LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Dr. Michael Nellums and Vivian Jones attended the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
“I like the proximity of being in the area of the University, and I’m an alumni as well,” Jones said.
They’re also neighbors in the Broadmoor area.
Dr. Nellums has lived there for over 28 years.
“It was an older, established neighborhood. I think this was at one point one of the newest neighborhoods west of University,” Dr. Nellums said.
They said it’s full of history.
“Civil Rights attorney John Walker used to live in this neighborhood, and I think he was the first person who integrated this neighborhood,” Dr. Nellums said.
The Broadmoor Neighborhood Association hopes it can be listed on the National Historic Register as surveyors make their final round through the area.
“It’s also one of, if not the first planned neighborhood in the country to have indoor A/C,” Jacob Hicks said.
Behind the homes, slabs of concrete remain where those AC chillers were set up.
"There are not many neighborhoods such as this that use this architecture left in the country. So, putting it on a National Historic Register of places would help homeowners get tax credits potentially if they're trying to renovate their house to bring it closer to the original state,” Hicks said.
Half of the 550 homes have already been surveyed, and the rest will be surveyed this month.
The distinction could brighten the future of the community.
“Ideally it would also bring more folks into the neighborhood. We have several homes that are for sale currently, and we would like to get more families, more young working professionals into the neighborhood. Get active participants in the association,” Hicks said.
If you have any pictures of when your home was first constructed or pictures of the A/C units in the backyard, you can send them to the Broadmoor Neighborhood Little Group Facebook page.
The group said this will help with the survey.