Timeline of Little Rock, Arkansas

1900s-1940s

• 1908
  • Gazette Building constructed.
  • Little Rock College opened.^[8]
• 1910
  • Public library^[29] and Royal Theater open.^[30]
  • Population: 45,941.^[8]
• 1911 – The current State Capitol building is completed. It is the second building constructed to house the state government, after the Old State House.
• 1915
  • Little Rock Motor Club active (approximate date).^[31]
  • Arkansas State Capitol built.
  • The Pulaskian is first published.
• 1916 – Pulaski Heights, one of Little Rock's earliest ^{[clarification needed]} western suburbs, is annexed by the city, enabling westward expansion.
• 1917
  • Little Rock Public Library negro branch opens.^[32]
  • Little Rock Daily News begins publication.^[13]

• 1921 – Mopac Station rebuilt.
• 1924 – Albert Pike Memorial Temple, and Federal Reserve Bank built.^[1]
• 1926
  • KLRA radio begins broadcasting.^[33]
  • Little Rock Zoo founded.^[34]
  • Donaghey Building constructed.^[1]
• 1927
  • Little Rock race riot, May 4, murder suspect John Carter was lynched and his body burned; a white mob of 5,000 rioted in the black business section, destroying many buildings^[35]
  • Little Rock Junior College and The Arkansas Museum of Natural History and Antiquities established.
  • Little Rock Senior High School built.
  • KGHI radio begins broadcasting.^[33]
• 1929
  • Dunbar Junior and Senior High School and Junior College established.
  • Albert Pike Residence Hotel opens.
• 1930
  • KARK radio begins broadcasting.^[33]
  • Little Rock College closed.^[8]
• 1932 – Travelers Field (ballpark) opens.^[36]
• 1937
  • Urban League^[37] and the Museum of Fine Arts founded.^[38]
  • Arkansas Library Commission headquartered in Little Rock.
• 1940 – Population: 88,039.^[28]
• 1941 – Historic Arkansas Museum opens.^[39]
• 1947 – City Beautification Forum organized.^[40]
• 1948 – War Memorial Stadium (Arkansas) opens.

1950s-1990s

• 1950
  • Arkansas Governor's Mansion built.
  • Little Rock goes over 100,000 in population within the city and the metropolitan area has 196,000 people.
• 1951
  • Pratt C. Remmel becomes mayor; first Republican mayor since 1887
  • Pulaski County Historical Society established.^[41]
• 1953
  • KATV (television) begins broadcasting.^[42]
  • Pulaski County Historical Review begins publication.^[43]
• 1954 – KARK-TV (television) begins broadcasting.^[42]
• 1955
  • KTHV (television) begins broadcasting.^[42]
  • Little Rock Air Force Base activated near city.^[44]
• 1956 – Community Theatre of Little Rock founded.
• 1957 – The Little Rock Nine are enrolled at Little Rock Central High School after public protests, and the Arkansas National Guard under the direction of Governor Orval Faubus, prevents their first attempt at enrollment. Arkansas was the third most segregated state in the country at the time (behind Mississippi and Alabama respectively) ^{[citation needed]}. President Dwight Eisenhower dispatches federal troops to ensure the students' safety and enforce their right to attend school. These events are collectively referred to as the Crisis at Central High.^[45][46]
• 1958 – All three public high schools in Little Rock are closed for one year by Governor Faubus in an attempt to subvert federal efforts to desegregate Arkansas public schools.
• 1960 – Arkansas Arts Center founded.
• 1964 – Dillard's headquartered in Little Rock.^[44]
• 1967 – University Mall opens.
• 1968 – Construction booms downtown, Worthen Bank Building at 375 feet (114 m) and Union National Bank at 330 feet (100 m) are under construction and replace The Tower Building as the city's tallest buildings. Union National Bank subsequently merged into Worthen, which eventually would become part of Bank of America. ^[when?]
• 1971
  • Children's Theater founded.^[38]
  • Heifer International headquartered in city.^[44]
• 1974 – First National Bank building is under construction and becomes the city's tallest building at 454 feet (138 m) and 30 stories. The building currently is Arkansas headquarters for Regions Bank.
• 1975 – Central Arkansas Library System headquartered in city.^[47]
• 1976 – Arkansas Repertory Theatre founded.
• 1979
  • Webster Hubbell becomes mayor.
  • Arkansas State Library and Arkansas Census State Data Center headquartered in Little Rock.
• 1980 – Population: 158,461.^[28]
• 1981 – City creates the Little Rock Ambulance Authority (Emergency Medical Health Care Facilities Board) as an oversight committee for emergency medical care in the city.^[48]
• 1983
  • KLRT-TV begins broadcasting.
  • Sister city agreement established with Kaohsiung, Taiwan.^[49]
• 1984 – City begins operating public utility model ambulance service known as MEMS.
• 1985
  • Decorative Arts Museum opens.^[38]
  • Pavilion in the Park (shopping centre) in business.
• 1986
  • The Capitol Tower is completed, and at 40 stories and 547 feet (167 m) tall, is the tallest building in Arkansas. The skyscraper's name changed to the TCBY Tower later, and became the Metropolitan Tower as of October 2004. The Stephens Building is also completed, and is 25 stories and 365 feet (111 m) tall when finished. It was named the First South building, and then the Rogers building. ^[when?]
  • KJTM-TV (now KASN) begins broadcasting.
• 1987 – Lottie Shackelford becomes mayor.
• 1990 – Population: 175,795.^[28]
• 1991
  • KLVV radio begins broadcasting.
  • The morning Arkansas Gazette and afternoon Arkansas Democrat newspapers merge, commencing publication as the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
• 1992
  • Bill Clinton presidential campaign, 1992 headquartered in city.
  • November 3: Bill Clinton is elected President of the United States. He delivers an election night acceptance speech from the front steps of the historic Old State House in downtown Little Rock. He is the first person from the State of Arkansas to be elected president. He was elected to a second term in 1996.
  • Sister city agreement established with Hanam, South Korea.^[49]
• 1994 – Sister city agreement established with Changchun, People's Republic of China.^[49]
• 1995 – Jim Dailey becomes mayor.^[50]
• 1997
  • Butler Center for Arkansas Studies headquartered in Little Rock.
  • 40th anniversary of the Crisis at Central High is marked by the opening of a new National Park Service visitor center.
  • KVUT (now KARZ-TV) begins broadcasting.
  • March 1: An F4 tornado strikes the city's southern and eastern suburbs, killing five (among 15 total deaths throughout the tornado's 27-mile path across Central Arkansas).
• 1999
  • January 21: An F3 tornado (one of three tornadoes to hit Pulaski County during the broader outbreak) causes severe damage to over 235 buildings in neighborhoods south of downtown, and knocks down several trees on the property of the Arkansas Governor's Mansion; three people died as a result of the storm.
  • June 1: American Airlines Flight 1420 crashes after overrunning the runway during landing at Adams Field, killing 11 of the 145 people aboard. ^{[citation needed]}
  • Acxiom Corporation headquartered in city.^[44]
• 2000
  • Little Rock population: 610,518 (core metropolitan area), 785,024 (primary metropolitan area) in 2000 census.