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CONTRIBUTORS Kristy Alpert, Steve Bowman, Adena White, Brad Lacy, Tracy Courage
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#LoveLittleRock
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Labor of Love Downtown Main St. Christmas Tree
Susan & Herren Hickingbotham
Rush & Linda Harding
Janis & Melanie
A multitude of people are responsible for bringing Christmas to the corner of Capitol and Main in downtown Little Rock this year. The parking lot near the intersection, a short distance away from Samantha’s Tap Room & Wood Grill at 322 Main St., is the location of the holiday tree. “Downtown Little Rock’s first Christmas tree is a labor of love,” says Chris Tanner, owner of Cheers in the Heights and Samantha’s. Tanner spearheaded the effort to get the tree to town. The tree is decked out in multicolored LED lights and Chris & Samantha Tanner has a topper crafted by Arkansas artist and glassblower James Hayes. Howard Hurst of Tipton & Hurst also played a role in getting the tree from the West Coast to central Arkansas. The massive Main Street tree Howard Hurst was helicopter harvested from a forest hillside on the WashingtonOregon border, and placed on a truck with trees destined for the Capital Hotel and the Country Club of Little Rock. “Once the tree arrived it was lifted from the truck with a crane donated by Mooney Crane Service and the tree was placed in a 6-foot steel tube that has been buried at Capitol and Main,” Tanner says. The tube was designed, built and donated by Patrick Schueck of Lexicon, Inc. The lift was donated by Robert Hall of Hugg and Hall. All costs associated Chris Engleby with the tree have been covered by private donations. After the holiday season, the trees will be cut into sections and donated to the Arkansas Game and Jan & Larry Alman Fish Commission, where they’ll be used to create fish habitats. To learn more about the Christmas tree on Main Street, visit aymag.com/tag/brightJimmy Moses & Rett Tucker the-night/.
Rusty Mathis
SANTA’S HELPERS Akel's Carpet One Arkansas Craft Distributors AY Magazine Ben E. Keith Cache Restaurant Cheers in the Heights Chris Robertson Coulson Oil Company
Diamond Bear Brewing Company Dick Mooney Crane Rental Excel Realty Group Gary Houston Electric Company Grapevine Wines & Spirits Hickingbotham Investments Hugg & Hall J&M Foods
Lake Liquor Larry and Jan Alman Lexion, Inc Lynn & Julie Marshall Mainstream Technologies Mark & Leslie Lee Moses Tucker Real Estate One Bank
Pleasant Valley Beer, Wine & Spirits Poe Travel Premium Refreshment Services Randy & Karen Mourot Rebel Kettle Brewing Reddick Moss, PLLC Samantha's Tap Room & Wood Grill Tech Mark Inc
The Sandman The Sumbles Team Keller Williams Realty
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North Little Rock's Argenta District is home to wellknown restaurants.
ARGENTA DISTRICT Downtown North Little Rock’s Argenta District consists of a three-block stretch of Main Street, between Broadway and 6th Street. The Argenta Community Development Corp., was founded in 1933 to restore houses and buildings in the historic neighborhood. The organization was the catalyst for the improvements on Main Street. North Little Rock’s Argenta District is full of the arts, tourist sites, gourmet restaurants and creative breweries. It provides access to multiple trails and is located near DickeyStephens Park.
Argenta is home to favorites like Ristorante Capeo, Mugs Café, Diamond Bear, Flyway, The Joint, Barry Thomas Fine Art, THEA Foundation, the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub, Verizon Arena and many more entertainment and food choices. John Gaudin, CEO of Argenta Wealth Management, knows many interesting facts about Argenta, even how it got its name. “From a silver mine near the city. When the ward of Little Rock located on the north side of the river broke away and created a separate town called the City of Argenta. Later it became the City of North Little Rock.” He says Argenta started changing when the city adopted a master plan. “The public, private and nonprofit model championed in Argenta has changed the image, dynamics and trajectory of not only the city of North Little Rock but the whole metro area,” he says. “Argenta is his home, it has a European flavor with many friends who enjoy each other’s company.” Paul Leopoulos is the executive director of THEA, a nonprofit located in the heart of Argenta. The nonprofit is named after Leopoulos’ daughter, Thea. His daughter was a lover of the arts. Some of her pieces are included in the art gallery. One of her pieces was blown up into a large wall mural. “To me, Little Rock is the perfectly sized city. We don’t have that mass of people that makes it hard to get around. There’s no rush hour. What makes this [city] great are the people. You are knocked over with kindness and generosity, Leopoulos says. Chris Kent is the marketing director for Argenta Downtown Council. He says what’s so neat about Little Rock is that there’s so much to do. “I remember when we struggled to find activities. Now I can’t keep up with them all. [There are] art walks, concerts, festivals, sculpture gardens, bike trails and so much more. More importantly, there is a sense of pride about being from here and wanting to continue to make it better. People like Scott McGehee from Yellow Rocket Concepts and Kathryn Tucker, with the Arkansas Cinema Society, left Little Rock and came back to make it better.” Kent says when he left Little Rock in 2007 there were four restaurants and bars in Argenta, he says now there are 11. “We have a couple of new buildings, including the one I work in, there is a lot more housing, and we have much more activity on the streets on any given day. In regards to the real estate revitalization, Kent says it has expanded tremendously. “The Argenta Flats apartments opened in the last few years and have over 150 units. You can hardly find a house for sale in the neighborhood, and the Thrive Apartments are currently under construction and are adding over 150 upperend apartments off of 4th Street,” he says. Holly Fish, the current chairman of the Argenta Downtown Council says, “The North Little Rock downtown area has dramatically changed since I landed in 2007. The last few years in Argenta have been booming for our real estate, historic buildings and homes being renovated for all the condo and apartment growth.” AYMAG.COM . 41
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ARKANSAS
TRAIL OF LIGHTS
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Photography courtesy of the Tillman Johnson Collection
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NURSING & REHABILITATION LIVING PROFILE
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