Tommy Ray Polk (file)
Tommy Ray Polk, founding partner of Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects of Little Rock and mentor to generations of Arkansas architects, died on April 28. He was 79.
Polk died at home from complications from Alzheimers disease. A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday, May 14, at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church in Little Rock.
In a Facebook post, Reese Rowland, principal at Polk Stanley, noted highlights of Polks’ decades-long career. Polk left his mark on skylines in Little Rock and Memphis, worked on iconic projects in New York City, and shaped students’ educational experiences through buildings designed for the University of Arkansas and Arkansas school districts and library systems.
“Tommy didn’t sway with the winds of the latest trends but held true to his beliefs, and thus created a timeless architecture that is as relevant today as it was 40 years ago,” he wrote.
Born Feb. 24, 1940, in Hope, Polk attended the University of Arkansas from 1958-1963 on a football scholarship and was the first varsity letterman to graduate with a bachelor of architecture degree. In 1962, he played in the Razorbacks game against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and was named to that year’s all-bowl team.
After graduation, he joined the Edward Durell Stone firm in New York City, where he worked on such projects as The Kennedy Center for the Arts and the Pine Bluff Civic Center. In 1965 he moved to Memphis to work in the office of Mann & Harrover, which later became Roy P. Harrover & Associates. There, he designed the Schilling Motors and the National Bank of Commerce office building, which were selected as two of the top 10 Memphis buildings of the 1970s by his peers.
In 1977, Polk returned to Arkansas to found Polk Shannon Stanley in Little Rock with Jeff Shannon and Joe Stanley. His designs include The First National Bank and Bell Engineering Center in Fayetteville, and the Adolphine Fletcher Terry Library, the Historic Arkansas Museum and U.S. Bankruptcy Courthouse addition in Little Rock.
“Pavilion in the Park, UAMS Jones Eye Center, the Arkansas Real Estate Commission … his designs are so powerful. If you worked in Riverdale on the Alltel Campus, Morgan Keegan Building, Acxiom’s Office (now Vratsinas Constuction), he shaped your work day,” Rowland wrote on Facebook. “In fact, Tommy designed the Riverdale Harbour master plan. Crossing the Mississippi River bridge into Memphis if you have noticed the tallest building, the NBC Tower, Tommy’s design sets the tone for the skyline.”
He later became a founding member of the Dean’s Circle in the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the UA and served on the advisory board and the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century. He was awarded both the School of Architecture Distinguished Service Award and the Arkansas Alumni Association Citation of Distinguished Service.
Polk is survived by his wife, Carolyn; three daughters, Natalie Polk Hoffmann (Jim) of Richmond Heights, Missouri, Elizabeth Polk Barzizza (Paul) of Wyoming, Ohio, and Madeleine Rae Polk of Little Rock; Sarah Jane (Melton) Polk of Fayetteville, mother of Natalie and Elizabeth; grandchildren, Jackson and Remy of Richmond Heights, Missouri, and Frank, Avery and George of Wyoming, Ohio; and a niece, Kennetha McClelland (Michael).
Memorials may be made out to the UA Foundation, noted “In memory of Tommy Polk,” and mailed to Mary Purvis, senior director of development, at the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at 120 Vol Walker Hall, Fayetteville, AR 72701.
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