HomeMy WebLinkAboutSupporting docs and graphics4L tk a a z
54
PULASKI COUNTY HISTORICAL REVIEW
The pond in front of the Tower Building during the 1930's.
(Photo courtesy of Mrs. Charles Paine)
,city for a park.? On April 16, 1892, the Arkansas
Gazette received a telegram from Congressman
William L. Terry saying that a settlement had
been reached.$ On Friday, April 23, 1893, the
eleven deeds involving the transfer of the arsenal
grounds to the City Park Improvement District
were filed for record at Little Rock.9 "This land,"
says one deed, "shall become vested in the City of
Little Rock upon the express trust and condition
that said grounds shall be forever exclusively
devoted to the uses and purposes of a public park
for said city." Various Little Rock citizens were
appointed as park commissioners. The commis-
sioners then hired J. H. Pittman, landscape
engineer, of the Pittman Engineering Company of
V61. 3z
The pond in front of the Tower Building today. (Photo
courtesy of the Little Rock Parks and Recreations Department)
St. Louis to transform the grounds into ".... the
beautiful Arsenal Park."10
A lake was created at the southwest end of
the grounds, wellhouses and a bandstand were
built. The largest trees in the park today were
among those planted at that time. On July 19,
1893, a newspaper announcement said "By order
of the Board of Improvement there will be sold ...
at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, the 1st day of August
1893 ... all buildings except the Tower Building,
[now the Arkansas Museum of Science and His-
tory] ..."11 The hope was expressed that the
Tower Building might eventually become a mu-
seum or art gallery.
And so the years went by. At some unknown
date shortly after the park's creation, the name
�dL
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1 r
MACARTHUR PARK: T'
BY
James Reed E
Looking at MacArthur Park today, the aver-
age viewer would never suspect that the site was
nearly occupied by a brewery. The story of the
park begins in 1836 when the United States
government purchased the land, now comprising
the park, to build an arsenal. Some twenty-six
structures stood on these grounds between the
years 1838 and 1890 at which time the arsenal
ceased to exist.; The number of structures varied
from time to time.
For the next two years Little Rock's citizens
argued about what should be done regarding the
old arsenal grounds and buildings. According to
newspaper items of the day public opinion was
divided between a public park and a public
school.2 However, on the morning of October 10,
1891, a newspaper article commenting on the
FA
greatV
�'- he
arse?
It �
b �� y
p
ough inspection of the Arsenal grounds which
he has visited every day this week ....
When asked, he said:
Yes it is true that the Tennessee Brewing
Company has communicated with the War
Department with reference to the Arsenal
grounds. We consider it the best property in
the city for our purposes, and don't know of
any within the same distance of the business
center of Little Rock that I consider
as valuable.3
"A brewery in Little Rock? No!
Never!" said more conservative resi-
dents. But, said one local newspaper
editorial, " ... a brewery would. not
interfere with the park The brewery
could be built in the rear, and the
front used for a park"4 Every method
of persuasion was used. "If purchased
by our company, said the company's
Little Rock agent:
The Tower Building ca. 1893 (.Photo courtesy of one t►rrculla w • .��•
Of Science and History)
*Mr. Eison is Curator of History at the Arkansas Museum of Science and History.
. . . . . . . . . . .
m
4� : .
53
MACARTHUR PARK: THEN AND NOW
ro
IM
s Z • .
I)yI '-
;ram~= . �- -
-
Ave
a
�• ram.
+ ♦.:�rb�,': _ice •. r
(Photo courtesy, of the Arkansas !!Museum of Science and History)
a brewery will be established here, which will
mean that Little Rock will export instead of
import beer. The refuse from the brewery will
furnish feed for a great many head of stock,
including cattle and hogs ... and the greater
the number of institutions of this kind we have
here the more money it will bring to Little
Rock.5
But, before the land could be used, said
Patrick Raleigh, United States Registrar of Pub-
lic Lands, the arsenal would have to be deeded to
Little Rock and it would " ... require a special act
of Congress to dispose of it.6 While debate raged,
Arkansas Senator James K. Jones, a leader among
The park entrance from Ninth Street around 1900 and today.
(Photo courtesy of the Little Rock Parks and Recreations
Department)
those who opposed the brewery, introduced a bill
in Congress on Tuesday, December 15, 1891,
providing that the arsenal grounds be given to the
54
PULASKI COUNTY HISTORICAL REVIEW
The pond in front of the Tower Building during the 1930's.
(Photo courtesy of Mrs. Charles Paine)
city for a parka On April 16, 1892, the Arkansas
Gazette received a telegram from Congressman
William L. Terry saying that a settlement had
been reached.s On Friday, April 23, 1893, the
eleven deeds involving the transfer of the arsenal
grounds to the City Park Improvement District
were filed for record at Little Rock.9 "This land,"
says one deed, "shall become vested in the City of
Little Rock upon the express trust and condition
that said grounds shall be forever exclusively
devoted to the uses and purposes of a public park
for said city." Various Little Rock citizens were
appointed as park commissioners. The commis-
sioners then hired J. H. Pittman, landscape
engineer, of the Pittman Engineering Company of
The pond in front of the Tower Building today. (Photo
courtesy of the Little Rock Parks and Recreations Department)
St. Louis to transform the grounds into ".... the
beautiful Arsenal Park."io
A lake was created at the southwest end of
the grounds, wellhouses and a bandstand were
built. The largest trees in the park today were
among those planted at that time. On July 19,
1893, a newspaper announcement said "By order
of the Board of Improvement there will be sold...
at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, the 1st day of August
1893 ... all buildings except the Tower Building,
[now the Arkansas Museum of Science and His-
tory] ..."11 The hope was expressed that the
Tower Building might eventually become a mu-
seum or art gallery.
And so the years went by. At some unknown
date shortly after the park's creation, the name
55-
in
U,
I
MACARTHUR PARK: 'THEN AND NOW
was changed from Arsenal Park to that of City
Park During World War 11 when the name of
General Douglas 'MacArthur was a household
word, the name of the park was again changed to
the name it bears today — MacArthur Park' It was
believed fitting that this should be done in view of
the fact that the famous man had been born at the
arsenal on January 26, 1880.
The years continued to roll by with the park
giving much pleasure -to many citizens and visi-
tors_ Maintenance for the park was uneven, and
many years funds for elementary grounds keep-
ing were simply not available. Other threatening
encroachments continually appeared upon the
scene. One of the more recent threats was the
attempt to rezone the surrounding area for com-
mercial purposes. Due to the foresight of the city
directors this movement was rejected by a deci-
of the Arkansas Museum of Science and History)
Pittman's Lake sometime before 1910 and today (above). (Photo courtesy
56
PULASKI COUNTY HISTORICAL REVIEW
sive three -to -one margin on July 19,1971. Julius
Breckling, city director of Parks and Recreations,
in an Arkansas Gazette article August 15, 1971,
said, "MacArthur Park is one of Little Rock's
most prized possessions culturally and historically.
Without reservation it will increasingly become
more important to our urban way of life." In early
1984, city directors agreed to spend $50,000 for
ail improvement project at MacArthur Park which
will be combined with about $300,000 already
accumulated for the project from a past city bond
issue and other sources.12 The work on the park is
scheduled to begin this fall -
Many important and pleasant surprises are
in store. For example, this will be Little Rock's
first park restoration and preservation. Accord-
ing to William J. Bunten, staff services director of
Parks and Recreations, in a recent Gazette inter-
view, "By this time next year people are going to
be wondering where this wonderful park came
NEWS, NOTES & COMMENTS
Cadron Settlement
The PCHS enjoyed its sumwer meeting with a picnic
and program at Cadron Settlement on the Arkansas
River west of Conway on June 17th. Cadron is one of the
oldest sites in the state, having been settled in the late
eighteenth century by the French. In the early nineteenth
century it had become a thriving trading post for early
settlers. For about two years it was the county seat of
Pulaski County. Thomas Nuttall mentions the site and
includes a sketch in his book
The site has been beautifully restored in recent
years by the U. S. Corps of Engineers in cooperation with
the Conway Chamber of Commerce. A massive block
house modeled on the French fort has been constructed
from.1113 When asked to make a statement con-
cerning his feelings about MacArthur Park today,
Julius Breckling said "I made what believe was a
correct statement back in 1971, and one I believed
revealed foresight. Pll stick by that statement
today." 14
NOTES
'Arkansas Gazette, August 12, 1890.
2Akkansas Gazette, October 25, 1891.
3Akkansas Gazette, October 10, 1891.
¢Arkansas Gazette, October 27, 1891.
5Arkansas Gazette, October, 11, 1891.
6Arkansas Gazette, September 27, 1891.
7Akkansas Gazette, December 16, 1891.
eArkansas Gazette, April 17, 1892.
9Arkansas Gazette, May 7, 1893.
10Arkansas Gazette, July 5, 1893.
11Arkansas Gazette, July 19, 1893.
12Arkansas Gazette, January 25, 1984.
13Arkansas Gazette, August 26, 1984.
141nterview with Mr. Breckling, March 20, 1984.
from a large cypress logs.
Guy Murphy, Executive Secretary of the Conway
Chamber of Commerce, was the speaker for the occasion. .
His interest and influence was one of the motivating
factors in the creation of the park. He spoke on the history
of the site and its restoration.
A reenactment group representing early nineteenth
century settlers brought color to the program by appear-
ing in authentic dress. The group included James
McElmurry and family, a descendent of one of the fast
settlers of Cadron, Ken Blessing, "fiddler," and President
Beardon: Mr. McEhnurry demonstrated how to fire a flint
rock rifle, and Mr. Blessing played early nineteenth
century fiddle tunes.
R.E.L.B.
PULASKIC OUNTY
r,,,T ;y, -If 1-11v Tnimor Ry,ildi.n.0 during the I y,iU S.
/U•6, oQ-a_4Q__-
saz • L.R. Parks and playgrounds.
Carmen Dream 1
Must Have Help'
3
Cam' 161162-
r s ,
r
To Comae True
The Emergency Rose Gardena
Committee, recently. appointed b
i.s 9• :..:..:. .. i ::..,.
Mayor Pratt Remmel to bring+:
into being a project' which has
long been planned for MacArthur ; - ^A.:
.,. _
Park, has decided to se f y r I
ek the �.?
help of the whole_state in reach- ' :...
ing their objective.
-General Douglas MacArthur ~Y �`� z' n:.Fr:M•°�'` F
oA 3s'
s�
;.
will visit his birthplace March 23
a
and ceremonies to dedicate the
rose garden to Arkansas's war -dead Al
y.
in Korea have been scheduled. The
Committee thinks that as the
garden becomes a realityand a
'3.-.
sila
to memorial it Leas ',. es to be an
eAclusively LitUL Rack r
it ever properly wag —for the N:
Park
, with Its, two nluseeams, is,. .
visited every month by thousands„.:-
��
::;��...;.,.;: w,,,...;.....
of people, ,both tourists and' from p:..:.: ;.ar <.i.= :..... .
all over the state. A. contrast be''
tweeli the beauty of the Terri- Published for the first time roses .Bounds it. The beds are I —Teas, Norsette
Terri-
torial k, is inevit grounds and are the architect's sketch and marked with letters indicating Climbing.
the park is inevitable. g
Plan for the projected Memorial colors and types: M—H
Plans were formulated a num- ybrid Tea
ber of years Thee Garden r the ultimate
Park. Hybrid Teas I3 Large Flowered
ago for using the They Hall for the ultimate e1i- A --White G—Ramblers
south porch of the' old Armory, mination of the aid -rest house'. B—Pink
now the Museurh of 'Natural His- and sheds now standing bey C—Bicolor P—Shrub
tary, as a balcony to overlook a hind the Tower Building so that D—YelIow R—Hybrid Perpetuals
sweep of flowers, with accent on the porch will overlook a three- E=Red S—Per etuals
the roses for which this part ofquarter block vista of the flaw F—Polyanth}ia T—Teas
the col{ntry. isw Apt These. Jdeas. ers fnr-- w;hich_ ,Little .�Rocic. is G-F1oilbunda- ..
«ere Finally crystise[i iri t7iefall
drawings, pictured above, which ous. A sunken pool centers If Noveftp V—Pillar
the proposed plan and a per- J—Introduction The. small buildings are rest
Landscape Architect 14eil H. Park g
made for the City Beautification gala, draped with climbing K—Moss; Damask houses.
Commission. 'They were adopted
bid money never , Became avail-
able to carry outs the basic labor
connected -with the design. The
garden clubs Song ago opted to
cooperate, the desired plants were
promised from many sources, but
until General MacALrthur's visit was
actually announced, work had been _
consistently -put off in hopes of
accomplishing the- entire project at one time.
The Emergency Committee plans
to show Arkansas's most famous o��„ • `` � �; � °• �� `�i�
son some$hing beside a sketch
and a blueprint. They boldly ''
{ U
thrust the First spades into the
..::
ground two weeks ago and began�-
'-,�a , - �'Y' p'`
putting in the, garden from the ��
south and working back toward
the Tower Building. A section will
be added at a time as funds are
contributed, until the whole beau- ,.
tiful dream —the only public gar-
den
of this type in the state, be-
comes a reality. A canvass for in-
dividual contributions has already
begun In Little Rock and an ap-
peal will be made to the whole �' w �•
state. A Memory Book is to be; t
set up for recording the names of.
patrons:
The 'Committee, which is work-
ing directly from the Mayor's of-
fice is .composed of Mrs. Burton '• ' ;
C. Pickens, chairman and ',Mines.
John R. Hackett, W. A. Snodgrass,
Byron Morse, Durbin Band, W. F.
Rector; Tyndall Dickinson, J. I.
Teague, with Joseph W.. House
serving as advisor.
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Large Urn Fountain
Page 1 of 2
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Email a friend!
Large Urn Fountain
Code: AR
Price: Price: $2, ;^ $2,274.30
(free ground shipping)
Description:
Shown in Verdi finish but is also available in
�,.
black-verdi, bronze -gold, flat black and other
finishes.
Urn is made of cast aluminum and the lion
pedestal is made of concrete, two 1200 GPM
+Y
pumps are included. Water sprays out of
center and from spray ring on the urns rim, and
v�
also out of each lions mouth. Water flow has
adjustments for you to regulate as you desire.
.y
■" Y
Fountain requires a 8' pool, not included. Pools
are available, send email for details.
Urn measures:33 "Height, 27" Diameter.
Pedestal measures:32" Height, Top and
[Click to Zoom]
bottom base are 17" X 17"
This special order fountain usually leaves
warehouse in 7 business days.
Shipping Included!
Price without spray ring is $1924.00, requires a
6' pool.
Height 64.00" Width 27.00" Weight 500.00lbs.
110 iASNEi
R
http://www.finegardenproducts.com/fgp/index. cfm?ftiseaction=customer.product&product... 11 /3/2006
Minvard, Brian
From: Minyard, Brian
Sent: Tuesday, October 10, 2006 4:10 PM
To: Mcateer, Steve; Weldon, Debra; Bm yahoo (E-mail); Bozynski, Tony; Carolyn Newbern (E-
mail); Kay Tatum (E-mail); Kay Tatum 2 (E-mail); Marsahll Peters Work (E-mail); Marshall
Peters main (E-mail); Minyard, Brian; Susan Bell (E-mail); Wesley Walls (E-mail)
Subject: fountain item discovery
I was looking at the fountain and pool placement on our gis in my office. In the jpeg below, the yellow line is the line of the
sidewalk from the center of the tower to 9th street. The Red line, is the line from the center of the tower to the center of
Sherman street. Look at the pool now. It is as if the persons that placed the pool spanned the difference of the two lines
in order to link the structure with both Sherman Street and 9th Street. Things that make you go hummm...
Please do not discuss this revelation amongst yourselves, but do feel free to call me and ask me any questions you wish.
Brian Minyard
371-4789
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