While we were in Little Rock, we spent the night at Hotel Frederica. I am a sucker for a historic hotel and this one dates back to 1913 and later expanded. Being over a century old, it one of the oldest historic hotels I have ever stayed in, and you all know that I am nothing if not one historic hotel connoisseur. Hospitality is just such a fantastic model for historic preservation. I said it. I meant it. I am not taking it back.
Ninety years after its completion date, the Hotel Frederica was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The National Register of Historic Places was established by the National Preservation Act of 1966 and a program administered by the National Park Service. The NPS, not the just agency that everyone associates with park rangers! I interned with the NPS while in graduate school for historic preservation and it was just the best experience but I digress.
Per the application for the National Register of Historic Places, the Hotel Frederica embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction. This is the third criterion on the National Register application. The third, or C, criterion refers to the Hotel Frederica’s association with the Arkansas starchitects Theodore M. Sanders and Edward Durrell Stone and the fact the International and the 20th Century Commercial styles are exemplified by the hotel.
I ten-out-of-ten would recommend checking out the National Register for Historic Places application for Hotel Frederica, especially if you have never seen one before and recommend checking into the hotel. It was renovated in 2017 and I can speak to the penthouse suite that we stayed in having a clean, yet noninvasive, update.
Prior to our visit, I had no idea how phenomenal the architecture of Little Rock is. As we were cruising into downtown, I was in complete awe of the built environment. Theaters, mixed use development, municipal buildings, oh my! I love that the hotel was so close to the capitol and that we had a clear shot of it from our suite’s living room.
Sincerest thanks to Hotel Frederica for sponsoring our stay.
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