Office Location

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Pyramid Place is the "first modern office building" in Arkansas. At  10 stories, the Southern Trust Building (its original name) in downtown  Little Rock also was trumpeted as the state's first skyscraper in 1907.  The structural design of the building is the basis of skyscraper  tradition that has taken office buildings higher and higher. At 96,598  square feet, the structure was created with fireproofing, electric  lights, mail chutes, three electric elevators, mosaic tile floors and  white marble baseboards. Featuring a commercial-style design, the  U-shaped building's rows of windows remain functional and are a ready  gateway for natural light and air. The windows are a prominent part of  the building's pre-air conditioning look as well as an example of the  early interpretation of the glass-and-steel concept.

The project  was an architectural creation of George Mann, whose design resume  included the state Capitol and other prominent buildings that dot the  Little Rock landscape. Built at a cost of $350,000 in 1907, the Southern  Trust Building was a showstopper in its day and an Arkansas first.

Over  the years, the office high-rise at 221 West Second Street has undergone  several name changes that have often accompanied new ownership. By  1929, it was known as the Home Insurance Building. Since 1938, though,  "Pyramid" has been a constant in its name. That's when the project  became home to First Pyramid Life Insurance Co. of America, and took the  name Pyramid Life Building that would last for about 40 years. That  moniker gave way to Pyramid Place when the property began undergoing  redevelopment in the late 1970s.

The current owners purchased Pyramid Place in 2005 and have restored  and modernized the building as a mixed us "green" facility with retail,  commercial office space and residential units. Pyramid Place was placed  on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. Under the ownership  of Barbara Yates, the historic building is being restored to its past  glory as the Pyramid Place prepares to enter its second century as she  describes a three-fold motivation for undertaking the project: to make  money, save the building and put something back into Little Rock. 30  years prior, Barbara first started work as an accountant in Little Rock  on the ninth floor of the building with E.L. Gaunt Co. Herbert Thomas,  who founded First Pyramid Life Insurance Co. of America in 1925, oversaw  the updating work that included the addition of central air  conditioning air conditioning, mechanical process for controlling the  humidity, temperature, cleanliness, and circulation of air in buildings  and rooms. Indoor air is conditioned and regulated to maintain the  temperature-humidity ratio that is most comfortable and healthful. His  company's longtime ownership and care of the building stamped the  property with the Pyramid name. When it was updated in 1952 by the  Thomas family, it was considered the most beautiful office building in  downtown Little Rock.

William Marmaduke Kavanaugh, a prominent  Little Rock businessman, was the catalyst for making today's Pyramid  Building a reality. Kavanaugh organized Southern Trust Co. in 1905 and a  year later formed Southern Construction Co. to build the firm's  namesake office building at the southeast corner of Second and Center  streets. Construction started in spring 1906 and was complete in time  for a New Year's Eve coming-out party in 1907. The open house reportedly  drew thousands who began visiting the new landmark midafternoon and  continued into the wee hours. The street, originally known as Prospect,  was renamed Kavanaugh Boulevard in his honor in 1936.