Granite Mountain neighborhood

The Granite Mountain neighborhood is located on the southeast edge of the city of Little Rock.

The $1.3 million Granite Mountain slum clearance effort by the Little Rock Housing Authority and Urban Progress Association led to the destruction of one hundred and seventy two small homes scattered over 100 acres and occupied by black Little Rock residents. Only two of the homes had indoor plumbing. Residents instead fetched water from free-standing faucets. Sixty-nine new homes replaced the older structures. The clearance, approved on December 3, 1954, by the federal Housing and Home Finance Agency, was part of the Central Little Rock Urban Renewal Project. Actual clearance began in the neighborhood in January 1955. Slum clearance was approved locally in a contentious May 9, 1950 referendum.

The executive director of the Little Rock Housing Authority at the time was Knox Banner.

References

• Gene Foreman, "Urban Renewal: A Decade of Progress Has Brought Impressive Changes to Little Rock," Arkansas Gazette, May 29, 1960.
• Raymond Rebsamen, Little Rock: Poised for Progress (Little Rock, AR: Urban Progress Association, 1960).
• Bob Stover, "Sweeping 'Renewal' Ending Quietly," Arkansas Gazette, November 2, 1977.
• Matilda Tuohey, "Little Rock Has Massive Urban Renewal Program," Arkansas Gazette, February 17, 1963.