The Arkansas State Review Board will consider the nominations for several Arkansas properties to the National Register of Historic Places at their next meeting on August 7th.
“The National Register of Historic Places is a program of the National Park Service that is administered in Arkansas by the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program,” said Ralph Wilcox, national register and survey coordinator and deputy state historic preservation officer for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. “The National Register is the country’s official list of historic resources that are worthy of preservation, and it’s always exciting when we have National Register nominations under consideration. It allows us to showcase the incredible history of Arkansas and how the state’s past is reflected in its built environment.”
The Arkansas properties that will be considered by the State Review Board come from all over the state and illustrate the rich and diverse history that Arkansas has.
“The nominations that the Review Board will consider include properties from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and include a wide range of property types,” said Wilcox. “From bridges and cemeteries to schools and historic districts, the properties up for nomination illustrate the wide variety of properties that can be listed on the National Register and how they all reflect Arkansas’s history.”
The nominations to the National Register of Historic Places that will be considered include:
Worthen Building, Little Rock, Pulaski County: Designed by architect Noland Blass, Jr., and built in 1967–1969, the Worthen Building is an outstanding example of the Brutalist style. The Worthen Building was also the state’s tallest building from the time of its completion until 1975.
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Overpass, Little Rock, Pulaski County: The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Overpass was built in 1936 and reflects the efforts in the 1930s and 1940s to eliminate railroad grade crossings on the state’s highways.
Conway Mayes Marker, Conway, Faulkner County: The Conway Mayes Marker, which was erected in 1955, is an example of the roadside religious markers erected around the country by Kentucky artist Henry Harrison Mayes.
Searcy Commercial Historic District, Searcy, White County: The Searcy Commercial Historic District, which encompasses the commercial core of Searcy, reflects the nineteenth- and twentieth-century commercial history and development of the city.