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Theodore Marcus Sanders was an accomplished architect who designed a variety of buildings in Little Rock and other cities in Arkansas. Many of his buildings have been nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, including the Ada Thompson Memorial Home, the Woman’s City Club building and the Cornish House — all in Little Rock. He was partner in the Thompson, Sanders and Ginocchio firm, which continues to operate in the 21st century as Cromwell Architects Engineers.

Theodore Sanders was born in Little Rock on March 13, 1879, to Fred and Fannie Sanders. He was one of 10 children. The family had settled in Little Rock in 1879 after a relative saved them from starvation on the family’s fledgling farm in Mountain View in Stone County. In Little Rock, the family continued to live in relative poverty. Sanders’ father eventually found stable employment by establishing his own photography business. As the family continued to grow, one of Sanders’ older sisters, Sophia, moved to Germany to alleviate the family’s burden; there, she met and married a wealthy banker, Otto Solmitz. After Sanders graduated from Little Rock High School in 1898, Sophia and Otto offered to finance his further education.

In 1898, Sanders entered the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. After graduating in 1902, he continued his studies in architectural design at Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He was trained in the Eclectic movement, which advocated mixing traditional architectural styles to create new designs.

When he returned to Little Rock in 1903, he became one of two draftsmen for Frank Gibb. The other draftsman, Frank Ginocchio, left in 1905 to join noted architect Charles Thompson’s firm. Gibb promoted Sanders to partner in 1906. Gibb and Sanders together designed the Ada Thompson Memorial Home. In 1908, Sanders designed the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks building, which later became the Woman’s City Club building.

In 1907, Sanders married Irene Pareira; they had two children, Arthur and Miriam. In 1916, Irene died in childbirth. Sanders went on to marry Annette Joseph in 1924; she soon thereafter had a debilitating stroke.

Sanders left Gibb to start his own firm in 1910. Because of his training in Eclecticism, he was well-versed in a variety of architectural styles. He designed Hotel Freiderica in Little Rock using Italian Renaissance and Colonial Revival, and the Cornish House using Tudor and Craftsman styles.

In 1919, Sanders and Ginocchio — his former co-draftsman for Gibb — joined forces and established the Sanders and Ginocchio firm. Sanders’ talent for design and Ginocchio’s skill for construction supervision made for a well-balanced partnership. Their work included a large number of residences, as well as First Presbyterian Church in Newport and Second Presbyterian Church in Little Rock.

In 1927, Sanders and Ginocchio merged with Charles Thompson’s firm to create the Thompson, Sanders and Ginocchio firm. For the next couple of years, the firm enjoyed a high number of commissions resulting from the area’s expansive growth. One of its most significant projects was the Union Trust building in 1929, for which the architects used an Art Deco design.

During the Great Depression, commissions to design residences dropped, so the firm relied more on projects from institutional and commercial ventures. Little Rock’s Christ Episcopal Church and the M.M. Cohn Co. were some of the firm’s clients, as were what are now Philander Smith University and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

In 1941, Sanders retired from architecture. His successor was Edwin B. Cromwell, for whom the firm would later be named when it became Cromwell Architects Engineers.

Sanders played an active role in the Little Rock community and charitable organizations. He was a member of the Congregation B’nai Israel and was director of the Jewish Welfare Agency. He established the Theodore M. Sanders Art Exhibit in 1946 to encourage youth art education. In 1937, he took in a foster son, Friedrich Cohn, who emigrated from Germany, undoubtedly to flee Nazi persecution. Cohn would later serve in World War II, earning a silver star for his service.

In professional organizations, Sanders served as president of the Arkansas chapter of the American Institute of Architects and later became regional director of the national organization. He was also one of 18 architects to help establish the Arkansas Board of Architects, which set standards for the architectural profession in Arkansas.

Sanders died on June 10, 1947, and is buried in Oakland Jewish Cemetery. — Shannon Marie Lausch

This story is adapted by Guy Lancaster from the online Encyclopedia of Arkansas, a project of the Central Arkansas Library System. Visit the site at encyclopediaofarkansas.net.

 

Central Arkansas is home to a vibrant tattoo community and some of the best artists in the state, with dozens of shops in the metro area providing the popular service.

An estimated 32% of people in the United States have at least one tattoo, according to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2023. The study also found that 22% had more than one tattoo.

Tattooing represents an enduring fascination with altering one’s appearance and quest for individuality that has evolved throughout history, with the display of body art becoming more intricate and colorful, offering a glimpse into the world of the person who has tattoos.

WHY TATTOO?

For some, their tattoo design is chosen simply for aesthetic purposes. Others take a more philosophical approach to their chosen art. Tattoos can tell stories of tragedy, triumph, trauma or accomplishment.

“It can be a confidence boost, or sometimes it’s the rebel cause or trying to make mom mad,” said Josh Chambers, owner and resident artist at The Parlor Tattoo.

The Parlor, at 112 Main St. in North Little Rock, is a storied local shop and boasts more than 28 years in business plus a 4.8-star rating online, with more than 340 reviews as of May.

Another standout local shop is Black Cobra Tattoo Studio at 2323 N. Poplar St. in North Little Rock. It is owned by artist Matt O’Baugh, has been in business for 10-plus years and has a 4.8-star rating with more than 330 reviews.

Like Chambers, O’Baugh speculated that one reason people get tattoos is to rebel — to “see how much I can p*** my parents off.”

Bradley Labelle, who is having a traditional Norse tattoo worked on by Black Cobra artist Breezy Tucker, said he wanted his tattoo to reflect his beliefs, and the tattoo he chose is a spiritual tribute for him.

As artist Josh Henderson tattooed on Austin Mauney part of a stylized character from the Zelda video game franchise at Black Cobra, Mauney explained that he decided on this design to continue his pattern of other characters from the same franchise. He said he has an emotional connection to those characters.

Tattooing also has a deeper meaning for some of those running the local shops.

Chambers explained that tattooing is more than just a profession; it is a craft that saved his life. He shared his humble artist beginnings — the inside of a prison cell in 2016 — and how he was encouraged to pursue tattooing while there.

In 2023, after years of hard work, he took over at The Parlor Tattoo.

“I could always draw like the Simpsons characters, all of us as the Simpsons or whatever,” Chambers said. “Everyone (in prison) assumed that I tattooed already.”

O’Baugh also entered the profession in the early 2000s, as an apprentice. Back then, the industry was in a state of experiment and change. “Everybody went through techniques to push the boundaries and seeing what would happen,” he said. “There were a lot of growing pains.”

O’Baugh said there was a “hyper realistic” movement in tattooing, where there was little or no line work. Effects were made by using color shading to make the tattoos look more realistic. “But, after a few years, we found that the designs just didn’t hold as well as they did with line work,” he said.

BODY PIERCING

Black Cobra and other tattoo shops also offer another popular body modification service: piercing. A survey conducted by Statista in 2017 found that at least 84% had their earlobe pierced, while 20% had other types of piercings.

Like tattoos, piercings can have a deeper meaning for those who have them.

Kyle Arkansas, a piercer at Black Cobra, said piercing can be a way for someone to cope with trauma.

Another Black Cobra piercer, Kade Oliverio, added that getting a piercing can offer that rush of adrenaline someone needs, or they might get a piercing to draw attention away from a part of their body they are uncomfortable with.

HISTORY OF THE CRAFT

Body modification and tattooing dates back thousands of years, and today’s tattooing is a far cry from the utilitarian version noted 19th-century professional artist, Martin Hildebrandt, practiced. It became more intricate and colorful, offering a glimpse into the personality of the person with tattoos.

Hildebrandt first tattooed Civil War soldiers for identification purposes. He opened his New York City shop in 1870.

In the same city, in 1891, Samuel O’Reilly was granted the first patent for an electric rotary tattoo machine. It was inspired by Thomas Edison’s electric pen.

There is no record of O’Reilly selling such a machine, however.

But the oldest known tattoos were discovered more than 100 years after Hildebrandt set up his shop, when the remains of Ötzi the Iceman was found near the Italian-Austrian border in 1991.

He had 61 tattoos, including several on his legs, arms and lower back, according to the Smithsonian Institution. Ötzi also had some of the oldest known ear piercings in the archaeological record.

Carbon dating estimates he lived around 5,300 years ago during the Copper Age, according to an article published in the Smithsonian magazine in 2023.

The remarkable preservation of Ötzi represents the best evidence and direct archaeological proof of the practice of tattooing. The amount of tattooing on Ötzi’s body indicates social practices that likely predate his life, according to the Smithsonian.

Whatever the reason people decide to get body modifications, the trend doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon, and it has only become more beautiful as new colors, techniques and styles emerge in the world of tattooing and piercing.