Lafayette Hotel

AKA: Lafayette Building

The Lafayette Hotel in downtown Little Rock opened in 1925 with 300 fireproof guest rooms and was one of the state’s best-known hotels until its closure in 1973. Now known as the Lafayette Building, the ten-story structure with a full basement houses offices and condominiums. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 30, 1982. The rooms, which featured private baths with running water, rented for $2.50 per night. The Great Depression hurt the hotel industry, and the Lafayette closed in 1933. The building remained vacant until a housing shortage due to an influx of soldiers at Camp Robinson. The Lafayette was purchased by Southwest Hotels and reopened on August 23, 1941. They reduced the number of guest rooms from 300 to 260. A coffee bar and lunch counter were added with an entrance off 6th Street. An AR Gazette article the day after the opening said: “Guest rooms, suites and efficiency apartments are the newest, freshest and most livable rooms in the city, high above the street, light and airy.” The newspaper described the coffee bar as “truly the most beautifully decorated and artistically designed coffee bar in the state.” The interior of the hotel had been completely repainted. The lobby ceiling was stenciled and painted by John Oehrlie, a Swiss mural painter. The Optimist Club, Lions Club, Kiwanis Club, and Civitan Club all began having meetings at the hotel. The Missouri Pacific and Rock Island railroads had ticket offices in the lobby. There also was a telephone answering service, a coin shop, and a beauty parlor. The Gaslite Club opened in the basement and remained in business until the 1960s. There was another remodeling effort in 1953 as the hotel’s owners tried to keep up with the growing number of motels and tourist courts on the highways leading in and out of Little Rock. The interior décor was changed to incorporate a red-and-white color scheme. However, the Lafayette closed on November 23, 1973. The Gazette described the hotel as the “victim of more modern competition, one-way streets, and no parking facilities.”

In the fall of 1983, Jon R. Brittenum & Associates purchased the building and began renovations which were completed by December 1984. The black-and-white marble floors in the lobby were repaired, the red gum walls and columns were stripped and finished, the kitchen on the first floor was enlarged, and new elevators were installed. The Little Rock firm Designed Communications, owned by Suzanne Kittrell and Becky Witsell, was hired to research and document the original decoration and then re-create it. A team of six women—Witsell, Kittrell, Ovita Goolsby, Kathy Worthen, Susan Purvis, and Susan Leir—spent a year repainting the ceiling. In January 1986, Brittenum & Associates filed for bankruptcy a day after Jon Brittenum had filed a personal petition for protection from creditors.

In January 2014, the Lafayette was sold to Chad and Jessica Gallagher of De Queen and Scott and Deborah Ferguson of West Memphis . The two couples said they planned to bring a restaurant back to the building and once more make its lobby a major gathering spot. The upper five floors were developed into thirty apartments and sold as condominiums. In April 2020, Little Rock’s G&G Hospitality Group bought the bottom half of the building with the intention of turning it into a hotel space.

1956 CLASS NEWS

Our deepest sympathy to Frank Plegge in the loss of his brother, Bill Plegge, a '57 Central grad.

Our sincere condolences to the family of Shirley Jean Lewis who passed away May 20, 2021.

Shirley J. Frazier

of Vilonia, AR

October 12, 1938 - May 30, 2021

Shirley Jean Lewis Frazier, 82, was called home Sunday, May 30, 2021 at her home in Vilonia. She was born Oct. 12, 1938 in Webster Groves, Mo. to the late Virgil F. and Ayleen Lawson Lewis. Shirley was a hard-working banker for 30 years. She enjoyed her work, as well as spending time with her family and friends. Shirley was a faithful Christian and enjoyed studying the scriptures. She had a wealth of Biblical wisdom and led many Bible studies throughout the years. She enjoyed traveling, loved animals, and especially loved spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Shirley had a great sense of humor and always knew how to make people laugh. Her wit and one-liners were famous among all who knew her.
Shirley is survived by her husband of 63 years, Jerry L. Frazier. They were married on Nov. 23, 1957, in Greenville, Miss.
Also surviving are two daughters, Robbie Wright (Jamey) of Lee's Summit, Mo. and Terry Hall of Damascus, sisters, Loretha Wittenburg of Little Rock, Anna Mimms of Muscle Shoals, Ala., and Linda Taylor (Gene) of Tupelo, Miss., brother, Ron Lewis (Sherri) of Judsonia, grandchildren, Gage Popham, Haylee O'Kelley (Chad), Branson Hall, Rachel Hall, Tresse Glover (Josh), Katie Frazier (Britton), and Alexis Hall, fourteen great-grandchildren, and countless other family members and friends. Shirley was preceded in death by her parents; sister; Wanda House, and son-in-law, Henry Hall.

1955 CLASS NEWS

Hello to Brooks. It’s been a long time since our school days in Little Rock. God Bless!

Pat Keebey

Yes, Vernon Jackson, Marjem’s dad, was one of the owners of Tuff Nut. My mother took me there every year to buy my jeans, hot, hot!

I remember the guys wanted to see which one of them could wear their jeans (Levi’s) the lowest (and not have them fall off). Low = Sexy.

What are the dates of the ’56 reunion?

Thanks for all you do for all of us.

Jane Parkin McMullin

Oh my goodness. Brooks you still look great and I hope and pray feel as wonderful as you look. I’m still here. I teach 14 dance and exercise

classes a week and am up in mammoth conducting a childrens musical theatre camp doing Annie this year. We perform tomorrow and sat.

I’d love to see Karo again as we’re both in California!!! Thank you for this Mary Lou.

Love Ann Dickinson Monahan

Ann, 14 DANCE AND EXERCIWE CLASSES A WEEK ++++. Bless you! I am truly impressed. ML

I wish I could remember how Jean Pike and I found each other in southern California. i was there because when i graduated in Fayetteville in 1959 I had no job and no ring. My father had a new job with the space industry so I hitched a ride with my family. I eventually found a job with a group of weekly newspapers. I think Jean had been teaching. I had an apartment on the beach inManhattan Beach and she moved in. Jean loved to cook so it worked great for me. I do remember she and George were writing and she left to get married.
I also remember thinking that my life would always be that happy girl on the beach! So i ended up in the middle of the country, about equidistant from either the Pacific or the Atlantic. Best laid plans… Karo Kampbell

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I had a wonderful call with Dana Booe ('54) this week. She sends a big hello to everyone!

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GROANER FOR THE WEEK:

2 antennas got married. The wedding was OK. But the RECEPTION was incredible!

(I know, I know. Normally I would receive something like this from Joe Crow, but I'll take credit for this one!)

ML

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Aug 18, 2022, THROW BACK THURSDAY - THE LAFAYETTE HOTEL

Lafayette Hotel

AKA: Lafayette Building