Arkansas

The Arkansas State Capitol was my first stop on the Great Midwest Loop of 2023. Usually, I go around Little Rock on I-440 during my frequent drives through Arkansas, so it was a nice change to head downtown.

Located north of I-630, the Arkansas State Capitol is home to the Arkansas Governor and the Arkansas General Assembly (consisting of the Senate and House of Representatives). Learn more about the Arkansas State Capitol history or plan your visit.

My first trip to the Arkansas State Capitol was in Summer 1993 during a long drive to a convention near Chicago with college friends. The only thing I remembered about it was the portrait of former Arkansas governor and U.S. president Bill Clinton, who had just assumed office months prior.

Almost exactly 30 years later, in April 2023, I went back for a much-needed refresher.

It’s very beautiful inside and out, as is typical for most capitols, and I am confident you will enjoy the pictures I took. But my clearest memory of this second refresher trip to the capitol is the gift shop. Don’t miss the gift shop (not that you could—it’s right by the entrance). It’s a great place to shop for good local Arkansas products.

The gift shop also offers the State Capitols Passport along with several others. If you are interested in purchasing a State Capitols Passport, I had a very good experience ordering from this gift shop online. I needed a couple of passports for gifts, and they arrived in just a few days.

Given the resemblance to the dome on the U.S. Capitol, the Arkansas State Capitol is a desirable filming location as a U.S. Capitol stand-in for several movies I have never seen, including:

• Under Siege: In this 1986 miniseries (IMDB), the Arkansas State Capitol boldly portrayed the role of the U.S. Capitol bombed by certain suicidal nutjobs, a storyline dismissed as “outlandish” at the time. It even did its own stunts; filmmakers used pyrotechnics for the bombing scene, scarring the dome with burn marks. Learn more at the Encyclopedia of Arkansas

• Stone Cold: This 1991 action flop (IMDB) featuring noted thespian Brian Bosworth, the capitol building again did its own stunts. I will admit Bosworth is great in the Dr. Pepper Fansville commercials. Learn more at the Encyclopedia of Arkansas

• God’s Not Dead Films: I have not watched any of them, nor will I ever be bored enough to watch any of them. Learn more at the Encyclopedia of Arkansas

The color scheme of the Arkansas General Assembly reflects that of the United Kingdom Parliament:

• The House is green like the House of Commons (the lower house).

• The Senate is red like the House of Lords (the upper house).

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