Gus Blass Department Store fills 318-324 Main Street in Little Rock, seven stories of masonry from 1912. This seven-story masonry structure was built in 1912 to a design by George R. Mann, a leading Arkansas architect. It is notable as one of the first instances of two-way concrete slab construction in the nation.
Imagine the bustle of a store that, for many years, was the city's largest department store. It remained in business here into the 1970s, ultimately becoming part of the Dillard's department store chain before closing in 1972. It was also one of the first department stores in the state to be air conditioned, with that modern comfort installed in 1936, a change that shaped shoppers' days.
The building's historic value was recognized when it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. Pause and study the masonry and the scale of the seven stories, thinking about the engineering and retail history contained in these walls. Picture shoppers here enjoying air conditioning installed in 1936, decades before the Dillard's chain took over and the doors finally closed in 1972.