In last
week’s column I wrote about one of the holiday traditions now popular in the
Natural State—visiting the amazing light display at Garvan Woodland Gardens
near Hot Springs. This week, I wanted to write about another Arkansas holiday
tradition that’s been in my family since I was a child — visiting the state
Capitol in Little Rock to see the spectacular outdoor light display and
beautiful decorations.
According to the Arkansas Secretary of State’s office, the Capitol was
first lit in 1939 by then-Secretary of State Crip Hall. A patient at nearby
Childrens’ Hospital wrote to Hall asking him to illuminate the Capitol so he
could see the lights from his room. Hall honored the boy’s request and had a
staff electrician rig strips of lights on metal that were then hung from the
building’s cupola. About 1,000 red and blue bulbs lit up the capitol dome. In
1940, the Capitol’s Christmas lights were changed to all blue bulbs and
loudspeakers were set up in the rotunda to play Christmas music.
The following year, a life size nativity scene was set up at the front
entrance of the Capitol. The lights were illuminated on Dec. 10. Just a few
days earlier, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, marking the United States’
entry into World War II. When asked by local reporters whether it was
appropriate to decorate the Capitol in the wake of such an event, Hall said
that in “such unusual times, the people of Arkansas needed to have a little
reassuring normalness.”
In 1942, as the war was in full swing, the lighting became a little
more subdued with only colored flood lights on the dome. The nativity scene
also took on a new look, featuring non-traditional figures such as a soldier, a
sailor, a Marine and a Red Cross nurse standing guard over Mary, Joseph and
baby Jesus.
The following year would mark the first time the exterior of the state
Capitol was not lit since 1939. But some holiday decor remained; a 16-foot fir
Christmas tree, sent by Arizona Gov. Sidney Osborne, was placed in the ground
floor rotunda.
All holiday décor returned to the Capitol after the war’s end in 1945.
The dome was lit up, a live tree was set up in the rotunda and the nativity
scene returned with the original figures. This would set the foundation for
holiday celebrations at the state Capitol for decades to come. Unfortunately,
in 1973, due to the worldwide energy crisis, the Capitol was not decorated.
Thankfully, the lights returned to the building the following year.
From 1995 to 2002, the state Capitol grounds were decorated by local
businessman Jennings Osborne, who was well known in central Arkansas for the
massive light display at his home on Cantrell Road in Little Rock. Osborne, a
close friend of then-Gov. Mike Huckabee, provided millions of twinkling white
lights to the state free of charge. The lights on the Capitol dome were in
constant motion, which gave the structure the nickname, “the Disco Dome.” In
2006, the tree from the rotunda was moved after an extra-large tree knocked out
parts of the Capitol’s second floor marble railing. An artificial tree was
substituted because of the fire hazards of a live tree, but a live tree
returned in 2012.
The state Capitol lights and decorations are unveiled at a public
lighting ceremony, which are accompanied by fireworks and a visit from Santa
Claus, on the first Saturday in December. Throughout the holiday season, the
state Capitol is open from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. weeknights and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on
weekends. These times are in effect until Jan. 2, when normal operating hours
resume. The state Capitol is closed Christmas Day.
I wish all of you a very merry
Christmas and a happy new year!
A proud sixth-generation
Arkansan, Darrell W. Brown is a lover of all things Arkansas. He lives in
Saline County with his wife, Amy, and their beloved Boston Terrier, Dixie. Find
him on Facebook and Instagram at AllAroundArkansas.
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