Central Little Rock Urban Renewal Project

The Central Little Rock Urban Renewal Project was begun in 1961 under the auspices of the Little Rock Urban Progress Association. The project's roots lay in the Main Street 1969 plan created by the Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in the spring of 1957. The Central Litle Rock Project became a national model for urban revitalization in the 1960s.

The renewal project included proposals for an Arkansas Exchange market for good manufactured in the south-central part of the country, a sports center and marina along the Arkansas River, a downtown local and interurban bus terminal, a convention center, a Variety Lane pedestrian district for retailing in an area bounded by West Capitol, West Eighth, Spring, and Center streets, underground fallout shelters, parking ramps, upscale apartments, and plazas across from the new Tower Building and along Main Street. The renewal project also had a special committee designated for work on a proposed Quapaw Quarter of historic homes just south of downtown.

References

• John L. Fletcher, "Little Rock Leads in New Endeavor of Urban Renewal," Arkansas Gazette, November 19, 1961.