April 7, 2022

ARKANSAS OLD STATEHOUSE MUSEUM

300 W Markham St, Little Rock, AR  72201

“The Old State House, formerly called the Arkansas State House, is the oldest surviving state capitol building west of the Mississippi River.” - Wikipedia

My Little Rock friend, Donna, and I stopped at the building where Bill Clinton announced his bid for the presidency in 1991 and delivered acceptance speeches on its grounds in 1992 and 1996, the Old State House Museum. Due to time and parking constraints, we were only able to spend a little time here, but it appeared to be a great museum telling some of the history of Arkansas’ government. The legislative chambers on the second floor give a glimpse of what the building would have looked like when it was used as the state capitol before 1910.We briefly looked into an exhibit of First Ladies of Arkansas. We perused a temporary exhibit called, “Play It Loud: Concerts at Barton Coliseum.” Opened in 1952, Barton Coliseum is the arena on the Arkansas State Fairgrounds. The exhibit had quite the collection of memorabilia from people who performed in the arena. Upon looking at the floor plan given to me at the door, we missed several exhibit rooms, so if I get back to Little Rock I will have to visit here again.