Central High School Neighborhood Topic of Panel Presentation Jan. 13 in Little Rock

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Central High School in Little Rock is the only functioning high school in the United States within the boundaries of a National Historic Site. (Image courtesy the Architecture and Design Network)

LITTLE ROCK – The Architecture and Design Network will present “Then and Now: the Central High School Neighborhood” on Tuesday, Jan. 13, at the Arkansas Arts Center, 501 E. 9th St., in Little Rock. The presentation will begin at 6 p.m. in the center’s Lecture Hall, following a 5:30 p.m. reception.

This will be a panel presentation with Rachel Silva, historian; Kwendeche, architect; Nancy Rousseau, principal at Central High School; and Vanessa McKuin, president of the Central High Neighborhood Association.

The westward expansion of Little Rock in the mid-1890s gave rise to the West End, a section of the city that became known as the Central High School neighborhood. The area takes its name from the school, which, at the time of its completion in 1927, was designated by the American Institute of Architects as “the most beautiful high school in America.” The largest, most expensive school ever built in the United States, it is now a National Historic Landmark, most likely remembered today as the site of the 1957 desegregation crisis.

Central High School, which now serves 2,419 students from many parts of the city, is surrounded by a mix of homes and other properties built through the years in a variety of sizes, shapes and styles. In addition to discussing the history and development of the area, the panelists will talk about imminent threats to the neighborhood’s historic properties and what is being done, or needs to be done, to save them. Several neighborhood groups, rather than a single entity, are actively involved in that effort. Among them are the Wright Avenue Neighborhood Association, the Capitol Hill Neighborhood Association and the Central High Neighborhood Association.

Silva is preservation outreach coordinator for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, president of the Pulaski County Historical Society and serves on the Arkansas Historical Association board of trustees. She lives in North Little Rock’s Argenta Historic District.

Kwendeche is a graduate of Little Rock Central High School and Howard University in Washington, D.C. He is an architect with more than 30 years of experience in historic preservation and hospitality design. Kwendeche has been a member of the American Institute of Architects since 1984 and, in 2000, founded produksi arymeus arsitektur, an architecture and artworks firm in Little Rock.

McKuin is a homeowner and resident of the Central High School Neighborhood Historic District, living with her husband and their dog in a rehabilitated circa 1901 Colonial Revival-style house. She is president of Central High Neighborhood, Inc. and is director of the Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas, a statewide non-profit organization.

Rousseau has served for 13 years as the principal at Central High School, the only functioning high school in the United States within the boundaries of a National Historic Site.

The 2014-15 Art of Architecture lecture series is sponsored by the Architecture and Design Network, a non-profit organization, with support from the Central Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the Arkansas Arts Center, the Fay Jones School of Architecture and community members.

The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, contact ardenetwork@mac.com.