14.    West Hyphen Gallery – Arkansas, Arkansaw Temporary Exhibit

Then…
A hallmark of Greek Revival buildings is their symmetrical design. Consequently, this space may have originally been a corridor that led outside to a covered walkway. This apparently changed when an addition for the federal court was constructed between the West Wing and the Main Building in 1867. At that time the doorway connecting this space with the Central Corridor was walled in. The resulting room housed the office of the Clerk of the Court. By 1885, the federal court had moved and the space became the State Treasurer’s Office. A safe was placed in this room, which was sealed by an iron door on its west end to create the Treasurer's Vault. To get from the Main Building to the Treasurer's Office, a visitor had to go outside and enter the Treasurer's office from the West Loggia, the covered porch between the Main Building and the West Wing. The ability to pass from the Central Corridor into the Treasurer's Vault was not restored until the 1980s, nearly a hundred years later.

During the War Memorial Building era, the room served as the Medical School's library and also provided a venue for free soup lunches for veterans. After 1951, it served as the display room of the Arkansas History Commission. Following the departure of the History Commission in 1979, the room was divided to house the DAR room in its northern half and a changing exhibit space in its southern portion.

Now…
After the 1999 renovation, this space housed the Pillars of Powers exhibit. In 2008, Pillars of Powers moved to its current location in the East Wing and this space became the West Hyphen Gallery, a changing exhibit space.

Visit Arkansas, Arkansaw: A State and Its Reputation