Extended Weekend Getaways Little Rock, Arkansas sits on the banks of the Arkansas River in Pulaski County, located in the center of the state. And with a population of nearly 200,000 people, it’s the largest city in Arkansas and definitely the place to find a good time at a great value. The hub of Little Rock is the bustling River Market District featuring restaurants, shops, bars, nightlife, museums and hotels as well as the area’s main library.
- Little Rock’s Old State House Museum, pictured above, designated National Historic Landmark, was constructed of handmade brick in 1836 and served as the state capitol for 75 years. It is the oldest surviving State Capitol west of the Mississippi River.
- Little Rock Central High School, built in 1927, was named “The Most Beautiful High School in America” by the American Institute of Architects. In 1957 the school became a crucial battleground in the struggle for civil rights, when nine African-American students entered Little Rock Central High School under federal troop protection. With the help of television news, the Little Rock Nine commanded national attention. Little Rock came to symbolize the federal government’s commitment to eliminating separate systems of education for blacks and whites.
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The William J. Clinton Presidential CenterHome of the 42nd President of the United States Bill Clinton and his presidential library. The library houses the largest archival collection in American presidential history. Included in these collections are approximately 76.8 million pages of paper documents, 1.85 million photographs and over 75,000 museum artifacts.
- The University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service is the only graduate school in the nation offering a Masters of Public Service degree.
- Little Rock Air Force Base is the largest training and maintenance facility for C-130 aircraft in the country.
- Arkansas Repertory Theatre – Arkansas’slargest non-profit professional theatre company.
The Rep
- Only city in the country to have four pedestrian bridges that stretch over navigate-able water.
- “Testament,” the civil rights memorial sculpture of the Little Rock Nine, is the only civil rights memorial located on any state capitol grounds in the south.
Little Rock is home to the state’s only zoo.- MacArthur Park is the city’s oldest municipal park.
- Stephens Incorporated, in Little Rock, is the largest off-Wall Street investment firm in the country.
- The Big Dam Bridge is the world’s longest pedestrian and bicycle bridge, built specifically for that purpose.
- The Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum is home to the USS Razorback, the longest-serving submarine in the world.
- The Arkansas River is the third longest in the U.S. and the 36th longest in the world. With its head near Leadville, Colorado, the Arkansas River’s 1,459 mile-length makes it the longest river flowing into the Mississippi-Missouri River system.
- Historic Arkansas Museum contains four original Little Rock dwellings of the state’s oldest neighborhood. Hinderliter Grog Shop, built in 1820, is the oldest house in the city, still on its original site.
Little Rock is home to the “cheese dog,” a hot dog with cheese inserted in the middle, invented in 1956 at the Finkbeiner Meat Packing Company.- Meyer’s Bakery in Little Rock invented the brown-n-serve roll in the 1930’s.
- Little Rock is home to the Climber Car, a small automobile manufacturing company that built approximately 200 4-cylinder, 40-horsepower cars and 100 pickup trucks in the 1920s. There are still two Climber Cars in existence today.
- Maybelline, Incorporated of North Little Rock is the world’s leader of mass-produced domestic cosmetics.
