Wallace Building
A former governor named this nine-story Main Street tower after his wife’s maiden name, then hired the same architect who had designed the Arkansas State Capitol — the building that had first drawn Donaghey into politics.
At a glance
George Washington Donaghey, governor of Arkansas from 1909 to 1913, built the Wallace Building in 1928 as a commercial office high-rise on Little Rock’s Main Street. He commissioned Mann, Wanger & King — the firm led by George R. Mann (1856–1939) — for the design, reuniting the two men behind the Arkansas State Capitol. Nine stories tall, the building is cited by the National Register as an excellent local example of early Art Deco architecture, built at the moment the style was just arriving in Arkansas’s commercial districts.
Key facts
- Built: 1928
- Developer: George Washington Donaghey, former Governor of Arkansas
- Architects: Mann, Wanger & King — George R. Mann (1856–1939)
- Height: 9 stories
- Style: Early Art Deco
- Address: 101-111 Main Street, Little Rock, Arkansas
- Heritage: NRHP #99000223 (February 18, 1999)
History
George R. Mann and George W. Donaghey had a history before the Wallace Building. Mann designed the Arkansas State Capitol, and the disputes that erupted during its long, troubled construction pulled Donaghey into public life — a path that carried him to the governorship from 1909 to 1913. By 1928, out of office and building on his own account, Donaghey turned back to Mann for a nine-story commercial tower on Main Street in downtown Little Rock.
Donaghey named the building Wallace, his wife’s maiden name, a personal dedication built into the middle of the city’s commercial core. The building has stood on Main Street since 1928 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, recognized specifically as a well-preserved local example of the Art Deco style in its earliest Arkansas form.
What you see
At nine stories, the Wallace Building reads as an early, restrained take on Art Deco commercial design — the vertical emphasis and simplified ornament of the style applied to a modest downtown office block rather than a monumental skyscraper. Its Main Street facade sits among Little Rock’s early twentieth-century commercial buildings, part of the streetscape that once anchored the city’s retail and office district.
Practical information
- Status: Standing commercial building on Main Street
- Best view: From Main Street at street level, looking at the full nine-story facade
- Photography: Exterior freely photographable from the public sidewalk
Getting there
The Wallace Building stands on Main Street in downtown Little Rock, within walking distance of the Arkansas State Capitol and the River Market district. Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport is about 5 miles east of downtown.
Nearby
- Arkansas State Capitol — George R. Mann’s other major Little Rock commission with Donaghey
- Little Rock River Market district — a short walk east on Main Street
- Downtown Little Rock historic commercial corridor — surrounds the building
Sources
- Wikipedia: Wallace Building (Little Rock, Arkansas)
- National Register of Historic Places, NRHP #99000223 (February 18, 1999)
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