Arkansas Listings in the National Register of Historic Places: A. O. Clarke Buildings

Arkansas Listings in the National Register of Historic Places: A. O. Clarke BuildingsAuthor(s): Elizabeth JamesSource: The Arkansas Historical Quarterly, Vol. 65, No. 4 (Winter, 2006), pp. 441-446Published by: Arkansas Historical AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40028094 .

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Arkansas Listings in the National

Register of Historic Places

A. O. Clarke Buildings

Elizabeth James

The buildings of Albert Oscar (A. O.) Clarke combine familiar forms and details and a unique point of view. His designs marry diverse classical elements together in innovative and sometimes odd configura- tions. Clarke worked with many different materials, most often using brick and stone with classical details but frequently mixing these elements into buildings with other stylistic influences. The identities of downtown Rogers and other Arkansas locales have been influenced by the vision of this transplanted New Yorker who, at the age of forty-six, arrived in northwest Arkansas after accepting an invitation to design a hotel for William "Coin" Harvey's Monte Ne resort. Clarke went on to design some of the most high-profile buildings constructed in northwest Arkansas between 1904 and 1935. His work can also be found else- where in the state, as well as in Missouri, Kansas, and as far away as Cuba.

A native of Medina, New York, A. O. Clarke moved to Missouri in 1884 at age twenty-six to work as a draftsman for prominent St. Louis architect Jerome Bibb Legg. Clarke excelled as a self-taught designer and, in 1892, joined William Edward Matthews, another former em- ployee of Legg's, in establishing the successful St. Louis firm of Mat- thews and Clarke. They became best known for residential commissions, but the partners also designed commercial buildings. The Delany Building in St. Louis, constructed in 1899, is one of the 'duo's most impressive works; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 1, 2002. Matthews and Clarke continued working together as late as 1910, even after Clarke and his wife moved to Rogers in 1904.

Elizabeth James is preservation outreach coordinator for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.

THE ARKANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY VOL. LXV, NO. 4, WINTER 2006



442 ARKANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

The J. E. Applegate Building, Rogers. Courtesy Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.

In addition to projects with Coin Harvey, Clarke began working on lo- cal commissions soon after his arrival in Arkansas. He had the advantage of being one of the few professional architects in the area. In 1905, Joseph Edgar (J. E.) Applegate approached him about constructing a new, larger building for the drugstore that Applegate had opened with his brother in 1881. Clarke worked with his St. Louis partner on this project, which re- sulted in one of Rogers' most identifiable buildings, the J. E. Applegate Building at 116 South First Street. This structure, so named after Apple- gate had bought out his brother's share of the business, displays Clarke's skill with classical elements. He used common wall materials - both smooth and rusticated limestone - but added a bold twist by using the smooth limestone as the accent and the rusticated stone as the primary wall texture. The combination of smooth and rough stone from top to bottom



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The former Mutual Aid Building, Rogers. Courtesy Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.

creates depth and texture. The storefront is flanked by limestone pilasters formed by alternating bands of smooth and rough-textured stone. These pilasters support a smooth finished frieze featuring a row of stone dentils. There are two square window openings with a smooth finished jack arch above. The center keystones above each window appear to be supporting a small shelf that looks as if it is holding up a second smooth finished frieze featuring the name "J. E. APPLEGATE" in raised letters.

This building includes one of the state's most intact examples of an early twentieth-century commercial interior. It features classically detailed walnut shelving along both the north and south walls. The shelves, built by a company from Illinois for $2,192 (an expensive commercial interior at the time), incorporated glass cases, arched mirrors, and decorative urns. The building's soda fountain, brought from St. Louis, features two colors of marble with metal pilasters at the corners. The interior also has a tile floor and pressed metal ceiling. The J. E. Applegate Drugstore was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 23, 1980.

Clarke used the classical revival style in several commercial buildings in downtown Rogers. The Bank of Rogers (National Register listed on June 26, 1980) at 114 South First Street sits next to the Applegate Drug-




store and features a large triangular pediment and oversized granite columns. As a pair, the Applegate Drugstore and Bank of Rogers are instantly recognizable structures. The classically inspired Mutual Aid Union Build- ing, which Clarke designed in 1913, is several blocks away at the corner of Second and Poplar Streets. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 14, 1976, the building features a two-story portico sup- ported by four smooth stone columns and stone pilasters at the corners. The Mutual Aid Union Building also has a shaped-brick parapet wall rest- ing atop the portico, which is not a typical treatment in a Greek-inspired building.

Clarke worked with the Romanesque style in designing the Central United Methodist Church in downtown Rogers (307 West Elm Street) and a 1909 school in the neighboring town of Springdale. That building on Johnson Street is now referred to as Old Springdale High School and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 19, 1994. Clarke's original design called for a two-story brick building with an east- facing main entrance and separate entrances for male and female students on the north and south sides, respectively. The first floor of the building included a study room that could accommodate 200 students, two recitation rooms, and separate locker rooms for male and female students near their individual entrances. There were two staircases leading to the second floor, which had three recitation rooms, a room for the principal, and a li- brary. The building also included a full basement. The contractor, Halter Brothers of Conway, submitted a bid for $12,414.

The contractors departed from Clarke's original design by orienting the high school to the south rather than the east. Accentuating its Ro- manesque revival style is the choice of materials, beginning with the rusticated stone base. Clarke combined this rusticated stone with smooth- faced brick and smooth-finished stone to create a palette of materials with different expressions of color and texture. Similarly consistent with the Romanesque revival style, Clarke created arched openings for the second- story windows running along the east and west sides of the building. The windows have gray rusticated stone lintels that make the arched openings stand out against the smooth brick wall. Clarke used smooth and rusticated stone accents liberally on the building's exterior. Stone is used to define and emphasize openings, including those as mundane as ventilation ports. Vents on the north, east, and west walls are round openings with louvered covers. In Clarke's hands, they became focal points as he prominently placed them in gable peaks in the center of each of these fa?ades and placed four decorative keystone accents around each opening. The conse-



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The Old Springdale High School. Courtesy Arkansas Historic Preserva- tion Program.

quent starburst effect is an appealing decorative element that fully takes advantage of the possibilities of the multi-tonal materials.

Clarke displayed his mastery of materials in one of his last projects, the City Auditorium in Eureka Springs. Constructed in 1928, the City Audito- rium was the product of Mayor Claude Fuller's desire for progress in the city. At the time, many of Eureka Springs' businesses were moving out of the valley up to Highway 62, which was built in 1920 and ran above the town. Fuller envisioned a downtown venue for the best and most current entertainment. The resulting building departed from the Queen Anne style that characterized Eureka Springs at that time. The City Auditorium is a massive stone structure with classically inspired arched windows and little other detailing. The exterior walls are all rusticated stone with raised grapevine joints. The locally available stone on this building is similar to that of many buildings in the city. The hilly terrain made it difficult to im- port materials, and several early fires prompted residents to build in non- flammable stone. However, unlike many Eureka Springs buildings, the City Auditorium appears almost monolithic, with its imposing walls, wide anchored corners, and simple openings with substantial lintels and sills. The sign on the building is larger than necessary, suggesting that it is strong enough to withstand the crushing weight of the wall above it. The




The City Auditorium in Eureka Springs. Courtesy Arkansas Historic Pres- ervation Program.

corners of the building slightly project out from the main building like the towers of a castle. The auditorium was built as both a performance hall and gymnasium, and Clarke's skill allows this quiet building to stand out de- spite the loud color and detail of structures surrounding it. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Eureka Springs His- toric District on December 18, 1970.

A. O. Clarke's buildings make unique statements whether they are twisting the conventional ordering of design elements or completely de- parting from the styles of surrounding buildings. Many of his buildings are considered among the finest architectural expressions in the towns they oc- cupy. Downtown Rogers is fortunate to have multiple works of A. O. Clarke, including the 1927 Victory Theatre (National Register listed on October 4, 2002), which was lovingly restored after having been unrecog- nizable for a number of years. The attention afforded to his unique designs today assures that his legacy will not soon be forgotten.

For more information on these properties or other National Register properties in Arkansas, please visit www.arkansaspreservation.org or contact the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.



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Arkansas Listings in the National Register of Historic Places: A. O. Clarke Buildings