(Friday, March 2, 2007) – One of Little Rock’s oldest structures entered a new phase today with the formal signing of an agreement between the City of Little Rock, the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Quapaw Quarter Association (QQA). The QQA has taken over the management of Curran Hall and will continue to operate the 1842 structure as a visitor information center. In addition, Curran Hall will serve as a Mayor’s Reception Hall for the City of Little Rock and a Cultural Heritage Tourism Center.

“This is a great day for the City,” said Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola. “This agreement ensures that this wonderful, historic building will continue to welcome worldwide visitors to Little Rock. QQA is an organization with a proven record of not just maintaining historic structures but with enhancing those buildings. I cannot think of a better organization to be charged with managing this facility.”

The City of Little Rock and the Little Rock Advertising and Promotion Commission acquired the house in 1996, saving it from demolition. With the Little Rock Visitor Information Center Foundation leading the way, the historic home was carefully renovated to serve as Little Rock's first official visitor information center. After a $1.4 million renovation, the visitor information center formally opened May 18, 2002.

In 2006, as a component of organizational realignment, the Little Rock Advertising & Promotion Commission decided to seek a partnership in the management of Curran Hall. Then- Mayor Jim Dailey chaired a task force to determine the best uses for the facility. After soliciting proposals, the task force chose the Quapaw Quarter Association to manage the historic structure and continue its function as a visitor information center. 

The Quapaw Quarter Association is a non-profit historic preservation advocacy organization whose mission is to promote the preservation of the historic buildings and neighborhoods of Greater Little Rock.

The QQA grew out of an effort to identify and protect significant historic structures in Little Rock during the "urban renewal" days of the early 1960s, making it one of the older preservation organizations in the nation.

Throughout its existence, the QQA has been a driving force behind historic preservation in Greater Little Rock, which now boasts over 250 individually-listed National Register properties as well as 15 National Register Historic Districts.

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