Central site development hinges on four issues

JOHN BRUMMETT
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Development of the Central High national historic site basically comes down to four issues:

Security and practicality concerns of tourist access to the school.

Whether the Park Service will acquire and restore Ponders Drug store, either as a '57 vintage drugstore or for exhibits and visitor services.

Whether the Park Service will acquire and refurbish the few houses directly across Park Street from the school. Current law designates that the historic site stops at the curb across Park Street. Koning and his team will study whether to recommend extending the boundary and entering negotiations to buy those houses. Informed sources say the best bet is that the Park Service will want to acquire them.

What, if anything, to do about the proposal of the Central High Neighborhood Association, which is otherwise supportive of the project, to supplement the national historic destination with a civil rights institute somewhere in the immediate vicinity.

This article was published on Thursday, May 27, 1999

RETURN to Central High index