Little Rock Regional Chamber -

PopUp West Ninth Plans Underway

Create Little Rock, the young professionals organization of the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, and studioMAIN, a nonprofit architectural design collective, have teamed up this year for the 4th installment of PopUp in the Rock. The 2015 PopUp project, known as “PopUp West Ninth,” will take place on October 24th along West Ninth Street in Little Rock between Broadway, at the historic Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, and State St, at the Dreamland Ballroom/Flag & Banner building. Planning is well underway, and the project leaders have been holding weekly meetings as the date draws near.

PopUp in the Rock is part of a national movement known as the Better Block Project. It isn’t a street fair or a block party; rather, it’s a temporary urban demonstration – a live rendering – of what is possible. It exhibits important elements of the city, such as multiple transportation options and an active street edge, and provides activities that create community. This group of young professionals engages with community members to determine specific needs and institute changes such as bike lanes, pop-up shops, dining pop-ups, and entertainment. By transforming just a few blocks into a thriving, complete locale, PopUp in the Rock exemplifies the idea that developing potential, even block-by-block, can make our city better. The first PopUp demonstration occurred on Little Rock’s South Main Street in 2012. Subsequent PopUps were held on Little Rock’s Seventh Street in 2013 and in North Little Rock’s Park Hill neighborhood along JFK Boulevard in 2014.

PopUp installations are inspired by community feedback and implemented through the efforts of partnering organizations, city government. and committees of volunteers that focus on specific project areas such as vendor recruitment, entertainment, public art, street fixtures and marketing. PopUp in the Rock began generating community feedback for PopUp West Ninth at the 2014 Juneteenth Celebration of Freedom hosted by Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, Arkansas’s museum of African American history and culture.

The location for this year’s PopUp has a rich history. Once known as "The Line," Ninth Street was a busy east-west thoroughfare with a trolley line. It was a bustling community with a thriving urban fabric of mixed-use development that was largely black-owned. Booker T. Washington spoke at Ninth and Broadway in 1913. Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and others performed at the Dreamland Ballroom and other jazz clubs along Ninth. Daisy and L.C. Bates operated their Arkansas State Press there, and, from the present location of MTCC, the Mosaic Templars operated a politically and financially influential headquarters.

West Ninth is now a burgeoning cultural corridor. Utilizing community feedback and knowledge of the deep historical roots of West Ninth, PopUp in the Rock hopes to demonstrate the district’s potential for an equally vibrant future. To learn more about PopUp West Ninth and past PopUp projects, or to get involved with a committee, go to createlittlerock.com/popupintherock.