Forest Park (Little Rock)

The Pulaski Heights area of Little Rock (Pulaski County) was once home to an amusement park known as Forest Park. It was built on the far western edge of what would eventually become part of the city. It was a popular recreational and entertainment attraction for citizens of Little Rock and surrounding towns for several years in the early twentieth century.

In 1903, a viaduct was completed on West Third St. to cross the ravine and railroad tracks west of the Arkansas State Capitol. This enabled the Little Rock Traction and Electric Railway Company to build tracks to the west of town for electric streetcars. This led to the rapid development of Pulaski Heights, which was incorporated in 1905 and merged with Little Rock in 1916.

In 1904, the streetcar company obtained a thirty-year lease from the Mountain Park Land Company, which was owned by local investors, for 160 acres that the Mountain Park Land Company had purchased in 1899. Forty acres of the area was developed as an amusement park for purposes of stimulating ridership and encouraging the purchase of lots; it was built at the west end of the streetcar line and named Forest Park.

The main entrance to the park was on its south side at Kavanaugh Blvd. (formerly Prospect Ave.), where the streetcar tracks ended. The site was bounded on the west by North University Ave. (formerly North Hayes St.) and on the east by what is now North Taylor St. The north boundary is now “V” St. The stone columns and much of the stone wall at the main entrance still stand at the intersection of Kavanaugh and North Pierce.

Forest Park opened in June 1904 before the streetcar tracks had reached it, and access was by horse and buggy. There were many attractions available at the opening, including an auditorium, an open-air summer auditorium, a theater, a dance hall, a band stand, flower gardens, a merry-go-round, swings, a shooting gallery, a skating rink, a small zoo, and wooded trails. North of the site was a horse racing track used seasonally for a few years. The park hosted the Pulaski County Fair until it became too large for the site. At the peak of the park’s popularity, two tandem streetcars packed with riders, with some hanging on while standing on the running board, were used to accommodate the crowds. Admission to the park was free until 1915, when a five-cent charge was imposed.

A highlight of the early history was the performance in 1906 by world-famous French actress and singer Sarah Bernhardt. At age sixty-one, she was on one of her farewell tours. As part of the traveling Boston Ideal Opera Company, she performed the opera Camille. Though the sold-out performance was sung in French, the audience enjoyed it and felt her acting compensated for the foreign language, which few understood.

A large swimming pool was added in 1919. It immediately became popular and was the site for many activities such as swimming lessons, races, beauty contests, and parties.

The popularity of the park began to decline after World War I. In 1922, the buildings were painted white and the park was renamed White City, perhaps inspired by the famous White City at the 1893 Columbian Exposition World’s Fair in Chicago.

In 1934, the original lease expired, and the park was closed; the buildings were razed. The city took over the swimming pool, improved it, and operated it until closing it in 1939. The acreage was then sold to real estate developers, and the site became the residential subdivision known as the Forest Heights Addition. It is traversed north to south by North Pierce St. and east to west by Hawthorne Rd., North and South Country Club Blvd., and Stonewall Rd.

For additional information:
Brown, C. Allan. “Lights and Keepsakes: The Trolley Park Era.” Arkansas Times, October 1983, pp. 46–48, 50–51.

Dean, Jerry. “In Early Days, Hillcrest was ‘Way Out West.’” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 15, 1989.

“Forest Park.” Arkansas Gazette, June 8, 1904, p. 4.

“Forest Park Is Now Open.” Arkansas Democrat, June 8, 1904, p. 6.

“Forest Park to Be ‘White City.’” Arkansas Gazette, January 8, 1922, p. 3.

“Our Infant Zoo.” Little Rock Sketch Book 1 (July 1906): 45–48. Online at https://arstudies.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15728coll3/id/491954/rec/1 (accessed September 23, 2024).

“The West Third Street Viaduct Completed.” Arkansas Gazette, July 23, 1903, p. 4.

“Time Overlooked the Divine Sarah.” Arkansas Gazette, March 7, 1906, p. 10.

W. W. Satterfield
Little Rock, Arkansas