All the buildings commerating plantation life were relocated to this Settlement Museum from actual plantations in the area. Above is the Ashley/Alexander Log House. This dogtrot cabin was built in the 1840's across the bayou from the Settlement Plantation Museum. A dogtrot house consisted of two log cabins connected by a breezeway or dog trot, all under a common roof. Usually one cabin was used for cooking and dining while the other was sued as a private living space such as a bedroom. The breezeway provided a cooler place for sitting outside.


"Big House" c. 1880 from the Bearskin Lake Plantation. Also known as the "Master's House". This house was replaced by the Marlsgate Mansion in 1905 which was what we normally think of as a plantation mansion.

Outhouse

Blacksmith shop.

Minature bale of cotton.

Anyone besides me remember using a phone like this?

This 'n That

This is Morris in his new "feed me or die" stance. In Tucson, he would sit at at the end of the counter and patiently wait to be fed. Now, he sits right in the middle of the kitchen and won't budge. If I'm cooking then I have to step around him or call Larry to come feed Morris so I can get on with dinner. He does this anytime we are in the kitchen fixing us something to eat even though he has food in his dish. And his usual dry food doesn't cut it - we made the mistake of giving him tuna and now that is what he wants. His second choice is deli chicken - no special seasoning on it please - just the basic chicken. Is there a word stronger than spoiled? In between "meals", he does eat his dry food. He has put on a little weight and it fits his long, lean body plus his coat is really getting glossy and pretty. His staff will probably get in trouble with the vet if he gains any weight since she thinks Morris was already the perfect weight.

New hairdresser: Since I can't go 8 weeks without getting my hair done, I had to go to a new stylist today. There is a shop right next door and I took the easy way out and went there. She did an o.k. job but it was still traumatic!

Dugan's Pub: We absolutely love this place and it's only a block away! We went over there for lunch today and set out on the patio. Yes, it was hot but there was a slight breeze and we were in the shade so it was o.k. Larry had their corned b,eef and cabbage which he says is wonderful - almost as good as their fish & chips. I had the Ham & Navy Bean soup that they make themselves. It is really good but not quite as good as their home-made french fries which are my absolute favorite...
Laundry: Still fussing with the "european washer and dryer". It takes forever to do a load plus they have to be small loads! A load of whites is 2 regular size bath towels, 2 hand towels and 2 wash cloths. If the cloths are permanent press, then the load is smaller than that....

Old Statehouse Museum

The Old Statehouse is the oldest standing state captiol building west of the Mississippi. Construction started in 1833 and was completed in 1842. In 1836, Arkansas became the 25th state and government officials moved into the new building although construcion had not been completed yet. The building served as state capitol until 1911 when the new capitol building was constructed. The Old Statehouse became a museum in 1947. The building is beautifully restored and the wood floors are magnificent as is the hugh curving staircase going up to the 2nd floor. The building gained worldwide recognition when it was used as the setting for President bill Clinton's election-night celebrations in 1992 and 1996.

Little Rock National Cemetery

The Little Rock National Cemetery is out near where we had lunch today. During the Civil Way, Arkansas seceded from the Union. Following the Battle of Pea ridge in 1862, Union soldiers captured Little Rock and held the city for the remainder of the war. The land that is currently the national cemetery was located outside the city limits and was used for Union encampments. In 1866, with Union forces still occupying the city, a portion of the land was purchased by the government and set aside for military internments. In 1884 a Confederate cemetery was established adjacent to the National Cemetery. In 1938, the two cemeteries were combined, though the Union and Condederate burials continued to be in separate sections. The cemetery covers over 31 acres and is beautifully maintained.

Homer's Good Eats

Larry found an ad in a magazine for Homer's Good Eats so that's where we went for lunch today. It was listed as one of the top local places for southern cooking. Well......we got there at 11 a.m. and by 11:20 people had to wait for tables and there were a LOT of tables in the place. It was out in the middle of nowhere near the airport with a lot of industry around so most of the people eating there were on their lunch break. Today's specials, for $6.79, were Southern Fried Chicken, Oven-Baked Chicken or Country Fried Steak with gravy. The lunch plates are "meat n 3" which is a meat, 2 sides and bread. The bread is homemade yeast rolls or homemade cornbread. Sides included mashed potatoes, turnip greens, corn, pickled okra, potato salad,smothered cabbage, etc. Anyway, we had the fried chicken, fried potatoes, tomato relish and yeast rolls. The tomato relish was cut-up green tomatoes that had been cooked with onions, vinegar and pickeling spice. Different but good. I tried to talk Larry into having the turnip greens but failed. 8-) The food was really good!

How'd they do that?

Graffiti is old stuff to us who live in Graffitiville, USA - otherwise know as Tucson. However, here is some graffiti in downtown Little Rock that we keep looking at and can't figure out how they did it. They must have come down from over the top of the building.... Someone of it is quite pretty as you can see in the close-up. Some of it looks like it isn't finished yet.

Sweet, Little Morris

I think he has recovered from the latest move and is up to his antics again.

Last night we heard a noise and got out of bed to check it out. We dound him on top of the kitchen cabinets as you can see in the picture. He jumped up there from the counter top which was about a 5 ft straight up jump. And....he didn't want any help down so we left him there and sometime later he got down on his own. This sweet, little loveable cat is also back to being the 5 a.m. alarm. He jumps up on the bed and lets out a very loud, long meow that would wake the dead. Once he has seen sufficient movement of his staff, he lays down on the bed and goes to sleep. Of course by then we are wide awake. He has NEVER played with lamp cords and now he finds them very entertaining.

Arkansas Freeways

After 6 years of desert freeways where all you see is litter, cactus, dirt, rocks and weeds, the Arkansas Freeways are a delight to drive. The freeways in the city are typical city freeways. However, once you get out of the city, they are open, very clean, tree lined with wide grassy medians. The shoulders, from the pavement to the trees, are grass. We're amazed at how clean they are. Pleasure to drive on......

Meatless Dinner

Now, you say "What's the big deal bout a meatless meal?" When I was growing up in southwestern Missouri, you never had a meal without meat - beef, pork or chicken. That was just the way it was. However, tonight dinner was with no meat because we walked down to the Farmer's Market this morning and got our dinner. The Farmer's Market is on Tuesday and Saturday. Tuesday is a small one but Saturdays is incredible. We got there 45 minutes after it opened and the place was packed with people.There were 15-20 vendors and all had fresh fruits and vegetables. Larry even got to see what turnip greens looked like before they were cooked - another childhood staple but I wasn't very fond of it. Anyway, dinner tonight was corn-on-the-cob, cantelope, tomatoes and big slices of fresh cinnamon walnut rasin bread. No meat! 8-) I'm still stuffed and it was all soooooooooo good. I told the farmer that I wanted a cantelope that was ripe for eating today and he nailed it.

Historic Homes in Little Rock

Little Rock is full of old, beautifully restored homes. Today we drove around and looked at some of the most famous ones. Above is Ville Marre which combines the features of the Italianate and Secome Empire styles (whatever that is...) and was built in 1881 for saloonkeeper Angelo Marre. It became famous when the exterior was featured in the TV show Designing Women. Villa Marre is now a private residence.

The Impress of Little Rock was originally built by James H. Hornibrook in 1888 at a cost of $20,000 and exclusively used Arkansas Materials. It is described in the National Register of Historic Places as the best example of ornate Victorian Architecture in Arkansas and the most important existing example of Gothis Queen Anne style regionally. (if you say so....). When it was built, it was the most expensive and ostenttious dwelling in the entire state. Since it was built it has been a private residence, Women's College, Nursing Home, Apartments and is now completely restored and is a Bed and Breakfast. High Tea is also served on a daily basis.

Curran Hall was built in 1842 by Col. Ebenezer Walters as a wedding gift for his bride. The city of Little Rock acquired the house in 1996 and renovated it to serve as the city's official Visitor Information and Welcome Center. Several rooms in the old masion have been completely restored and are open to the public.

I don't know what the name of this plant is but it is in Curran Hall's garden. When I was a kid, my mother grew these and I knew then as "spider plants". These are the first ones I have seen since then.

The Old Mill

Today's expedition was out to The Old Mill located in a residential are of North Little Rock. This structure and park, dedicated in 1933, is a replica of a mill built in 1832.The water wheel still turns. The Old Mill was filmed in the opening scenes of the movie Gone With The Wind, which was released in 1939.

One of the flowers on the grounds of the park surrounding The Old Mill. It looked very different than it did when we saw it in January. Back then, there was snow, ice, bare trees and a bitter north wind blowing.