Choctaw Station

Choctaw Station on the south bank of the Arkansas River. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it's the home of the William J. Clinton Foundation and the Clinton School of Public Service.

Choctaw Station, located at 1010 E. Third on the banks of the Arkansas River in Little Rock, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

Built in 1899 by the Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad, this large, ornate passenger depot became the property of the Rock Island Railroad in 1902 and served that line until the 1950s. It is embellished with exceptionally ornate terra cotta details which exhibit the influence of architect Louis Henry Sullivan.

This beautiful building is now the home of the William J. Clinton Foundation and the Clinton School of Public Service. Located beside the Clinton presidential center, the station can easily be seen on a trolley tour of downtown Little Rock.

Scenes from the Clinton Center

Photographs from our recent visit to the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park.

LEED Award at Clinton Center

The Clinton Center holds the impressive LEED Award for its environmentally responsible construction and sustainability practices.


Receptacles for recyclable materials are common sites around the Clinton Center grounds.

The William J. Clinton Presidential Center, a leader in environmentally-friendly building practices, holds a silver certification LEED Award.

LEED, a green building rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2000, awards buildings for environmentally-conscious building and sustainability practices.

Crystal Tree of Light

The Crystal Tree of Light at the Clinton Center is one of the most conversational pieces in the library. My girls get a close look at it on our last visit to the center.

One of the most interesting things at the Clinton Presidential Center and Park in Little Rock is the Crystal Tree of Light on the third floor.

President and Mrs. Clinton invited world-renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly to provide artwork for the White House Millennium celebration on Dec. 31, 1999. He created two identical towers of glass, both entitled Crystal Tree of Light. Both were installed in the Grand Foyer of the White House and were displayed until March 2000.

Four years later, one of the crystal trees was donated to the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation and installed permanently in the Clinton Center. It is this piece that visitors to the Little Rock center can ogle.

My girls always think it's rather odd-looking, and at first glance it is. It looks almost like serpents winding their way around but upon closer look it more resembles flower bulbs!

Modern day monument making history

The Clinton Presidential Center sits on the south bank of the Arkansas River, in Little Rock. Not only is it one of only 13 presidential libraries in the country, it is a leader in environmentally-friendly building and upkeep practices.

The William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Center and Park (also referred to as the Clinton Center or the Clinton Library; I prefer the former) is a modern day monument that is making history in many different ways.

The center had free admission today! I took the girls up there for a visit. We had recently been there back in February on a work-related trip. It was nice to go again with our own agenda, and sans baby.

The girls' favorite part was the water feature in front of the building! I enjoyed sitting out on the grounds after our tour. It was cool and breezy on the Arkansas River though the weather was fairly warm everywhere else in Central Arkansas.

I'll have some more information about the different features of the center in the days to come. There is a lot about this center that is very interesting.