Additional upgrades are coming to the B. Finley Vinson Plaza on West Markham Street in Little Rock.
The plaza, which is located near the DoubleTree Hotel and the Old State House Museum, has been renovated with a new canopy shade structure, multicolored LED lighting and a redesigned fountain.
The second phase of work is expected to add more green space and seating, as well as areas for live entertainment and events. Construction is scheduled to begin on Monday and conclude in the spring.
The “revitalized plaza” will serve as a “welcoming gateway” to Riverfront Park and its assets like the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden and First Security Amphitheater, said Gina Gemberling, the head of the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, during a news conference on Thursday.
Instead of throwing the traditional shovelful of dirt, attendees pried bricks from the ground for a photo op to mark the start of the second phase.
In addition to the plaza upgrades, the visitors bureau recently invested over $10 million in capital improvements to the Statehouse Convention Center, including new flooring and furnishings as well as renovated restrooms and exhibit halls, Gemberling said.
The visitors bureau receives most of its revenue from taxes on lodging places and restaurants, which totaled close to $19 million in 2024.
B. Finley Vinson was an influential local businessman and civic leader who served as chair of the Little Rock Advertising and Promotion Commission. He died in 2006.
B. Finley Vinson III told attendees on Thursday that his grandfather “believed that success was achieved not by hoarding power, but by sharing it. He made service to Little Rock his life’s work, empowering his neighbors throughout the city, driven by the adage that he passed down to me: ‘Always leave it better than you found it.'”
Vinson thanked Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr., Gemberling and the members of the Advertising and Promotion Commission on behalf of his family for honoring his grandfather’s legacy and helping to carry it forward.
Nick Roye, the chair of the commission, called the plaza renovations an “important piece of our 10-year tourism master plan,” which was released in January 2023.
The upgrades completed to date already have created “an inviting space where residents and visitors can come together,” and phase two will take this even further, Roye said.
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