An octagonal tower names this building: the Tower Building of the Little Rock Arsenal, also called the Main Building of the U.S. Arsenal at Little Rock and the Headquarters Building of the Little Rock Barracks. Built between 1840 and 1841 as part of Little Rock's first U.S. military installation, this is the last remaining structure of that original installation and one of the oldest buildings in central Arkansas. Its distinct octagonal tower gives the building its name.
Since decommissioning, it has housed two local museums: the Arkansas Museum of Natural History and Antiquities from 1942 to 1997, and the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History since 2001. It also has housed the Little Rock Æsthetic Club since 1894. The building stands in the MacArthur Park Historic District and is the birthplace of General Douglas MacArthur, who became the supreme commander of U.S. forces in the South Pacific during World War II.
It was also the starting place of the Camden Expedition during the American Civil War. Today you're standing where military orders, museum curators, and club members all passed through. Picture General Douglas MacArthur born within these walls, military orders, museum curators, and Æsthetic Club members all having passed through this same octagonal tower.