Place // Little Rock, AR

>Little Rock, AR

Founded: 1831

Population: 192,000 (inc) 842,000 (metro, including North Little Rock and Pine Bluff)

Claim to Fame: Home of Bill Clinton

[If you'd like to see more pictures, please visit my Flickr gallery]

About two hours drive west of Memphis on the Arkansas River, Little Rock is best known at the Arkansas state capital and hometown of Bill Clinton. It is a modestly populated town, similar in size to Tulsa, Sarasota, Knoxville, Omaha, Baton Rouge, etc. The construction of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library to the south of downtown coincided with a major urban revitalization and the establishment of the pleasantly accommodating River Market District, a pedestrian-friendly corridor (named President Clinton Avenue...I'm sensing a trend..."I did not, have, sexual relations, with the person in charge of naming the streets and buildings.") with shops, residential units, hotels, and civic buildings terminating at the library's prominent hilltop perch.

The library is the city's architectural landmark. Built in 2004, the building's design anticipated then-upcoming LEED credit ratings through a series of sustainable initiatives. Exposed structure references a nearby bridge than spans the Arkansas River and provides a nice backdrop for the dramatic cantilever at the east end. The expansive library grounds border the nicely-sited Heifer International, which features its own fabulous green architecture and whose purpose is to study and educate in the field of sustainable agriculture.

"I may not have been the greatest president, but I've had the most fun eight years." –Bill Clinton

Side note: Is "Market" the new buzzword of this decade for public, urban open spaces? In the 70's and 80's it was "Plaza", in the 90's it was "Arts District." At least that's what it seems like, I haven't done any research on the subject.

[Heifer International]

[William J. Clinton Presidential Library]

[River Market on Clinton Avenue. Narrow streets + Trolley...]