I'm in the office of Stephan Mc-Ateer, which occupies part of the basement of the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History. I'm in a good mood for several reasons. It's a beautiful Friday afternoon, football season has arrived, we're talking about one of my favorite subjects (Arkansas history) and Ron Fuller has brought ribs for lunch from Sims, which has been serving barbecue in Little Rock since 1937 when Allen and Amelia Sims opened their restaurant.
McAteer is the museum's executive director. Fuller, a Little Rock-based lobbyist, has been involved with the museum through the years as a volunteer and board member. I marvel at the huge stones and cypress beams that were used to construct this building in 1840 when what's now known as MacArthur Park housed the Little Rock Arsenal. Horses had raced here in the 1830s.
"In 1836, when Arkansas became a state, the U.S. Department of War bought the land for the Little Rock Arsenal," Steven Teske writes for the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. "The Tower Building that still stands was one of more than 30 buildings constructed on the site during the 19th century. With the Civil War approaching, the arsenal was surrendered to the state of Arkansas in February 1861 by Capt. James Totten even though the state did not secede for another three months. Following the capture of Little Rock by Union troops in September 1863, the arsenal was used as military barracks until it was given to the city of Little Rock.
"By 1890, the arsenal buildings were being allowed to deteriorate, and many people in Little Rock assumed that it would be sold or abandoned by the U.S. government. Tennessee Brewing Co. of Memphis was among the prospective buyers, to the consternation of some community leaders. With the help of Congressman William Terry of Little Rock, a deal was made in which 1,000 acres north of the Arkansas River were exchanged for the arsenal site. The formal agreement of exchange, which went into effect on April 23, 1892, stated that the property would be 'forever exclusively devoted to the uses and purposes of a public park for' Little Rock. The 1,000 acres given in exchange became the home of Fort Logan H. Roots."
A landscape architect was brought in from St. Louis, and most of the buildings were torn down. A bandstand was built, and a small lake was dug. Arsenal Park was dedicated on July 4, 1893. The name was changed to MacArthur Park in 1942 to honor Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who was born on the grounds in 1880 while his father was stationed there. Also in 1942, the city moved its Museum of Natural History and Antiquities into the Tower Building. The museum, which is now the Museum of Discovery, moved to the River Market District in 1998.
The MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History opened in the Tower Building in May 2001. The opening had been delayed due to damage caused by a January 1999 tornado. The building has been a National Historic Landmark since 1994, and almost 500,000 people have visited in the 17 years since the military museum opened.
Even National Historic Landmarks need occasional facelifts. In December 2015, the Little Rock Advertising and Promotion Commission approved a 2-cent hotel tax to fund improvements at MacArthur Park. Most of the tax proceeds will be used to help fund a $70 million renovation of the adjacent Arkansas Arts Center. But Mayor Mark Stodola, a history lover, saw to it that $1.5 million was set aside for renovations at the military museum. In February 2016, Little Rock voters approved a $37.5 million bond issue to be paid off with proceeds from the hotel tax. The military museum received an additional $100,000 state grant in June 2017.
Work began last December on the Tower Building's exterior porches. On April 1, the museum closed for interior renovations. An upgraded heating and air conditioning system was installed along with modern LED lights. The galleries were repainted. The museum will reopen two weeks from today as part of the events celebrating the 125th anniversary of the park.
"Our HVAC system was 26 years old and didn't cool well," McAteer says. "People will notice the difference. They'll also notice the difference the new lighting makes."
Rick Monday, a Batesville native who played baseball in the major leagues from 1966-84, is being brought in by museum supporters for a fundraising reception. Monday will talk about an incident in 1976 when he saved an American flag from being burned by two protesters at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Cubs were playing the Dodgers when the protesters, who had lighter fluid and matches, came onto the field in the bottom of the fourth inning.
There has been other work done on the Tower Building through the years. It was restored by architect Ray Burks in 1939, restored again by architect Bruce Anderson in 1959 and remodeled in 1965. The 1999 tornado necessitated $250,000 in repairs. Little Rock doesn't have a stellar record of saving historic structures--witness the transformation of Ray Winder Field into a parking lot--but the city has done a fine job preserving the Tower Building. When the renovation of the Arkansas Arts Center is completed in a few years, MacArthur Park should once more be a primary attraction for the capital city.
"The beauty of it is that this was done without burdening Little Rock taxpayers," McAteer says. "It all comes from visitors staying in our hotels and motels."
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Senior Editor Rex Nelson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He's also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried.com.
Editorial on 09/15/2018