Work reveals Democrat facade

Covered for years, the facade on a brick building in the 600 block of Main Street hid the identity of the original occupant, the Arkansas Democrat.

A crew hired by Moses Tucker Real Estate is removing the facade from the 98-year-old building to expose the original exterior, company President Chris Moses said Monday. The northern half of the building was exposed to the elements once again Monday, revealing the word Arkansas on the building’s frieze.

Moses said the removal of the facade will be completed by the end of this week or early next week.

The work is still in the early stages, and Moses said he’s not ready to disclose plans for the building.

“If everything works out, there could potentially be more,” he said.

Moses said developers need to see the original facade before deciding what to do with the building, but he said the company could have a plan for it within the next month.

The building was designed by Charles Thompson, a prominent Arkansas architect who also designed Little Rock City Hall, said Ralph Wilcox, national register and survey coordinator for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.

The building is not on the National Register of Historic Places.

“We’d like to see what of the original Charles Thompson building is still there,” said Chris East, an architect with Cromwell Architects Engineers. “Before we can revive it, we want to know what’s still there.”

East said Cromwell will handle the redevelopment designs for the building.

Wilcox said the building,half of which houses a Subway restaurant, was the home of the Arkansas Democrat from 1916 to 1930, when the newspaper moved to 121 E. Capitol Ave., now the offices of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Recent renovation of buildings on Main Street include the creation of multiuse projects with retail and office space as well as apartments and condominiums.

The revamp includes projects such as Mann on Main at Fourth and Main streets, which opened last year, developed by Moses Tucker Real Estate and the Doyle Rogers Co.; and the K Lofts at 315 S. Main St., to be completed in the spring by developer Scott Reed and partners.

Other projects include the Main Street Lofts, which also will be completed in several months, and the Capitol Lofts, which will be finished at the end of this year or early next year.