OPINION - Guest writer

GABE HOLMSTROM: New day in Little Rock

Downtown neighborhood for all

FILE — Playtime mural in downtown Little Rock.
FILE — Playtime mural in downtown Little Rock.

Hopefully you have seen the mural Playtime on the Union Plaza building at the corner of Capitol and Main in downtown Little Rock. If you are one of the countless folks headed in and out of the Tech Park every day to create the next Google, Napster or Apptegy, then yes, of course you have. Maybe you saw it at the Main Street Food Truck Festival this past September, or when you were headed to get the lasagna at Bruno's one evening.

Regardless of why you saw it, you looked. And odds are, you didn't look away; you noticed the familiar landmarks in the big red wagon, and maybe one or more struck a chord. Those who work in Simmons Tower might have seen their building, or patrons of the River Market might have noticed the sign. There is no doubt that both the pro-streetcar and the anti-streetcar crowds noticed its inclusion in the mural.

Or you wondered why there was a bear on a bicycle riding down the handle. Which might be precisely the point. Is it because Arkansas used to be the Bear State? Is it because untold millions are being invested in a cycling culture in this state?

Or was it just to make you look and think?

It might be easy to forget that, not too many years ago, Little Rock looked very different. There was no vibrant restaurant culture on Main Street, no Tech Park, no Three Fold. Attention, Central Arkansas noodle aficionados: Imagine a dumpling-less downtown. 'Nuff said.

SoMa on a Saturday is a sight to see. Evenings in East Village are for consuming the locally crafted beer, and mornings soon can be spent at the local coffee shop going in. Happy hour on Main Street is alive and well, with dinner options that run the gamut. The Rep has a new director, with a reinvigorated future ahead of it.

Recently, a meme circulated around social media with a "This City's Making a Comeback" Bingo Game. According to the meme, we are pretty close. Quick sidebar: Do millennials and xennials who communicate via meme read editorials? I digress.

We have brew pubs, an axe-throwing bar, a "crazy" doughnut concept, plenty of CrossFit and yoga places. We most certainly have a big bar with "whiskey" in its name. Food trucks? We got 'em. Local ice cream shop? Check. I don't know if it has a cornbread-flavored ice cream, but we can do you one better with our Cornbread Festival.

Do you need directions? Want someone to walk you to your car or take a picture to document your girls' night out? Just ask one of our friendly ambassadors in the brightly colored yellow uniforms.

Should we scream Bingo? So what?

We have a place that everyone can claim as their own, a place where everyone is welcome. You have heard it before: downtowns are the heart of the city. Without a healthy downtown, you cannot have a healthy city. Our downtown has made significant strides in recent years, with new investments, more housing, and businesses popping up in previously unlikely places.

But there is still more work to be done. Downtown is your place. It's our place. It's everyone's neighborhood. We hope you smile with pride when you see the tree lit up at Capitol and Main, the new mural being installed at Sixth and Center, or the recently color-filled Baker's Alley.

You should, because this neighborhood belongs to you.

If you like the events we produce, the public art we are installing, the holiday lights and the ambassadors, tell the mayor. Tell the city board. Tell them we need their support to build on our successes. Now is not the time to stop pushing, but to push harder and keep the momentum going.

Have an idea for downtown Little Rock or want to get involved? You know where to find us.

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Gabe Holmstrom is executive director of the Downtown Little Rock Partnership.

Editorial on 11/22/2019

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