Three houses, a bridge, a gymnasium and a district comprised of a group of houses in Hillcrest have been approved by the National Park Service for the National Register of Historic Places. To qualify, the applicants had to demonstrate how they contribute to U.S. history and heritage.
Here are descriptions of the five properties from the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program:
Bennett House, Benton, Saline County: Built in 1904, the Bennett House along First Street was constructed in the Folk Victorian style and features many of the characteristics of this style, including elaborate siding, a front-facing gable with a wing and an elaborate porch.
Dante House, Dumas, Desha County: Built between 1964 and 1965, the Dante House is located at the southeast corner of Court Street and Puryear Street. The house has outstanding integrity from the time of its construction in 1965 since it was continuously owned and occupied by the Dante Family until the current owner bought the house in 2018.
Patteson House, Jonesboro, Craighead County: Located on approximately five acres to the southeast of Jonesboro at 2801 Harrisburg Road, the Patteson House was built in 1961-1962 and designed in the Mid-Century Modern style by Arkansas architect F. Eugene Withrow.
Lono Gymnasium, Lono, Hot Spring County: Built in 1938 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Lono Gymnasium is located at 11702 Highway 222 in the community of Lono, approximately 12 miles south of Malvern. The building was the gymnasium for the Lono School, and basketball was played for the first time in the new gym in 1939.
Maumelle River Bridge, Natural Steps vicinity, Pulaski County: Located where Old Highway 300 crosses over the Maumelle River, the Maumelle River Bridge is approximately half a mile southwest of the town of Natural Steps and was originally built in 1920.
The new historic district is made up of the Downs House and 11 cottages and their carports built during the latter half of the 1960s and early 1970s on the former Allsopp estate on North South Lookout and Wait streets in Hillcrest. The houses were designed by architect Lawrence Downs of Kansas City, Mo. The Downs house has a Lookout Fairview address; the cottages are on Wait Street.
CORRECTION: A reader points out the error above. Here’s the register description of the addresses: 4206, 4208, 4210, 4212, 4214, 4216 & 4218 Fairview Road; 4201 South Lookout Road; and 4207, 4209, 4211 and 4213 Wait Street. The reader also notes that the Downs House caused an uproar when it was built, because of the leveling of the grand Allsopp House (I seem to remember it had a planetarium) and grounds.
The State Review Board of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program (AHPP) approved the locations in December 2019.
