New exhibit at State Capitol

Secretary of State Mark Martin announced the installation of an updated “Building Forever” exhibit of the Capitol’s and Arkansas’s history over the past century.

The exhibit adds recent history and a deeper understanding of the Capitol’s construction process, Martin said. “The original exhibit, installed in 1992, told the story of the Capitol’s construction in brief, with a general overview of Arkansas’s political history up to 1992.”

The new expansion, he said, “brings the story up to date with the 2010 general election and the political shift since the turn of the twentieth century, when the Capitol was in its infancy.”

The exhibit still includes many of the original illustrations, enlarged for better visibility, and adds new images and information.

“We’ve updated the narrative of the construction using new information that has emerged, giving us a new understanding of the Capitol’s history as well as the state’s,” Martin said. “This tells the story a little more fully.”

The exhibit is the combined work of then-Capitol Historian Ann Clements, renowned Arkansas historian Dr. Michael Dougan and current Capitol historian Dr. David Ware. Students of Arkansas politics and history will enjoy the expanded scope of time and events from the Capitol's perspective.