LESSER-KNOWN PLACES




The Castle on Stagecoach Road (6601 Stagecoach Rd.)

THE CASTLE ON STAGECOACH ROAD


Did you know that Little Rock has it's own castle ?  It is set on approximately 100 acres and is available for weddings and other events.


 
  Not sure if the event category includes jousting. But it doesn't hurt to ask.




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St. John's Catholic Center (2500 N. Tyler Street)



Nestled away in the Heights section of Little Rock is St. John's Catholic Center, a former seminary.

It houses the administrative offices for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Little Rock, and several dozen offices of the diocese including Adoption Services, Catholic Charities, Little Rock Scripture Study and Social Action.

Once you go through the gates, you feel like you have stepped into another place and time. Then you realize it could be the setting for a horror film like the Omen.  




   
Little Rock College seal, which is still prominent on Morris Hall at St. John Center. The inscription is Latin for “Seal of Little Rock College, Little Rock, Ark.”




In 1916 St. John's Seminary was relocated to it's present location from Gaines Street.  The seminary operated for fifty-six years until it closed in 1967 due to financial problems and a shortage of trained faculty.

Back in the 1960's one of the seminary's priests, Rev. James F. Drane, wrote a series of articles for the Arkansas Gazette questioning the Church's position against birth control devices and even questioned the what he called the "myth" of papal infallibility. He was quickly defrocked. Many believe that this is what caused the financial problems and closure of the seminary.

DRANE THEN & NOW
 
Drane has become a famous author and has a Bioethics Institute named for him at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania.

 


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 Emerald Park Waterfalls 

EMERALD PARK WATERFALLS



Although the park is not in Little Rock, it is definitely worth a visit.  Sandwiched between Burns Park, Pulaski Tech, Ft. Roots, and the VA - Emerald Park is a hidden gem offering stunning views of Little Rock, the Arkansas River, and Pinnacle Mountain.

It has both paved and unpaved trails that range from smooth, flat and easy to rough and steep.

The trails in Emerald Park connect to the River Trail and make for a nice scenic detour for pedestrians and mountain bikers.

The trails can be accessed from two parking areas: One off Ft. Roots Dr. and the other located off Marge Gardner Lane behind Pulaski Tech.




WATCH A VIDEO OF A DARING BIKER ON ONE OF THE PARK TRAILS



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