Frederick and Frances Hangar House

This house is one of the most exuberant examples of Queen Anne in Little Rock. Frederick Hangar owned several acres of farmland outside of town as well as a cotton gin and a granite quarry. He was also active in local social and cultural groups, as was his wife, Frances, who served as state president of the National Society of Colonial Dames of America and of the Arkansas Federation of Women’s Clubs, and as state regent of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was also instrumental in the formation of the Arkansas History Commission. Because of their social positions and their frequent entertaining of large groups of people, the Hangars required a house in the latest architectural style with spacious interior rooms. The two-story house is enlivened with roof gables, bay windows, a front porch, and a gabled entrance porch defined by a heart-shaped border made of wood. After the Hangars’ deaths the house remained in the family until 1967, when it was taken over by the Little Rock Housing Authority. The house was saved from demolition when architect Charles Witsell and his artist wife, Becky, purchased it in 1972. She restored the interior including wallpaper patterns and paint colors. The restoration brought attention not only to the house, but also to the importance of preserving the historic neighborhoods of downtown Little Rock, which were increasingly threatened in that time period.