Neighborhood pride borders on downright snobbery amongst Hillcrest residents. It’s practically a requirement to live here, included in the new neighbor kit along with a front porch swing, the family dog who loves walks, progressive sensibilities and, if you’re parents of a young child, an expensive, sleek stroller.
You don’t have to live in the neighborhood, one of Little Rock’s original suburbs, to be familiar with these stereotyped trappings. They’re on full display daily amongst Hillcresters, who live their lives very much in the open, mostly by walking, jogging or watching walkers and joggers while lounging on the front porch of their craftsman-style homes.
The area’s walkability is one of its defining characteristics. Along Kavanaugh Boulevard, which bisects most of the neighborhood, sits an exciting mix of shops, restaurants, bars and businesses that leave virtually all Hillcrest residents no farther than a mile from getting their hair cut, shopping for groceries, filling a prescription, framing a picture, dropping the dog off for daycare or taking him to the vet.
Dogs of course are Hillcrest’s unnamed mascots and just about any time of the day or year can be found dragging their owners past the aged rock walls sporadically lining Hillcrest’s streets and yards. Their cacophony of barks reminds my wife of the barking chain in “101 Dalmatians.” I like to think they’re all gossiping about their owners or comparing notes on mailmen.
It’s all part of the small-town charm pervasive in an area that in many ways feels like a small town. Indeed, its nickname “The People’s Republic of Hillcrest” not only plays on its denizens’ often liberal views but also the feeling of encapsulation. I’m sure there are plenty of tasty restaurants beyond our little enclave, but I’d hardly know because of the dozen or so not much beyond shouting distance from my house that always seem to do just fine.
For as much as Hillcrest residents share in common, there’s no overabundance of homogeneity in its aesthetics. The vast majority of the houses are old, built as far back as the early 1900s when a “developer” was merely a very skilled carpenter.
The houses were built well, too. And while many have been updated — and there’s always a renovation taking place somewhere in Hillcrest — they have mostly maintained their original character: the old hardwood floors, tapered square columns out front, stone façades assembled from the area’s rocky landscape and other trademarks of the era.
Living space is often limited, with most lots not more than 7,000 or 8,000 SF and many homes not much more than a quarter of that. Unlike its neighbor, The Heights, Hillcrest adopted a historic overlay district to keep its charming mostly three- to four-bedroom homes from being torn down in favor of multi-lot McMansions. (There’s that Hillcrest pride giving way to snobbery.)
There are exceptions, however, with several $750,000-plus estates mixed in with the rest. In fact, Hillcrest is one of the few areas in Little Rock that can boast a true blend of socioeconomic classes in such a relatively small space. A healthy dose of affordable rental properties has prevented full-on gentrification here.
And for me, that’s a good thing. I like to run into all kinds when walking my dogs. And based on all their friendly banter, they do as well.
Chip and Anne’s Hillcrest Top 10
1. Shop & Sip (throughout Hillcrest). Live music, public revelry, nighttime shopping and a great excuse to stay out late the first Thursday evening of every month.
2. U.S. Pizza’s Patio (5524 Kavanaugh Blvd.). This is the perfect vantage point to watch Kavanaugh’s constant parade of dogs, joggers and jogging dogs pulling walkers.
3. Annual Pumpkin Roll. After Halloween, neighbors gather to sacrifice jack-o-lanterns for the incomparable spectacle of watching round vegetables tumble fast down a hill before splattering on the street.
4. Cycling and Hiking in Allsop Park. Our Central Park. In the heart of Hillcrest sits this treasure of trails, ball fields, tennis courts, a playground and pavilion.
5. Ciao Baci’s Deck (605 Beechwood St.). What was supposed to be just an after-work drink somehow always turns into an entire evening, a fun one at that.
6. Harvestfest. Family-friendly fall festival that features food trucks and a fashion show, along with music and crafts.
7. Local Art at Gallery 26 (2601 Kavanaugh Blvd.). If not the finest collection of central Arkansas artists’ work, definitely the most avant-garde, though pretentious it is not.
8. Gifts from Box Turtle (2616 Kavanaugh Blvd.). Never a failed birthday, anniversary or Christmas present from this hip women’s boutique of clothes, jewelry and things that smell good or look cool.
9. Rhea Drug Store (2801 Kavanaugh Blvd.). This drugstore actually delivers free, but a chance to talk about the Hogs with pharmacist Joe Searcy and see what cool finds his wife, Mickey, brought back from the market makes the visit worth it.
10. Breakfast. Triple berry pancakes at Leo’s Greek Castle (2925 Kavanaugh Blvd.), biscuits and gravy at The House (722 N. Palm St.), a frittata from Café Bossa Nova (2701 Kavanaugh Blvd.) or next door an empanada from Rosalia’s: It’s Sophie’s Choice for me every Saturday morning.
Hillcrest – Chip and Anne Taulbee
Urban Archaeology: Many Hillcrest homes embrace both the antiquated and updated, like these century-old cabinet doors, found in the attic by a previous homeowner and restored for the Taulbee’s recently renovated house.