The sun set quickly as I drove east from Oklahoma City. The
interstate was lined with billboard after billboard proclaiming the name of
some business or cause. Although I usually find constant advertisement a bit
tiresome, it helped break the monotony of this long drive. Once darkness had
swallowed the land, the stupor of the road began to set in.
I stopped
just over the Arkansas border for dinner in Fort Smith. When I rolled through
town the streets were deserted. It was 8pm on a Tuesday, and there wasn’t a
person to be seen. I passed countless establishments of one type or another,
but the restaurants had few patrons and the stores were dark. I was beginning
to get discouraged as I journeyed on into the strip-mall ridden suburbs,
wondering if I should forgo the restaurant I found on Yelp an hour or so
before. I made a right near a complex of super stores, and as I climbed the
hill, I noticed an enormous neon sign that seemed to be the sole beacon of life
in the empty night. As I approached, I realized that it belonged to my
destination, Joe’s Cantina and Grill, and beneath the name it read, “The zombie
aTACOlypse has begun.” I was definitely in the right place. The parking lot was
almost full, but a spot opened up directly in front of the entrance as soon as
I turned in.
I entered
to the sound of a busy restaurant and live music. It was a Tuesday in October
and they had a special for 75-cent tacos. The bar was crowded and the hostess
motioned for me to follow her. I was seated right next to the musician who was
squashed into the corner with barely enough room to play. Before I could even
open the menu the waitress came over with chips and salsa. It wasn’t long after
I ordered that my dinner arrived hot and steaming. After the subdued
environment of my car it was a little overwhelming to be surrounded by such
jubilations, but it made my meal much more enjoyable. I savored every bite of
the delicious burrito, pausing only to clap when the musician played a
particularly treasured classic. Less than an hour later I left feeling
refreshed and revived, grateful that my selection had been a good one. Two
hours later I finally arrived at my hotel in North Little Rock, checked in, and
settled down for the evening.
The next
morning I woke up, made some breakfast and coffee, and went downtown to visit
the Capitol. It was situated in one of the most complex mazes of one-way roads
and parking lots I had ever seen. I finally found a shady spot down the hill
from the visitor’s entrance. As I stepped out of the car, an older woman came
up and asked me how I liked my Subaru. I told her that it was very dependable,
especially since I’d driven it to 20 states in the past two months without
incident. I asked her what her business was at the Capitol Complex, and she
replied that she helps process mail and paper work for folk’s social security.
As the conversation came to a close, I tried to give her my blog address, but
she smiled and said, “Oh thank you, but I’m not really one for computers. I’m a
people person; I’d rather talk to you.” I wished her a good day and began the
hike up the hill to the Capitol.
Before
heading upstairs I went to the ladies room on the ground floor. It was a very
large room complete with sitting area. There was a vanity with an upholstered
bench with “Arkansas” stitched into it along with an apple blossom, which is
the state flower. Although these features in a restroom are somewhat
old-fashioned, it was sort of comforting that these original pieces were
included and maintained all this time.
I began all
the way on the fourth floor, visiting both the House and Senate galleries. The
chambers’ main entrances were on the third floor, but they were blocked with
large glass barriers that were as tall as the grand doors. It was disappointing
that I couldn’t even get a good picture from the main floor due to the lack of
sufficient lighting and the glare of the glass, so I went upstairs to see if I
could get into the gallery. Once inside, I was able to see the subtle grandeur
of the large stained-glass skylight that commanded the ceiling. In between each
section of stained glass were pale pink draperies or curtains that flowed
downward creating a soft, feminine glow. The Senate chamber was very similar to
the House chamber with little or no difference other than size.
As I passed
by the rotunda to check out the Senate chamber, I peeked through the sheets of
plastic to get a look at what they were doing inside. I got a glimpse of a
complex system of scaffolding and various men lying on their sides, painting
meticulously. None of them seemed perturbed that they were balanced precariously
so many feet above the cold marble floor. Surrounding the rotunda were various
hallways and corridors. There the windows and pale stone allowed much natural
light to illuminate the hallways. The building as a whole was extremely
pleasant.
After
taking a look in the rotunda, I ventured downstairs to the second floor, which
contained the Old Supreme Court Chamber, the famous solid-bronze Tiffany doors,
and the State Treasurer’s Office. First I visited the Old Supreme Court Chamber.
According to the pamphlet, Through These
Doors: A Self-Guided Tour of the
Arkansas State Capitol, “The Arkansas Supreme Court met in this chamber
from 1912 to 1958. Because of increased case loads and other considerations,
the Supreme Court moved to the Justice Building on the southwest corner of the
Capitol complex. The chamber is now used for legislative committee meetings and
lectures. The public uses the chairs that surround the outside of the rail,
while the seats inside of the rail are used for committee members, staff, and
the press.” The room was very light and airy, with dramatic curtains adding a
sense of grandeur to the proceedings. It was one of my favorite rooms in the
whole building, except that it was very cold. As soon as I stepped through the
doors, I drew my cardigan around me and began to shiver.
The famous solid
bronze doors located on the eastern side of the building are ten feet tall and
four inches thick. They were purchased from Tiffany’s in New York in 1910 for
$10,000. If there was a decorative element of the Capitol that is most unique,
the doors would definitely be that element. Now that the main entrance is only
used for ceremonial purposes, such as the inauguration of a governor, they have
been roped off to prevent people from smearing them. Even still, they are
cleaned of smudges every two weeks.
Across the rotunda is the Treasurer’s
Office, which contains a large vault with four separate doors and three time
locks. Its main door weighs 11 tons so getting the vault installed was rather
difficult. The original plan was to send it by train and then have a wagon
deliver it, but the wagon sunk into the mud under the immense weight, forcing
the workers to lay down tracks to finish moving it. As I walked in to the State
Treasurer’s Office, a young man behind the front desk greeted me and asked if I
would like to come into the vault.
“Uh, sure!”
I said, a little taken aback.
As I
circled around the desk, an older woman stood up and said, “We’ll take a
picture of you holding a bunch of money!”
I stepped
inside the vault, which was definitely well fortified, and they handed me an
enormous brick of $100 bills. It was a little startling to see that much money
in one place, let alone be the one holding it. As they snapped the picture, they
told me that if I went to their website, I’d be able to see it along side all
of the other visitors they’ve had recently.
I left the
building and took a few pictures of the outside before climbing back into my
car and driving to the Historic Arkansas Museum. I parked about a block away,
and as I approached I noticed a metal statue in the front of the museum. It was
a surreal depiction of a bunch of men and woman dancing in a circle to music of
violins. The “Historic Grounds” included a neighborhood of houses and other
buildings dating back to before the Civil War. Although the tours were about
the close for the day, the staff was dressed up in period clothing, and they
gave me a short tour free of charge. The first building was both a house and a
tavern. On the ground level, I learned that a counter at which alcohol is
served is called a bar because at the old taverns they actually had wooden bars
erected from counter top to ceiling to protect the bartender from flying
objects during fights that would erupt rather frequently. The bartender was
usually armed to protect the establishment, and there was a little door in the
bars that could be opened to sell drinks no matter what was going on. That
guide sent me to the next building, which was where the slave slept in the
neighbor’s house as well as a reproduction of the kitchen. The third building
was a rich man’s dwelling, complete with antique furniture.
After
looking at the historic buildings, I walked inside and paid admission to
explore the galleries. There were several different galleries that held a
wide-variety of displays. One of the galleries was a tribute to firemen,
“Heeding the Call,” which displayed a private collection of antique
firefighting equipment. Out of all of the objects, the gas mask gave me a
particularly eerie feeling, as they always do. Perhaps it is because of the
gruesome nature of the events that they are used to protect someone from, but I
cannot see one without my stomach turning over.
The next
exhibit was even more eclectic than the last; it was a knife collection. Each
display showed increasingly sinister blades, but each was more beautiful than
the last. It was easy to appreciate the collectable nature of such things,
especially when so much care was taken to make them ascetically pleasing. Some had ornate engravings covering their
entire surface, while others bore complicated hilts of one material or another.
All together, it made for a delightfully interesting museum exhibit, and it
definitely stood out as one of the best museums exhibits I’d seen so far.
Next, I
went upstairs to see the exhibit dedicated to Native Americans in the region.
This one was particularly heartbreaking, and it ignited my sense of sympathy
for the plight of indigenous peoples as a whole. I consider the issue with a
strong sense of turmoil. Although it was not uncommon for native peoples to be
invaded by Europeans several hundred years ago, the Native Americans were
treated horribly and still are. I left the museum feeling sick to my stomach
and angry about the choices of my ancestors.
I left the
museum mulling over the things that I had discovered. The Capitol was
traditionally styled and contained many different details that set it apart.
The bronze Tiffany doors and the enormous chandelier were by far the most
beautiful accents in the building. The Senate and House chambers weren’t
decorated extensively, but the stained glass skylights give the somewhat
confining rooms a very open feeling. My experience in the vault was fun and much
more hands-on than anything else I’ve experienced in a Capitol so far. The
museum was delightfully different. No other museum had a historic neighborhood
to accompany the exhibits, and furthermore, the galleries in the Historic
Arkansas Museum were strikingly unique. They were all very distinctive, but
they tied together the history of Arkansas in one way or another. Their
composition illustrated that the curator wanted them to be interesting and
different from other exhibits at most other museums.
As a whole, I enjoyed Arkansas
quite a bit. All of the people that I met were very friendly - so friendly in
fact that not a single interaction left me with even slightest bit of
displeasure. I thoroughly enjoyed my meal at Joe’s Grill and Cantina, which was
arguably one of the best meals that I’ve had on the road. I headed back to the
hotel with the rest of the five o’clock traffic and made myself a simple dinner
at the hotel. I packed up my belongings, anticipating the nine-hour drive I
would have from Little Rock to Austin the next day. I rose early, gathered my
belongings, and headed toward the Lone Star state.
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