The urban renewal era of the early 1960s saw a rise in awareness that led to an effort to identify and protect significant historic structures in Little Rock, Arkansas. The effort gave birth to the Quapaw Quarter Association, one of the oldest preservation organizations in the nation. The Quapaw Quarter Association has been a driving force behind historic preservation in Little Rock, which now has an impressive catalogue of 253 individually listed National Register of Historic Places real estate properties, as well as 15 National Register Historic Districts. The Association's programs include advocacy on local preservation issues; its bi-monthly newspaper, the Chronicle; a bi-annual Spring Tour of Historic Homes; the Preservation Resource Center; and a historic house marker program. The Quapaw Quarter is a nine-square mile area that includes Little Rock's central business district and adjacent residential neighborhoods. The term "Quapaw Quarter" is a special name used to identify this oldest and most-historic portion of the city. Even though it actually encompasses a much greater area, the Quapaw Quarter is usually recognized as the neighborhoods surrounding MacArthur Park and the Arkansas Governor's Mansion. For the past 20 years, it has been in these two areas, formally known as the "MacArthur Park Historic District," that Little Rock's historic preservation efforts have been concentrated. A large number of the city's oldest buildings, some that date from before the Civil War, are found within the boundaries of the MacArthur Park Historic District. Tours of the district include the former U.S. Arsenal Building (built in 1840-42) that houses the MacArthur Museum of Military History; the Community Gallery, which occupies the antebellum Pike-Fletcher-Terry House; and the historic district's antebellum homes. The Governor's Mansion Historic District can boast of homes dating from about 1880 to 1920, and they comprise an impressive catalogue of Queen Anne, Colonial Revival and Craftsman architecture. All of the historic district's restored buildings are not just “historic” sites; they also serve as private homes or businesses. As such they are not open to the public. However, you can enjoy them from the street or sidewalk via driving or walking tours. During the first weekend in May, the Association arranges for several privately owned historic houses to be opened to the public for the Quapaw Quarter Spring Tours.