5 years ago
Share
Only rubble remains of the historic downtown building after it was consumed by an overnight fire.
Reporter Win Noble says in all the fires he has covered, he has never seen anything like this one. He says the fire was so hot, the melted steel beams look like pieces of bent licorice.
The Little Rock Fire Department says the blaze started at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center at about 2:00 Wednesday morning. Officials say a homeless person may have come into the building and created a heat source of some kind and this could have started the fire.
Broadway and 9th Streets were shut down in Little Rock for most of the day after debris from the building collapsed into the road.
Built in 1911, the building was being renovated to include several exhibits that would include a feature on prominent African American leaders in Arkansas.
In 1913, Booker T. Washington dedicated the building to a black fraternal organization. It was initially used to provide insurance and other services to its members. In the 1950s, the center hosted such acts as Cab Calloway and Ella Fitzgerald.
Several downtown residents, businesses and traffic lights were also left without power after Entergy says a circuit blew during the blaze.
To find out how you can help with the rebuilding process, you can call the Department of Arkansas Heritage at (501) 324-9150.
Click on the THV Extra link to get an inside look at the Mosaic Templars Center and its history.
