March 16, 2005

The Mosaic Templars of America headquarters building in Little Rock (Pulaski County) was destroyed by fire. Built between 1911 and 1913, it stood on the corner of Broadway and Ninth Street in downtown Little Rock. The Mosaic Templars was established in 1875 as an African-American fraternal organization that provided insurance and other services to black citizens in an age of segregation. Following the fire, the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center vowed to build a new structure on the historic site. The new cultural center, which opened on September 20, 2008, presents exhibits interpreting Arkansas’s African-American history from 1870 to the present. The third-floor auditorium resembles the original auditorium, including a horseshoe-shaped balcony and a stage with a proscenium opening.