Last updated: February 9, 2021
Article
Visitor Center at Little Rock Central High School NHS
NPS Photo
On May 20, 2006, more than 100 people gathered at the Little Rock Central High School NHS at the formal groundbreaking ceremony for the site’s new Visitor Center. Senator Mark Pryor, Congressman Vic Snyder, Little Rock Mayor Jim Dailey, and National Park Service Deputy Regional Director Dave Given all spoke. Two of the Little Rock Nine, Thelma Mothershed Wair and Elizabeth Eckford, also attended the event.
The City of Little Rock partnered with the National Park Service to sponsor the event and used the occasion to begin the 500-day countdown until the 50th anniversary of Central High’s desegregation in September 2007. As part of the ceremony, Howard Hurst, president of Tipton Hurst florists (the company that originally owned the property where the new facility will be constructed) donated 500 flowering plants to InnerCity Future Net, a neighborhood organization that works to transform vacant lots in the area into community garden spaces. The site for the Visitor Center had been the site of a plant nursery and greenhouse under various ownerships from as early as 1897 until 1988.
Construction began in mid-June 2006 and the formal dedication of the visitor center was set for September 24, 2007 as part of the 50th anniversary commemoration events. In addition to serving as a visitor center, the facility also houses the administrative offices for site staff and collections storage space for archives and artifacts. The site’s historian monitored the early stages of the construction project for possible archeological features on the site. Work uncovered a brick-lined well as well as a concrete structure which may have served as part of an underground furnace housing for the greenhouses that formerly occupied the site. Both features were photographed and documented before work continued.
As planned, the new Visitor Center opened on September 24, 2007. This facility features nearly 3,000 square feet of exhibit space to interpret the many stories related to the 1957 desegregation crisis at the school, the larger civil rights movements in the United States, and contemporary issues related to civil and human rights. The powerful visual images, firsthand accounts from the Little Rock Nine and others, historic documents and stimulating interactive exhibits offer the visitor an opportunity to experience the quest for equality on an intimate level. The significantly larger visitor center also enabled the entire staff, for the first time since the site was established, to work together onsite.
In her remarks during the formal dedication of the Visitor Center, National Park Service Director Mary Bomar emphasized “. . . the courage of the nine young Americans whose bravery we rightfully still celebrate here half a century later. These few did more with that chance to make this a better world than most of us could. I am humbled by the opportunity entrusted to us to protect and preserve their legacy.”
Visitors from around the world came to Little Rock to experience the citywide events related to the 50th anniversary; staff at the National Historic Site had the opportunity to interact with visitors from Germany, Amsterdam, Canada, Sweden, Africa, France, and across the United States. More than 2000 people attended the dedication ceremony.
Among the crowd were dignitaries including Chris McNair (the father of Denise McNair, one of four children killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham), Simeon Wright (cousin of Emmett Till), Ruby Bridges (integrated an elementary school in New Orleans in 1960), Susan Eisenhower (author and granddaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower), Congressman John Lewis (Freedom Rider and one of the “Big Six”), Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, Congressman Vic Snyder, Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola and poet/activist Nikki Giovanni.
As part of the ceremony, the Little Rock Nine were escorted onto the dedication stage by members of the 101st Airborne Division and the beautiful voices of Lawrence Hamilton and Philander Smith Select and the Freedom Singers radiated the emotions of the Civil Rights Movement through song. The student body president at Little Rock Central High School, Cyrus Bahrassa, delivered a refreshing and youthful account of life at Central High 50 years later, yet cautioned that there is more work to be done.
Following the dedication ceremony, visitors had the chance to view the exhibits for the first time; the first person to sign the guest book was a 7-year-old Little Rock resident. One moving comment summed up the experience and the moments of this early fall day:
“I am honored and humbled to be in the presence of the Little Rock Nine today as the nation and the world watches yet again...their strength and courage. This has been a very moving experience for me. It is my hope that every American will take the opportunity to visit this beautiful place…”
Browse the photo gallery of the Visitor Center Construction
- Article by Laura A. Miller and staff at Little Rock Central High School NHS
The City of Little Rock partnered with the National Park Service to sponsor the event and used the occasion to begin the 500-day countdown until the 50th anniversary of Central High’s desegregation in September 2007. As part of the ceremony, Howard Hurst, president of Tipton Hurst florists (the company that originally owned the property where the new facility will be constructed) donated 500 flowering plants to InnerCity Future Net, a neighborhood organization that works to transform vacant lots in the area into community garden spaces. The site for the Visitor Center had been the site of a plant nursery and greenhouse under various ownerships from as early as 1897 until 1988.
Construction began in mid-June 2006 and the formal dedication of the visitor center was set for September 24, 2007 as part of the 50th anniversary commemoration events. In addition to serving as a visitor center, the facility also houses the administrative offices for site staff and collections storage space for archives and artifacts. The site’s historian monitored the early stages of the construction project for possible archeological features on the site. Work uncovered a brick-lined well as well as a concrete structure which may have served as part of an underground furnace housing for the greenhouses that formerly occupied the site. Both features were photographed and documented before work continued.
As planned, the new Visitor Center opened on September 24, 2007. This facility features nearly 3,000 square feet of exhibit space to interpret the many stories related to the 1957 desegregation crisis at the school, the larger civil rights movements in the United States, and contemporary issues related to civil and human rights. The powerful visual images, firsthand accounts from the Little Rock Nine and others, historic documents and stimulating interactive exhibits offer the visitor an opportunity to experience the quest for equality on an intimate level. The significantly larger visitor center also enabled the entire staff, for the first time since the site was established, to work together onsite.
In her remarks during the formal dedication of the Visitor Center, National Park Service Director Mary Bomar emphasized “. . . the courage of the nine young Americans whose bravery we rightfully still celebrate here half a century later. These few did more with that chance to make this a better world than most of us could. I am humbled by the opportunity entrusted to us to protect and preserve their legacy.”
Visitors from around the world came to Little Rock to experience the citywide events related to the 50th anniversary; staff at the National Historic Site had the opportunity to interact with visitors from Germany, Amsterdam, Canada, Sweden, Africa, France, and across the United States. More than 2000 people attended the dedication ceremony.
Among the crowd were dignitaries including Chris McNair (the father of Denise McNair, one of four children killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham), Simeon Wright (cousin of Emmett Till), Ruby Bridges (integrated an elementary school in New Orleans in 1960), Susan Eisenhower (author and granddaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower), Congressman John Lewis (Freedom Rider and one of the “Big Six”), Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, Congressman Vic Snyder, Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola and poet/activist Nikki Giovanni.
As part of the ceremony, the Little Rock Nine were escorted onto the dedication stage by members of the 101st Airborne Division and the beautiful voices of Lawrence Hamilton and Philander Smith Select and the Freedom Singers radiated the emotions of the Civil Rights Movement through song. The student body president at Little Rock Central High School, Cyrus Bahrassa, delivered a refreshing and youthful account of life at Central High 50 years later, yet cautioned that there is more work to be done.
Following the dedication ceremony, visitors had the chance to view the exhibits for the first time; the first person to sign the guest book was a 7-year-old Little Rock resident. One moving comment summed up the experience and the moments of this early fall day:
“I am honored and humbled to be in the presence of the Little Rock Nine today as the nation and the world watches yet again...their strength and courage. This has been a very moving experience for me. It is my hope that every American will take the opportunity to visit this beautiful place…”
Browse the photo gallery of the Visitor Center Construction
- Article by Laura A. Miller and staff at Little Rock Central High School NHS