April 2011
2011 Spring Tour of Homes Issue 
In This Issue
2011 Spring Tour of Homes
H.A. Bowman House
Turner-Mann House
Urquhart Bungalow
Rogers House
Ragland House
Quick Links
  
615 East Capitol Avenue
P.O. Box 165023
Little Rock, Arkansas 72216
Our Partners


Arkansas Democrat-Gazette 

 

Edwards Food Giant

 

Ruebel Funeral Home

 

Wittenberg, Delony & Davidson Architects

 

Matlock & Associates

 

Albert Hurst, Modern Woodmen of America

 

Summit Bank

 

Community Bakery

 

East-Harding Construction

 

The Empress of Little Rock

 

Arkansas Flag and Banner

 

Blissard Management & Realty, Inc.

 

Boggan Plumbing Co.

 

Moses Tucker Real Estate

 

PLANTation Services

 

Robinwood B&B 

 

Rosemont Inn & Cottages

 

The Green Corner Store

 

Tree Streets

Find us on Facebook

 

Follow us on Twitter

 

View our photos on flickr

 

Join Our Mailing List

 

  
  
  
  Rogers
  
  

2011 Spring Tour of Homes

 

Saturday, May 7

Candlelight Tour

5:30-10:30 p.m.

$100 per person

 

Sunday, May 8

Afternoon Tour

1:00-5:00 p.m.

$18 per person in advance

$20 per person day of tour 

 

Reservations for both tours may be made at www.quapaw.com; by mailing payment to the Quapaw Quarter Association; or at Curran Hall, 615 East Capitol Avenue.  

 

Tickets purchased before May 1 will be mailed to you.

 

Please buy tickets now!

This is the QQA's major fundraiser. 

  
  
  
  
  

2011 Spring Tour of Homes 

2011 tour logo 

The 2011 Quapaw Quarter Association Spring Tour will be held May 7th and 8th (Mother's Day weekend).  The Saturday Candlelight Tour, from 5:30-7:30 p.m, will permit visitors to stroll the quiet streets while enjoying champagne, wine and savories at several locations.  Cocktails, dinner and dancing to the music of the Jellies will follow until 10:30 at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.  The Garth will be lit by Bylites' "floating moon."  Party favors have been provided by Aromatique and there will be a small silent auction.  Saturday night party decorations are being artistically handled by Dan and Sandra Cook with their able assistants.  There will be a "thank-you" party for all Tour volunteers Sunday, May 15 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at Curran Hall. 

 

The Tours include 5 wonderful homes: the Ragland House (c. 1890) at 1617 Center Street; the Urquhart Bungalow (c. 1880) at 1623 Center Street; the Turner-Mann House (c. 1905) at 1711 Center Street; the Rogers House (c. 1914) at 400 West Eighteenth Street; and the H.A. Bowman House (c. 1887) at 1415 South Broadway; all are located within easy walking distance of each other.   On Sunday, a rubber-wheeled trolley will provide transportation along the Tour route between the houses, and street activities will include musicians, games, food carts, and a lemonade stand.  Parking will be on surface streets near the activities (some streets will be closed except to the trolley), at City Pharmacy and John Walker Law Office parking lots at 18th and Broadway, and the parking lot at the corner of 14th and Broadway.  Tour chair is Dana Daniels Nixon; her vice-chairs are Laura Sergeant and Anthony Black.


 

2011 Tour Sponsors

Arkansas Democrat Gazette � Edwards Food Giant � Matlock & Associates � Modern Woodmen of America � Ruebel Funeral Home � Summit Bank � Wittenberg, Delony & Davidson Architects

 

2011 Tour Donors

Mark and Lyne Abernathy/Loca Luna � Arkansas Destinations � Arkansas Natural Produce � Aromatique � Bylites � Cabot Creamery Cooperative � Cajun's Wharf � Capital Bar and Grill � Dizzy's Gypsy Bistro � Edwards Food Giant � Mountain Valley Spring Water � Nixon Flower Farm � Petit Jean Meats � Stanley Jewelers Gemologist � Tyson Foods

 

 

Bowman House (1887)

1415 South Broadway 
 

Bowman exterior
Photo by Jim King 

The Bowman House was constructed by H.A. Bowman in 1887 (a signature and date were found on the exterior sheathing during restoration).  Prior to the recent restoration work completed in 2010 by Scott Shepard and the late Randy Jeffery, the home had been vacant for several years and was in a seriously deteriorated state; it had been cut up into 5 apartments, probably after WWII.  It was the fourth project (two prior in the Quapaw Quarter, one in Hillcrest) for the two and was intended to be the last. 

 

The front porch was rebuilt according to a second footprint plan found on a 1910 Sanborn map; the house originally included a turret, which was deemed too expensive to replace.  The porch railing replicates a design found on a State Street house.  Inside, the staircase and stained glass window are original; the balustrades are an interesting pattern of alternating cypress and walnut, discovered upon stripping many layers of paint.  The pocket doors in the front parlor and the mantle in the dining room are original, as are almost all windows.  Light fixtures are not original but are period appropriate.   The fret work throughout the house is old but recycled from other structures.  The kitchen nook was a 1960s addition (complete with aluminum windows) that was retained and incorporated into the present design; every other component of the house was lovingly replaced, including all flooring and trim.

 

At the beginning of restoration three apartments remained on the second floor; a hallway was removed to open up the flow between rooms, and the area now contains the bedrooms, baths and sitting areas. 

 

 

 
Turner-Mann House (c. 1906)
1711 Center Street  

 

 

Turner-Mann, the home of Jay Barth and Chuck Cliett, was

Turner Mann

Photo by Jim King 

purchased in 2006 "walk-in ready" after the major restoration done earlier by Chuck Heinbockel and Jeanette Krohn.  Over the past five years, they have mostly attended to normal home maintenance and upkeep, but have created an upstairs library and converted

a sleeping porch off the back stairs into a home office.  The two love the location and the distinctive history of the house and its style - a Prairie Box, wood-shingle exterior, with mostly Arts & Crafts style on the interior but with some Victorian touches.  An out-building now used for storage was once an apartment for the priest associated with the Catholic School that included the house as part of its complex.

 

The home was originally built as a speculative investment by developer Susan Turner and contains just under 5,000 square feet. Architect George Mann, the designer of the Arkansas State Capitol and first owner (the first inhabitant was a renter), supposedly remodeled the upstairs bath using the same marble that was used in the Capitol.  In the 1930s, the house was home to Governor J. M. Futrell.  The Catholic School, run by a German order of nuns who lived in the convent next door, began about 1957 and closed in the late 1960s.   When the Heinbockels acquired it in 1989, it was a boardinghouse in deplorable condition, with only one working bathroom and unusable wiring.  They rewired, replumbed, removed and replaced the roof, removed remaining plaster and installed sheetrock, refinished floors, and removed the enclosure that obscured the grand front porch.  The house had been covered with asphalt siding, which was removed, as was the asphalt paving over the entire side and rear yard.  The original sink for the marble bath was found in the basement and reinstalled.  The little pond in the back yard had been filled in but was dug out and made into a water feature.

 

The restored front porch and main floor remain true to the period.  Glass-paneled doors between the two front parlors allow them to be closed off from one another or from the dining room.  Double pocket doors between the main rooms allows open spaces for entertaining and can create more intimate rooms when closed.  Beautiful oak floors fill the house; main floor oak is all quarter-sawn.  Hand-painted borders along with the owners' collection of artwork by Arkansans enhance the beauty of the architecture. The sunny kitchen, completely remodeled by Chuck and Jeanette, carries through the Craftsman-style diamond shapes from the original butler's pantry in its glass cabinets and backsplash.

The bottom level is now furnished in a more contemporary style and contains an office, kitchenette, living room and full bath. 

The library on the upper level was one of the few structural changes that Jay and Chuck have made; this level also contains the bedrooms and the office converted from a former sleeping porch.

 

Great dog lovers, Jay and Chuck have made several dog-proofing accommodations, including interior gates designed to blend with the style of the house.

 

 

Urquhart Bungalow (early 1880s)
1623 Center Street  

 

The Urquhart Bungalow was built in the early 1880s by Francis M. Fulk, an attorney, but was owned by the Urquhart family from 1891-1941.  The family never lived in the house but had a married daughter next door at the Ragland House.  According to real estate records, the original structure was either extensively remodeled and enlarged or removed and replaced with a resemblance of the current structure around 1912. 

 

Urquhart
Photo by Jim King

The Urquhart Bungalow was renovated in the 1980s by Jim Guy and Betty Tucker.  Mike and Kelly Ward, the present owners, bought the home in 2008 and have painted the interior, extensively remodeled the kitchen and master bath, and rebuilt the rear deck.  They have also done extensive landscaping in the front yard.  Mike says that they don't like the "busy street" (across from the Cathedral School and Trinity) but have gotten used to it, and the location is really convenient for him and work.

 

Floors are original and are mostly heart pine, although there is some oak.  Lighting fixtures in the living room and dining room are original.  The rear utility room was originally a porch.  Stairs rise to a gracious landing between the first floor and the upstairs bedrooms.  While the house is somewhat smaller than the others on the Tour, it is a wonderfully comfortable and perfect for couples or small families.

 

Rogers House (c. 1914)
400 West 18th Street  

 

The Rogers House was built in 1914 for Dr. Frank

Rogers

Photo by Jim King 

O. Rogers and his wife, Emma Tillar Rogers, for $25,000.  The house was designed by Charles L. Thompson, who designed several houses in the neighborhood now known as the Governor's Mansion Historic District (including the Ragland House, another 2011 Tour property).  The house exhibits Thompson's ability to flawlessly blend several architectural styles; in this house, he used a combination of Classical Revival and Craftsman styles.  Classical elements include the symmetrical facade, a monumental front entrance crowned by a two-story portico with fluted Ionic columns, a dentiled cornice, balustrades supported by scroll brackets and decorative panels with a garland motif above the first floor windows.   The house, however, really leans more toward the Craftsman style with its exposed rafter tails, casement and double-hung, multi-pane windows, gabled dormers with triangular knee braces, and the use of mixed materials on the exterior, including brick, wood, tile and stucco.  The interior also reflects the Craftsman style with exposed wood beams on the ceilings, built-in shelves by the front door, a built-in bench on the landing, and the stairway itself.  The original carriage house is now an apartment.

 

The Rogers lived in the house until 1939; it was then purchased by Dr. Tena Murphy, a chiropractor who used it as her residence and professional office and rented out rooms upstairs.  In 1960, it was purchased by the Elizabeth Mitchell Memorial Home for Children as a replacement for the Home being demolished to make way for I-30 being built through downtown Little Rock.  The Mitchell Center retained the structure until 1982; that year, Charles and Michelle Ray purchased the home and began restoration based on Thompsons's original drawings.  The Mitchell Center had added some walls to make more bedrooms, reduced the size of door openings, and covered some fireplaces with bookshelves; all these changes were reversed.  Donald and Margaret Mattison bought the house in June 1984 and continued restoration work.  John Bangert and John T. Jones followed in 1993 and used the home as a reception center as well as their residence.  Todd bought the property in 2003 and also operates it as an event center in addition to residing at the house. 

 

The Rogers House contains over 9,000 square feet and has nine working fireplaces and a lower level that originally housed a ballroom and men's smoking area.  Many lighting fixtures are original but have been rewired and had more than 300 crystal prisms replaced.  The office was Dr. Roger's waiting room and contains the only carved wood mantle (installed when the house was the Symphony Designer House in 1997).  The main floor study (called "The Maestro's Retreat" on Thompson's plans) was used as an office by Dr. Rogers.  The mantle in the living room was made by the Rookwood pottery Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio, one of only two remaining in Arkansas.  Tiles were made to order and cost $1.25 each (the equivalent of $25 today).

 

The Palm Court retains the original concrete slab and tile floor and casement windows; original roll-down screens are currently being restored.  This room first had a faucet and floor drain for ease in keeping the plants watered.  The 1928 wall mural in the dining room originally extended around all walls; only one section now remains.  The kitchen was originally divided into 3 rooms and 2 closets but the Ray family removed walls and turned it into a larger space for entertaining.  The commercial range was installed by the Mitchell Center and still functions perfectly. 

 

A grand stairway, complete with piano alcove, leads to the spacious upstairs bedrooms and baths; these were originally connected by doorways between rooms but have now been closed off to contain private suites.

 

 

Ragland House (c. 1891)

1617 Center Street  

 

The Ragland House was designed by architect Charles Thompson, the premier architect of his day,

Ragland

Photo by Jim King

and built in 1891-92 by Edmond Urquhart as a wedding present for his daughter and her husband, William H. Ragland. Urquhart owned Little Rock Oil Company (cotton seed oil) and was a director of First National Bank.  (The family also owned, but did not inhabit, the Urquhart Bungalow to the south.)  It is one of the finest examples of Victorian era architecture in the country and was featured in the book, "Daughters of Painted Ladies."   Thompson designed the house in the Queen Anne style featuring many irregular shapes and a wide variety of textures - many evident on the exterior.  This variety is an important factor in the design and makes it one of the many unique homes in the Quapaw Quarter neighborhoods.

 

The Ragland House was purchased by current owners Nick and Mary Paal in 1980.   After moving in with their then-aged 4 and 9 children, and after sheetrocking, replastering, papering and painting, they enlarged the kitchen, replaced the roof, scraped and painted the exterior and turned the outbuilding behind the house into a garage apartment.  Nick, originally from Hungary, and Mary are now among the longest tenured downtown residents (since 1973); Mary was one of the founders of the downtown baby-sitting co-op which was an important factor in the lives of many Quapaw Quarter residents in the 1980s and 1990s.

 

The house has eleven rooms and is constructed of wood with a high-hipped slate roof and four brick chimneys.  Perhaps the most striking and memorable exterior feature of the exuberantly painted house is its 2-story tower topped with a bell-shaped roof and finial.  The tower includes two sets of three curved, double-hung windows; each set is dramatically topped with exquisite, original stained glass. The formal entry and reception hall contains original pocket doors that actually still work!  The entire house contains vast amounts of gorgeous cypress woodwork, every square foot lovingly restored by Nick Paal and son, Zack.   

 


Rhea Roberts
Quapaw Quarter Association