The Old State House Museum in Little Rock, Arkansas, is the state's oldest standing capitol building, west of the Mississippi River, now a museum interpreting Arkansas history from statehood to the present. I haven't been here since my 5th grade class field trip. It features exhibits on Arkansas's political and cultural history, including the First Families' gowns, battle flags, and African-American quilts. It was the site of Bill Clinton's presidential campaign announcement and election night celebrations. Worth a visit, if you are in the area and it's free! read more

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Free museum featuring Arkansas history. It's beautifully set up, the displays are great, and the grounds are well kept. I would recommend a visit! read more

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This Old State House from 1833, is the original state capitol building of Arkansas. It was here that Arkansas was admitted into the Union, a fatal knife fight between two sitting legislators took place, Arkansas voted to secede from the US & join the Confederacy, pioneering medical research into hookworm & malaria occurred and it's the site of 2 election night victories by a president . In 1836, Arkansas became a state. The Greek Revival architectural style emphasized the connection between the newest state & the original democracy of ancient Greece. In 1947, the Old State House was made a museum & placed on the National Register of Historic Places Exhibits about governors, First Ladies dresses, documents, and a vast collection of artifacts related to Arkansas history are inside this free landmark.. This Old State House from 1833, is the original state capitol building of Arkansas. It was here that Arkansas was admitted into the Union, a fatal knife fight between two sitting legislators took place, Arkansas voted to secede from the US & join the Confederacy, pioneering medical research into hookworm & malaria occurred and it's the site of 2 election night victories by a president . In 1836, Arkansas became a state. The Greek Revival architectural style emphasized the connection between the newest state & the original democracy of ancient Greece. In 1947, the Old State House was made a museum & placed on the National Register of Historic Places by read more

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I visited the Old State House Museum after work during my business trip a couple of weeks ago. It was so interesting seeing and reading about the history and changes to this site. I really enjoy seeing historical sites like this. I really enjoyed the Play It Loud exhibit and seeing the different guitars and posters signed and donated by various artists. What a fun gem! read more

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Wow! What an old historical home! I absolutely loved walking about reading up on the history. Definitely need 2 hours or more. You could get lost. We had the whole place to ourselves due to the bad weather. So we lucked out. Don't miss it! read more

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It was a good visit, with maps provided and tours available. Because of the building setup, it is hard to move through smoothly as the wings don't connect. I was also a little put off by the very large music room that was drastically different in tone and aesthetic to the rest of the building, such as bright pink and yellow walls covered in pictures and guitars. I wish the main senate room had larger displays, it is very thorough but a little dense in material and verbiage. The two men who welcomed us were amazing and really made our visit. They were very knowledgeable and helpful. read more

I stumbled upon this while out walking in Little Rock. There was a big sign saying free admissions so in I went. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit. There was a lot of history on the building itself. But hands down my favorite part was the two separate areas that displayed different gowns worn by the State Fair Queens and the First Ladies of Arkansas. Some of the First Ladies gowns dated back to the earlier part of the 1900's. So fun to see. I also enjoyed the section that had quilts. They were beautiful. This place can easily be seen in an hour. I would highly recommend going here. read more

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This this was a really cool museum and had tons of things for every age range. We found parking for 3 cars right on the street in front of the museum. Pay at the meters they take credit cards and make sure you come back out to reload after 2 hours. All meters are capped at 2 hours max. We actually saw everything and went to a kids exhibit and got back with 16 minutes on the meter. So plan on an hour and a half to an hour and 45 minutes to really see everything. The history inside was great. From architectural plans from 100+ years ago on the wall to quilts made by slaves to the clothes of Hillary Clinton the museum has some pretty cool items. One that fought my eye was a machine gun used by Bonny and Clyde. Very wheelchair and stroller accessible. Free to enter and they have donation boxes around in different spots. One thing that was really cool is they had these little blue squares that you could insert your credit card and make an instant $10 donation. I had never seen these before and since I only had large Bill's it made giving a donation very easy. I wish more places had those things! read more

Old State House - The fountain on the front plaza - Museums Near Me - Little Rock, Arkansas

Beautiful old building, inside and out. And who can argue with a free museum? The highlight for me was probably the inaugural ball dresses from the Arkansas first ladies. The flapper ones were super fun and they had a brochure that explained their heroic efforts to preserve the fabric. My second favorite area was the quilts from African-American women. They said usually quilts just say "Negro" and they went out of their way to have quilts with the actual woman's name listed by them. Otherwise, lots of displays with historical events from Arkansas history and from Arkansas governors. It won't take you long, stop in, it's right downtown and there's lots of really cheap parking right in front. If you're staying at the Marriott, this is your next-door neighbor. read more

Outstanding effort to preserve some history of Arkansas. Take the historical tour when in Little Rock, Clinton Library (see my separate review) and here. Great museum of the early days of AR and the people who made the Natural State. During our stop there was a special exhibit of the state governors. read more

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I am not a fan of museums but if I was, I'd appreciate this one a lot. It is free! It is also very large and has a lot of history within. You can tell there has been heavy traffic in there- there are different types of wood floors in almost every room. It smelled like fresh polyurethane when I went. It's nice they still offer this for free when they clearly have to spend a lot to maintain it. read more

Cool if you like history. Only took about 45 min to get through and free admission! Was neat to see what's inside a large old building like that. read more

Old State House - Music room - Museums Near Me - Little Rock, Arkansas

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These guys saved our night!!!! We went to 3 restaurants in one night before we finally landed here. The food was awesome and the bartenders and kitchen manager were awesome! We told them our sad tale of all of the nasty places we tried to eat at that night and they made us an amazing meal. Cocktails A+ Wife had the mac and cheese and it was amazing but enough for 2 The crab dip was an amazing app The Cuban sandwich was really good for not being in Fl. read more

We absolutely LOVED this place! This is one of the most beautiful places we have ever been to. When you first walk in, you are greeted by two very friendly people who hand you a map and two free posters if you so choose. You are then directed to take your tour. There were so many exhibits, antique furniture, jewelry, dresses, musical instruments, award ribbons, and even a pair of Bill Clinton's running shoes! All throughout the place, they have blown up postcards from the 1920's and have displayed them all around the museum. Our favorites were the original wood floors, the outside water fountain and the beautiful grand staircase that seemed fit for the Presidential family. There is also a little playroom for the kids to play in with wooden train-sets and a enlarged candidate booth (I think) for them to take pictures in. Make sure to take a gander into the store and pick up a 10$ t-shirt, postcards, books, coffee cups or beautiful jewelry! Plenty of parking in the front and come prepared to walk a little bit! I would absolutely recommend for those who are as enthralled with History as I am! read more

Old State House - Front of the building. - Museums Near Me - Little Rock, Arkansas

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This museum is cool. The landscaping was a nice background for pageants.

Stopped by here while making a stop in Little Rock for the night on the way home from a road trip. We stayed at the Double Tree next door (Would NOT recommend that hotel) The Old State House was super cute, it's very well kept. It's a nice stroll to take and there are some great photo ops. I would recommend stopping here if you are already in downtown Little Rock. read more

Old State House - Museums Near Me - Little Rock, Arkansas

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After wandering the streets of downtown Little Rock, my friend and we came across the Old State House. My friend wanted to go in because he liked the way it looked:he's a little weird. It's no longer in legislative use BUT it is a museum, and not just one that preserves the legislative floor. The rotating exhibit was Civil War, specifically the UCV reunion that met in Little Rock in 1911. The exhibit was pretty interesting all around, going a little into the Civil War but mostly about the reunion and the logistics and politicking Arkansas did to play host to it. The exhibit also talked about relations between North and South veterans, all in all a pretty interesting exhibit. The rest of the museum has the requisite legislative floor from the 1800s. As well as showcasing some famous Arkansans, Arkansaians, Arkansians (?) on the first floor. There were a few locked doors though, but for what, I'm not sure. Best of all, the admission is a suggested donation, so chip in a buck or five and walk through a beautifully preserved building and learn a little local history. read more

Cute museum with nice docents. We enjoyed their Curiosities exhibit a lot. The outside of the museum is beautiful as well and we loved the fountain. We spent about an hour and a half here walking through at a leisurely pace. read more

Had a day to explore Little Rock and found the Old State House to be an enjoyable free hour of my day. Memorabilia from movies and past political figures from Arkansas. Bill Clinton's saxophone, Mike Huckabee's guitar, Johnny Cash wardrobe and lots of older items to enjoy. Whether you're from Arkansas or just enjoy history then take a quick stop into the house. Just down the street from good dining and hotels too. It's free! read more

Old State House - House - Museums Near Me - Little Rock, Arkansas

The Old Statehouse Museum is one of my favorites in Little Rock. One thing I enjoy is that the topics and exhibits are always interesting and current. During my first visit, I learned some interesting facts about prohibition, as well as blues music. My next visit, I learned about Arkansas politicians, as well as bandits from Arkansas. You can also tour the first ladies' dress collection during important elections and events while in office. I love the exhibits in general. Another plus is that there is button making and dress up for the kids (although us adults get in on the action, too.) And the museum holds free events during Christmas and Mardi Gras, for instance- full of free food, games, and entertainment. Fun for everyone! read more

Really pretty building full of fun Little Rock history. It's free (donation recommended) but they really had a nice group of artifacts. I wish they had done the gown section better. It was so dark I could hardly see it. Also they should put up signs at the stairs, the flow was a little weird because we weren't sure what was off limits. The history of film in AR was lots of fun too! I always love that stuff! Yay for AR! read more

When we arrived in AR, early in the morning, we checked in to our hotel, and headed right next door to the old state Capitol building. Firstly - it's free, this is excellent, and something i'm not used to! Secondly - the staff here were friendly and a wealth of local knowledge! They went above and beyond to give us recommendations, they drew on maps, chatted about the area, gave us 'walkable' attractions and non-walkable. I always like getting local reccomendations :) They made our trip to AR a lot easier!!! The bottom floor was about the building itself, what it's made from etc, floor above talks more about the people who used it! It's a great wee museum, probably spent an hour in here! read more

For a free museum, this was excellent. It's another instance of a historic building that was in bad disrepair decades ago, but saved by local women who saw its value. We really enjoyed learning about the history of the building, and seeing all the artifacts from when it was restored. There was an excellent exhibit of dresses and personal belongings of Arkansas former first ladies (including Hillary Clinton), and several rooms decorated in period furniture and art. The staff were very friendly and the gent who welcomed us gave us a great idea of the history of the building. It was very interesting and chilling to go upstairs and stand in the large, open auditorium room where members of the Arkansas legislature voted to join the Confederacy. This is a great place to make history come alive, and would be good for well-behaved, quiet children. read more

Hey, it's FREE! A lot of history took place here including Clinton's victory speeches and there are many exhibits jam packed throughout this building worthy of your time. You can study the restoration and preservation of the building itself as well as learn a lot about Arkansas state history with a stop. read more

Free admission! I love anything free, that's for sure. I came toLR for the marathon/ half marathon and the Old State House was down the street from the expo. You get a good history of the building as well as Little Rock and Arkansas politics and its evolution. The building itself is stunning even if you can't get inside to look at it. You also get some good background on some key Arkansonian politicians and some important women and African Americans important to Arkansas's history. Take a peak at the display of how people use to live, meaning kids were to taught to be respectful, played outside, families had dinner every night around the dinner table and church on the weekend. Such a different mentality from today read more

We found this museum to be interesting and worth our visit. First of all, it is free. Second, it is a pretty quick stop. Doesnt take all day. So when we found that we had time to make a quick stop in Little Rock for lunch, we decided to check out the state houvse museum. First of all, we were greeted by 2 charming men, who gave us a brief oral overview of the state house and some of the major exhibits. Then we were free to walk around at our own pace. The exhibit on Ed Stilley's homemade guitars was fascinating. We held much respect for Mr. Stilley after hearing his story. And we learned that Mr.Stilley is still living in northern Arkansas. God bless you Mr. Stilley. I particularly enjoyed the exhibits of the First Ladie's inaugural gowns. There were also rooms which displayed original furnishings from the state house. The architecture of the building is beautiful and the grounds are well-maintained. Nice place to visit. read more

If you live in Arkansas and care anything about your state then you should visit the Old State House. This has a lot of Arkansas history and worth your time. This is a great educational tool for your children and of course you might learn a little Arkansas history yourself. read more

This was an awesome free museum. It was right by the hotel we were staying at so we stopped in. There were clear signs throughout and staff was very friendly when we arrived. The gowns were a beautiful collection and the evolution of the bikes was a fascinating exhibit. read more

Great free tour and fun location when looking to kill some time downtown. Worth the efforts to go in and take some time looking around. Can't complain when it's free. read more

For a pretty small fee The Old State House will allow photographers to come in and do sittings. We did this for my daughter's portraits a couple of years ago and the rotunda with the staircase is BEAUTIFUL, the lawn is the perfect background for outdoor shots, there are small rooms with different themes that are just perfect....and you get a little culture while you're there ! read more

We called two weeks in advance to ask if they had any events occurring on the weekend of May 5th and to also see pricing to take pictures. The lady on the phone said they had no events scheduled and it was free if we took pictures outside. The day of the wedding we show up to take pictures and there was an event happening and the people were extremely rude and not helpful and only allowed 25 minutes to take pictures. The security guard also monitored our every step and was even in the background of the "first look" pictures. We offered to make a donation to their cause which they declined and asked us to leave repeatedly. We will never be back and will never recommend this place to people as they were so rude and disrespectful. read more

Not the most interesting museum, but a really cool building you can tour Free of charge most days. In short it's an amazing old state house you can tour that also has some exhibits. Great for Photo Ops. read more