Diamonds of downtown: Quapaw Quarter Association’s 59th Tour of Homes scheduled for May 11-12 | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

The Quapaw Quarter Association returns to its namesake neighborhood May 11-12 for the 59th Tour of Homes.

The centerpiece of the two-day event is the Mother’s Day tour of eight buildings in the Quapaw Quarter neighborhood. The association is also organizing a Mother’s Day brunch in Curran Hall that day. The evening before, the association will hold a dinner and candlelight tour of three other homes.

Here’s a look – put together by the association – of the homes on both tours:

2001 Arch Street, Quapaw Quarter Association Home Tour. (Special to the Democratic Gazette)

Francis G. Fulk House

2001 S. Bow St.

This home was designed by notable Little Rock architect Charles L. Thompson and built for attorney Francis Guy Fulk in 1905. The house is a mix of Colonial and Classical Revival elements. The interior features large-scale rooms with 12-foot ceilings, making it seem larger than it appears from the outside. The house fell into disrepair after the Fulk family moved in the 1920s. It was saved in the mid-1930s by the Davis family, who restored parts of the house and added additional living space. Subsequent homeowners have continued to restore and renovate it.

2101 Arch Street, Quapaw Quarter Association Home Tour. (Special to the Democratic Gazette)

Grace and Oscar Poe House

2101 S. Bow St.

This home was built in 1919 for the family of local businessman Oscar Poe, owner of Poe’s Shoe Store on Main Street. Designed in the Tudor Revival style with Craftsman-inspired accents, the home features a brick veneer on the first floor and an overhanging second floor with multi-pane truss windows and a steep roof. In the 1970s the house was converted into a guest house with several apartments. The house was significantly damaged in the 1999 tornado, but was repaired and the current owners have spent the last several years renovating and restoring the house.

Two of the four homes in Chester Nests, Quapaw Quarter Association Tour of Homes. (Special to the Democratic Gazette)

Chester nests

Located on the southwest corner of West Charles Bussey and South Chester streets, this renovated and restored property includes four historic homes. The collection includes a shotgun house and duplex overlooking Chester Street and two simple folk-Victorian cottages overlooking Charles Bussey. Three of the houses were built around 1900 and a duplex was added around 1940. Since their construction, these houses were rental properties rented primarily by working-class black families. In the early 20th century, homes in the area were occupied by white and black professionals. Today, the homes have been converted into short-term rental properties.

610 Daisy Gaston Bates, Quapaw Quarter Association Home tour. (Special to the Democratic Gazette)

Smith house

610 W Daisy L Gatson Bates Drive

Also known as the Akers-Smith Cottage, this early example of a Queen Ann style house was built in the mid-1880s to possibly serve as a rental home for the Akers family who owned a home nearby. Early residents of the house included the sexton of Mount Holly Cemetery. In 1890, Charles and Elsie Smith purchased the property for their growing family. In 1918, Charles Smith had built the red brick house across the street on the corner of Arch Street and this house was sold to the Joseph Brown family. Sometime in the early 20th century, the original large attic space was converted into living space and the top floor was rented out for several years as a small three-room apartment.

Ray House, 211 Cross Street, Quapaw Quarter Association House Tour. (Special to the Democratic Gazette)

Ray House

2111 S. Cross St.

Completed in 1916, this house was the home of Mary Lee McCrary Ray and her husband Harvey Cincinnatus Ray. Mary was a pioneer of public and private education for black people in the mid-South. In 1916, she moved from Oklahoma to Arkansas and became the first black female home demonstration agent in Arkansas. Her husband was the first black male employee for the Arkansas Agricultural Extension Service in the state. After falling into serious disrepair over the past decade, the current owners have undertaken a major restoration and renovation project to bring this house back to life.

1801 S. Arch Street, Quapaw Quarter Association Home Tour. (Special to the Democratic Gazette)

Gibb-Altheimer House

1801 S. Bow St.

This house was designed by architect Frank Gibb to serve as his own home. Completed in 1906, this house resembles his design for the Arkansas Pavilion for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, also known as St. Louis World’s Fair, in 1904. The house is dominated by the grand Classical Revival style portico facing Arch Street, while the actual main entrance to the house is on the side of the house facing 18th Street. The side door is said to have been installed at the insistence of his wife Mary, who thought Arch Street was too busy. She was a prominent member of many community organizations and an advocate for women’s suffrage in the 1910s and 1920s. The house was sold to the Altheimer family in 1911.

2205 S. Arch Street, Quapaw Quarter Association Home Tour. (Special to the Democratic Gazette)

Safferstone House

2205 S. Bow St.

This Mission Revival style home was built for Israel L. Safferstone and his wife Eva, and completed in 1922. Originally from Poland, Safferstone emigrated to the United States around the age of 14 and settled in Little Rock in 1909. He began his career as a carriage salesman and then started the Safferstone Hat Company with his brother in 1911. The house features a covered veranda with arched entrances, a stucco exterior and a clay tile roof. Inside, the home includes two and a half floors of living space, including original woodwork, classic Craftsman-style built-ins and living space in the home’s original attic.

Boyle House, 2020 Arch St., Quapaw Quarter Association Tour of Houses. (Special to the Democratic Gazette)

Boyle House

2020 S. Boog St.

In 1921, Sterling Scott commissioned architects Thomas Harding and Charles Thompson to design a house for his property at 2020 Arch St. Before it was completed, Scott sold the property to John and Snow Boyle, who completed the project in 1922 completed with changes to the original. architectural plans. The house is a mix of styles, with its Craftsman-style covered porch and exposed truss tails, siding typical of the Tudor Revival style, and an elaborate stone entry porch typical of European Revival styles. After years of use as a guest house, the house was restored in the late 1980s.

More information about the tours and brunch can be found at quapaw.com/pages/what-we-do/2023-tour-of-homes/.