![]() ![]() Army Corps of Engineers to maintain and resuscitate this riverfront gem. ![]() Its reputation was sullied for decades because it was known as a haunt for sexual imbroglios and ensuing sting operations, but Cadron Settlement Park got a new lease on life a few years ago when the City of Conway entered into a long-term lease with the U.S. If you have not walked or biked on the bridges or the trail, you’re missing one of the best things Little Rock has to offer. It also forms the western end of the River Trail Loop along the north and south sides of the river, and the spur to Two Rivers Park means you can get on your bicycle downtown and ride it to Pinnacle Mountain and never have to get on Cantrell Road, unless you stick to the Little Rock route (Dillard’s headquarters won’t allow the trail on its property). At 4,226 feet, it’s the longest pedestrian/bike bridge never used by trains or cars in North America, and it has spurred a bike culture in Little Rock that has given the city an identity other than the place where the white folks wouldn’t let the black kids go to Central High. The Junction Bridge was reopened in 2008 for foot and bike traffic the Rock Island Bridge became the Clinton Presidential Park Bridge in 2011.Īround the corner and out of sight from Johnnie Gray’s photograph is the seventh bridge and the first wonder of Little Rock’s world: the Big Dam Bridge. The Six Bridges Project, emerging from the Downtown Framework for the Future (1999), envisioned converting the abandoned railroad bridges to pedestrian and bike use, to better connect Little Rock and North Little Rock and create park amenities on both sides. When locomotive traffic declined, so did the need for the Junction and Rock Island bridges. When Arkansas got The Car, construction of vehicle bridges soon followed: the Broadway Bridge (1923), the Main Street Bridge (1924) and Interstate 30 (1958). The first three bridges across the river (Baring Cross, 1873 the Junction Bridge, 1883 and the Rock Island Bridge, 1899), were built for big wheels of the locomotive kind, the train companies having wearied of using ferries. Humans moved from walking to the wheel in Little Rock, as in the rest of the country, the recent progression has been in reverse. Frances Mitchell Ross used the photograph, given to her father, Will Mitchell, to persuade the city to frame downtown riverfront development as the “Six Bridges Project.” Hence, the Six Bridges Regatta, among other things. ![]() Several South Africans have also taken to social media to share their opinion on the issue, and ask for the return of the jewel.In 1961, state Highway and Transportation Department photographer Johnnie Gray took a striking aerial photograph of the six bridges that cross the Arkansas River, from the Rock Island Bridge in the foreground to the Baring Cross Bridge in the background. "The minerals of our country and other countries continue to benefit Britain at the expense of our people." "The Cullinan Diamond must be returned to South Africa with immediate effect," said Sabelo. South African activist Thanduxolo Sabelo spoke to the media, stating that the large diamond had to be returned. Over 6,000 people have taken to sign a Change petition asking for the Great Star of Africa to be returned to South Africa. The diamond is currently mounted on a scepter that belonged to the late queen. The death has triggered mixed reactions online, and has also generated a lot of conversations around colonialism and genocide. According to CNN, the 500-carat diamond was presented to King Edward VII in 1907 Cullinan, a Gauteng province of South Africa.įollowing the death of the British monarch, many South Africans are calling on the royal family to return the jewel because it was not acquired legitimately. On the heels on the death of Queen Elizabeth II, South Africa is asking the royal family to return the largest clear-cut diamond in the world, known as the Great Star of Africa or Cullinan I. ![]()
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