Revitalization is the watchword for Little Rock’s Main Street. Turning old, abandoned retail buildings into living and entertainment space is what Main is all about these days.
Preservation is the word for the Albert Pike Residence Hotel. A 10-story monument to the exuberance of the 1920s before the stock market crash - which occurred in October 1929, the year the hotel opened - it is one street east of Main.
It is easy to imagine Rudolph Valentino or Douglas Fairbanks diving from the balcony overlooking the spacious lobby, swinging on one of the ornate chandeliers and dropping to the floor for a little swordplay.
Those were the days of the West’s romance with sheikdoms and Arabian nights - which may clang on our sensibilities these days because of the trouble with radical Muslims.
But it was the era of The Great Gatsby, and all that jazz had the country jumping. The Fox Theater in Atlanta, for example, has that feel. Originally a movie theater, it has long since been a performing-arts palace. It was also built in 1929. Its architecture is unabashedly Arabic, in contrast to the Albert Pike’s Moorish style.
But the reality of the early 21st century in downtown Little Rock is that the hotel, which is to be sold to a trust, will continue to provide housing for the underprivileged (and sometimes weddings in the lobby). It will receive a $5.8 million upgrade after the deal closes in mid-May.
The seller, Phillip Jones of Jonesboro, and the buyer, BSR Trust of Little Rock and Montgomery, Ala., will not talk until then.
The renovation will save the hotel from further deterioration and will help stabilize the part of town that is again seen as key to the city’s future.
Scott Street for slightly more than a block defined by Seventh and Eighth streets is a historical walking tour.
Directly across from the Albert Pike is another tribute to the man who was a dominant figure in the state for much of the 19th century. It is a block-long granite statement about the man and his times. Dominated by 19 Ionic columns (way too many for my taste) matched by an equally expansive title carved into the lintel - “Albert Pike Memorial Temple Ancient and Accepted Scottish Freemasonry.”
Behind that facade is a palace of great rooms, ceremonial places and mystery.
At the corner of Scott and Eighth streets is First Presbyterian Church. (Presbyterianism, of course, has Scottish roots.) The neo-Gothic style was designed by John Parks Almand, the primary architect of Central High School, according to Jay Jennings’ 2010 book, Carry the Rock.
The congregation has an outreach to the poor who find themselves in that part of the city.
Across the street is a Williamsburg-style brick building. The main entrance bears the name Storer Building, forthe city’s former TV provider, Storer Cable Co.
But there is a cryptic phrase below that name: “Enter you men of tomorrow.” Marines make men, I know, but a cable company?
The answer is at the side entrance. An escutcheon above the door bears the letters LRBC on an arrowhead shield. Little Rock Boys Club. The cornerstone says the building was erected in 1930.
If you’re inclined to check out the progress on Main Street, why not take a one-block detour and check out the past.
If you have a tip, call Jack Weatherly at (501) 378-3518 or e-mail him at
Business, Pages 63 on 05/05/2013