We woke up in Mississippi, just north of Jackson. The agenda for the day included a trip to the Capitol. We soon discovered that Little Rock, like so many other states, has two capitols… the one they are current using and an “old” capitol or state house.
Before we left Mississippi, we wanted to follow something we had heard about. That was the River Walk. Apparently, we misunderstood as the Riverwalk was a casino. There is an area nearby following the Mississippi River in Vicksburg. Guess this is what we were looking to find. A wall with many mini murals depicting various historical moments of the State of Mississippi, particularly local history. Parking was difficult, but we drove by slowly several times. It was beautiful.
We took a couple of minutes to walk through a local casino. It was sort of run down. Mid day and almost no activity. We drove further south along the river and found a couple more casinos. (In Mississippi, the casinos have to be on the water—river…ocean--they are usually housed on large barges). The one which we chose to enter was very glitzy…more what one might expect in today’s world. We always like to wander through them, but--as I mentioned before--these places are not built on the money I spend there. It was on the River with a nice walk north and south along the River.
We then went south to find Interstate 20, crossing the River into Louisiana. After a few miles, we went north into Arkansas. Arkansas has some of the most beautiful lakes. Lots of fishing. We are not fisherpeople (is this too “politically correct”!). No, I’m gonna say we are not fishermen, but we certainly could appreciate the natural wonder of the lakes.
Arkansas has some very handsome/pretty rest areas, some of the best I have seen. They are not only on Interstates, but also on some of byways. They were building one on a lake (oops, don’t remember its name…another senior moment). When completed, there would be an extension over the lake with various tiers…one for picnicking, one for fishing. All made from local wood and recycled plastic. Very impressive.
We headed to Little Rock. The beautiful countryside melded into city. I’m a country bumpkin, aka, a hick from the sticks (and proud or it). Steve is more of a suburbanite, but still does not like cities. Well, I do know that capitols are in cities. But we have found several to which the capitol access has been easy. Not so much with Little Rock. Maggie Mae got us there eventually.
I made this editorial comment to the docent who was at the information desk. “I can’t believe the same state elected Bill Clinton and Mike Huckabee as Governor.” (Both, by the way, from the town of Hope.) Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum! She really did not answer me. I am not sure she got what I was trying to say.
Again, the Capitol gift store offers bargains over the same item in other attractions’ gift shops. One thing that was pointed out to me was a neat little booklet ($10.00) in which one can get the booklet rubber stamped at the various capitol buildings (not every state participates). It is like the dated rubber stamps at most of the National Parks that one can place in the “passport” to National Parks. Each stamp has an unique picture, special to its state. The booklet has a place at the end of its small summary of that particular capitol to place its stamp. I wish that I had found this booklet earlier. Now, I guess I have to go back to the earlier capitols. Well, maybe not. The docent gave me an idea. Send a piece of paper to each of the other capitols in a SASE with the date which you want stamped. Most of them, I am told, will oblige. I have not yet done this (actually, until this very moment, I had forgotten about it).
We did the self guided tour, although there are scheduled daily tours. We could not find the cornerstone even after circling the building twice. The guide book states that it needs to be viewed through the masonry railing at the ground level northeast corner below the Governor’s office. But, we did not find it.
Made primarily of limestone, the ground floor walls are from Indiana. Batesville, Arkansas provided the material for the upper stories and fireplace mantles in the Governor’s Reception Room. This limestone is extremely hard. The legislature had required local products to be used as much as possible. It has been built on the land that was formerly the state penitentiary (once used by the Union troops as a federal military jail). Building took place 1889-1915. The architecture is neoclassical…440 feet long and 190 feet wide. The dome (started in 1910) rises two hundred thirteen feet. The dome was replicated from that of neighboring state Mississippi (permission given by T. Link). The ceiling of the dome is by an exterior of gold leaf and Indiana limestone. Suspended from the ceiling in the rotunda by a 73 foot chain is a chandelier that is beyond words of description—12 feet in diameter and 18 feet in height—an intricate assembly of glass, brass, copper, zinc and iron.
There were meetings taking place in the Governor’s Reception Room and Office. So, we did not see them.
The Judicial Offices are now in a separate building nearby. There is, however, the Old Supreme Court Chamber on the 2nd Floor used from 1912 to 1958. It has been restored to its early days…mahogany rails, Justices’ bench with seven chairs, reproduced carpeting, drapes, fancy ornamental plastic. A wonderful restoration.
Portraits of former Governors and Lt. Governors are on display around the first floor. Pictures of former legislatures by class are hung on the third floor. Flags from all the states are arranged in the hall between the Legislature Chambers. There does not seem to be in any particular order. We had to look for Connecticut and Florida. I thought that perhaps… alphabetically…nope. Perhaps, by order of entering the Union…nope. I don’t know if there is any rhyme or reason to finding the flag from your home state. But just keep walking the hall of flags, and you will be rewarded.
The Great Seal of Arkansas is a gorgeous stained glass piece. It is on the south wall of the Rotunda.
The Legislature Chambers (General Assembly) are on the third floor with the fourth floor galleries for viewing. Arkansas has 35 state senators and 100 representatives, meeting every two years starting the second Monday in January. The session is a minimum of sixty days. The Chambers have also been restored to early 1900 décor.
The self-guide tour books are the best I have seen, thus far. One booklet details the building; the other, the landscaping—flora and monuments. The grounds include over forty varieties of trees, a rose garden and an iris garden. There are thirteen monuments in various media.
What’s unique: The Treasury office is housed in the Capitol. If you wander by it, you are invited in. The old safe is still there. You can walk into the safe where a special employee hands one a bunch of money (most days around $200,000). Our guide, who gave us detailed information about the safe, was a lady named Emma (I think). She stood between us and the exit. She willingly took pictures of us holding the money with our camera before relieving us of our new found treasure. She then handed us Martha Money (Martha is the State Treasurer). Martha Money are large plastic tokens to take home as a souvenir.
State Capitol
Capitol and Woodlane
(501) 682-1010
Steve was tired of the city life, so we did not go across town to the “old” capitol. Another day. Another trip.
Before we settled in for the night, we decided it was still early. What else could we do that was NOT in the city? As it our custom, we had picked up pamphlets on other venues and attractions. In North Little Rock, there is a delightful old mill (Old Mill Park) with many hiking trails. We plugged the address into Maggie Mae, and we were off. Like so many other times, we did not realize that we had arrived until Maggie Mae kept screaming in our ears, “You have arrived.”
The Mill was used in the opening credits of Gone With the Wind. It is believed to be one of the last (or perhaps, THE last) buildings used in that movie. We walked through the park and followed a couple of trails, crossed the brook (several times). The bridges were interesting. A branch entwined bridge was really cool.
City of North Little Rock
City Services
120 Main Street
P.O. BOX 936
North Little Rock, AR 72115
Phone: (501) 975-8888
We chose to dine at one of the well known “grill” chains. We had been very frugal with our meals up to this time, but felt we needed a “nice” meal. As I have mentioned at various times, we are seniors. Steve wanted a long overdue beer. He ordered. The waitress “carded” him. We thought this was quite funny and could not stop laughing about it. It has been a long time since either of us looked as though we could be under aged drinkers.
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