Capitol Place plan

The Capitol Place plan involved a failed effort to create an underground plaza and parking ramp with space for 1,200-1,800 cars at the corner of Main Street and Capitol Avenue in downtown Little Rock. The plan was originally endorsed by the Urban Progress Association, and authored by Noland Blass Jr. The Capitol Place Project Committee was chaired by Louis Rosen.

Capitol Place was expected to be anchored by Union National Bank and Franke's cafeteria. Total project cost was expected to exceed $20 million for several new buildings and the $5 million parking garage. The project was compared at the time to a similar plaza-parking structure in Hartford, Connecticut, which one committee member called the "showplace of the East."

References

• "Buildings Acquired by LRHA Constructed Around 1900," Arkansas Gazette, April 24, 1966.
• Bill Lewis, "Novel Underground Parking is Proposed for Downtown," Arkansas Gazette, January 8, 1966.