Exploring NLR

Motor Yacht Trogir Wharf Side In Dalmatia

I got out and about yesterday to explore a little bit and discovered there are lots of things to discover. More than one could do justice to on any one day trip. My off time is going to be full for awhile just going back and exploring the different places I found on my tour today. I started by taking the bus to downtown NLR. The cities of Little Rock (LR) and North Little Rock (NLR) are collectively known as the River Cities as they are situated on the Arkansas River. The river actually originates as a small stream in Colorado and flows from there through Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas where east of LR it merges with the White River and flow on down to the Mississippi. It is a navigable river from Kansas to the Mississippi. Along the riverfront in NLR is the North Shore River Walk which is paved in several miles in each direction so it is perfect for walking jogging, biking or skating. The NSRW follows the original path of the Indian Trail of Tears which the tribes of the southeastern US traveled to arrive at the reservations of modern day Oklahoma. There are historical markers all along the way.

In the photo above you can see several things. In the back ground is the massive AllTel Arena which this weekend will host the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament for all you March Madness fans. In the foreground is the main pavilion where the RiverFest 3 day festival is held annually around Memorial day which is perfect as my birthday is at that time so there will be some partying done there. In the river itself is the USS Razorback, a WWII submarine present with MacArthur in Tokyo Bay for the formal surrender ending the war. The Razorback is part of the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum whose docks you see on the north shoreline in front of the AllTel Arena. To the west of the docks is an old railroad drawbridge which is now a walking bridge to downtown LR. Pictured just below is a 1964 photo of the Razorback at sea and the original plankowners (officers and crew) present at the commissioning ceremony in 1944.

The AIMM also houses the riverboat Arkansas Queen and the MV Lipscomb. The Arkansas Queen is a working vessel with river cruises in the Spring and Summer as well as a museum and restaurant, the restaurant also has expanded facilities dockside at the AIMM. The Lipscomb is also a working vessel, part of the Army Corps of Engineers team used to maintain the 445 miles of navigable river in the Arkansas River Navigation System. She hosts educational exhibits and other displays and tours when not in use by the Corps of Engineers. She is pictured here:

Just across the NSRW is the memorial to USS Snook, one of the 52 submarines lost in WWII, each US state was given one to "adopt" with California and New York each receiving two. The Snook was responsible for sinking 22 Japanese submarines and numerous other vessels before she was lost in April 1945. The memorial is pictured here:

After lunch I decided to get on the trolley. I was mistaken about the trolley being free (it costs $1) and its being a bus. It is an electric rail system using refurbished vintage trolley cars which you can see in the picture below along with a route map showing the general downtown areas of the River Cities.

The trolley route carries you past many of the sites worthy of further exploration on both sides of the river. Downtown NLR has many sites to see including many building which are listed in the Registry of Historic Building. While waiting on the trolley to arrive I explored a little bit in downtown. City Hall is on the corner of Main and Broadway just north of the NSRW and across the street is Gregeen's Irish Pub which was a totally appropriate discovery on St. Patrick's Day. NLR has that small town America feel to it with many shops and businesses thriving in the Argenta Historic District. Argenta was the name NLR went by for several years when a disagreement between the citizens of NLR and LR erupted and NLR did not want to be associated with LR. The feuding ended when the citizens of Argenta who were involved in the original disagreement died out and the city fathers decided that the name recognition was important for the tourist dollar. There are still many businesses that carry Argenta as part of the business name. Just down the street and around the corner from Gregeen's is the Baker Bed and Breakfast which is housed in a Victorian Mansion built in 1840. The Baker has 5 suites available year round at $100 a night ($140 on weekends) A little further down Main across from the trolley wheelhouse is the Argenta Bead Company housed in a lavender brick building, Argenta Bead has thousand of variety of beads for sale, they teach classes in beading and once a week they have a "brown bag beading" where you bring a lunch (and your own beads if you want) and meet with others of similar interests for socializing and instructions. Downtown NLR is also home to 5 different art museums which will be explored at a later date.

I got on the trolley which completed its circuit of NLR then crossed the river into LR. The south shore has a massive riverfront area called River Market which is home to many businesses and events. One of the pavilions there hosts the broadcast of Good Morning Arkansas by the local ABC affiliate. Downtown LR is home to many historic buildings many of which are along the trolley route. One such building is the State House museum housed in the original Arkansas State House which was the seat of the state government from1836 to 1911. The new State House is in the western portion of downtown LR at 5th & Capitol and not on the trolley route. Across from the museum is the Capitol Hotel built in 1820 which is the oldest hotel currently in use west of the Mississippi. Also along the route is the Federal Courthouse built in 1881, the Pulaski County Courthouse built in 1888 and a log cabin built in Smith County (about 20 miles from LR) in 1836 and moved to LR in the 1960's. The end of the line for the trolley is at the Clinton Presidential Library campus which is home to the library itself, the Clinton Presidential Archives and the Clinton School of Public Service. The exploration of this will be a a full day in itself and I will plan a day for that soon. Across from the Presidential Library is the headquarters of Heifer International which is a charity organization that provides livestock and production assistance to hungry populations world wide. The library campus is also the terminus of another walking bridge across the river that was at one time a railroad drawbridge whose northern terminus is east of the AllTel Arena in downtown NLR.

I took the trolley back into NLR and caught the bus back to my place where upon I took a nap as I was "plumb tuckered out" as they say from my tour. I wanted to get some rest before going to work at midnight to do the daily audit. Today it is supposed to rain all day so it will be a good day to sleep in and rest up for further adventures. I hope you enjoyed the tour, I am going to have to invest in a digital camera to bring you more photos of my adventures here. Meanwhile you can enjoy the photos in the eye candy section for today. Until next time as always, Enjoy!

above photo courtesy photos by biron