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Little Rock Central High School

1905 establishments in ArkansasAfrican-American history in Little Rock, ArkansasAll pages needing cleanupCivil rights movement museumsEducational institutions established in 1905
Gothic Revival architecture in ArkansasHigh schools in Little Rock, ArkansasHistoric district contributing properties in ArkansasLittle Rock Central High SchoolLittle Rock NineMagnet schools in ArkansasNRHP infobox with nocatNational Historic Landmarks in ArkansasNational Historic Sites in ArkansasNational Register of Historic Places in Little Rock, ArkansasPublic high schools in ArkansasSchool buildings completed in 1927School segregation in the United StatesSchools in the Little Rock School DistrictUse mdy dates from February 2013
Facade of Central High School Little Rock Arkansas USA 01
Facade of Central High School Little Rock Arkansas USA 01

Little Rock Central High School (LRCH) is an accredited comprehensive public high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. The school was the site of forced desegregation in 1957 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregation by race in public schools was unconstitutional three years earlier. This was during the period of heightened activism in the civil rights movement.Central is located at the intersection of Little Rock Nine Way (a section of Park Street, designated in September 2022) and Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive (formerly 14th Street). Bates was an African-American journalist and state NAACP president who played a key role in bringing about, through the 1957 crisis, the integration of the school. Central can trace its origins to 1869 when the Sherman School operated in a wooden structure at 8th and Sherman streets; it graduated its first class on June 13, 1873. In 1885 the Sherman School was moved to 14th and Scott streets and was named Scott Street School, but was more commonly called City High School. Five years later in 1890, the Peabody School was constructed at West Capitol and Gaines streets. It was named in honor of philanthropist George Peabody from US$200,000 received via the Peabody Education Fund. In 1905, the city founded Little Rock High School at the intersection of 14th and Cumberland streets, and shuttered the Peabody and Scott Street schools to serve as the city's sole public high school. Until 1957, only white students were permitted to be enrolled. In 1927 at a cost of US$1.5 million, the city completed construction on the nation's largest and most expensive high school facility, which remains in use today. In 1953 with the construction of Hall High School, the school was renamed as Little Rock Central High School. It has since been listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and named as a U.S. National Historic Landmark and National Historic Site. Central High School, which covers grades 9 through 12, had an enrollment of 2,476 in school year 2020–2021. It is in the Little Rock School District, and serves sections of Little Rock and the entirety of Cammack Village. Nancy Rousseau was appointed principal in 2002, and retained that position as of 2022.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Little Rock Central High School (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Little Rock Central High School
South Park Street, Little Rock

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N 34.7368 ° E -92.2989 °
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Little Rock Central High School

South Park Street 1500
72202 Little Rock
Arkansas, United States
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Facade of Central High School Little Rock Arkansas USA 01
Facade of Central High School Little Rock Arkansas USA 01
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Ross Building

The Ross Building is a historic commercial building at 700 South Schiller Street in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is a single-story masonry structure, whose front facade features five bay windows sheltered by awnings, and a high parapet with cornice above. A major extension to the rear is covered by a hip roof, and includes space historically used both by its retail tenants and as residences for owners and employees. The building was built in 1896–97, and originally housed a grocery store serving the area's predominantly German-American population. It has since gone through a significant number of other commercial uses; although its exterior retains many original features, its interior has been heavily modified.The grocery store was owned and operated by Charles E. Ross, who was born in Germany in 1846 and immigrated in 1871, until 1930. The name of the grocery store is not clear from any available records, but it may have been called the Chestnut Store; a chestnut was a popular holiday item in Germany. The building was occupied by a mattress factory from 1935 to 1960. It was then bought by Moise Seligman Jr. (October 8, 1918 – July 10, 2009). Seligman served in World War II including in the North African campaign, ending as a Lieutenant-Colonel]], and later served in the Army Reserves, rising to Major General, its highest rank. He commanded the 122nd ARCOM during the Vietnam War. He was on the Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce and served on the Wilbur Mills Highway Commission and later on the planning commission for the I-630, which began construction in 1969. Original plans were to run it right through the Ross Building property, but the highway's completion was delayed until 1985 due to protests about its route. Seligman may have helped influenced its final route to avoid the store. The building was renovated by Seligman's son (who died in 1973) into a pleasant home for himself and offices in the 1970s, and he operated an antique store there.It was renovated again in the 1980s by an architectural firm, Polk, Stanley, Wilcox Architects which occupied it until their 2009 merger into a larger firm, the Wilcox Group. The firm, in 2019, then as Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects, was renovating the Winchester Building elsewhere in Little Rock, also National Register-listed in 2019, for its use.The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.