History
Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas is the only American city nestled within a national park. That is because the United States government recognized its uniqueness and gave it protected status in 1832 as the first Federal Reservation. It became a National Park in 1921, and the City of Hot Springs was officially incorporated in 1876.
Hot Springs’ legacy springs from the thermal waters that are its namesake. There are 47 hot springs which, for thousands of years, have issued forth from the southwestern slope of Hot Springs Mountain at a temperature of 143o F and a rate of nearly a million gallons a day. The waters, having traveled through many layers of filtering rock on their way to the earth’s surface, have been found to be nearly 100% pure.
Traveling back in time to the year 1541, when the Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto arrived in Hot Springs and drank the thermal waters, he discovered what the native American Indians had experienced as long as 10,000 years ago. This Valley of the Vapors, nestled in the Ouachita Mountains, was a place of peace where various tribes would put aside their differences and gather to enjoy the mysterious springs. Since then, visitors have come for healing, rejuvenation, and recreation.
The Arlington Resort Hotel &Spa
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World-famous Bathhouse Row, consisting of eight architecturally unique, turn-of-the-century bathhouses in the heart of the downtown historic and arts district, is supervised by the National Park Service. One of the bathhouses, the Fordyce, currently operates as a beautifully restored museum where visitors can learn more about the colorful history which shapes Hot Springs to this day.
Historic Hot Springs, Arkansas
On a chilly day in December of 1804, naturalist William Dunbar and chemist George Hunter located the steaming waters and stunning mineral deposits of the legendary "Hot Springs of the Washita."
Sent by President Thomas Jefferson on a fact finding mission after the land that is now Arkansas came under U.S. ownership as part of the vast 1803 Louisiana Purchase, Dunbar and Hunter published their findings in leading periodicals and made famous a geological wonder rare in mid-America.
By 1828, a simple hotel was accommodating visitors and crude structures had been built over some of the natural hot spring water to shelter bathers. In 1832, Congress declared the area a federal reservation in order to protect this amazing natural wonder.*
By 1921 Hot Springs had developed into a popular resort destination featuring gambling, a national park, healing thermal water spas and horse racing. With the closing of the casinos in the mid-1960's, Hot Springs became a popular family vacation and convention destination.
Today, the city boasts beautifully restored national landmarks in the Arkansas historic sites in the downtown historic district, Hot Springs National Park, Victorian architecture, historic hotels, thermal spas and, as the boyhood home of Bill Clinton, historic presidential sites. Take an online tour through Hot Springs, Arkansas history going east on Central Avenue and read all about the romantic history and interesting sites you will enjoy when you visit.
Hot Springs Baths and Spas
Legends tell us warring tribes would lay down their arms to bathe in the healing waters in the Valley of the Vapors.
For centuries, this misty Ouachita mountain valley was revered by Native Americans as a place of neutrality where all tribes could bathe in peace. In 1832 Congress set aside the natural hot springs site as a federal reservation, making Hot Springs National Park the first federally protected area in the national park system.
Until the advent of modern medicine in the late 1940's, visitors from around the world flocked to the natural hot springs to bathe in its healing thermal waters. Modern generations have carefully preserved the rich history of the springs and the bathing rituals that made the springs a world attraction. Find answers to questions about taking a Hot Springs bath.
Cool mineral water also flows from these magical springs, and when you visit Bathhouse Row in Hot Springs National Park, you'll probably see folks driving up in their cars, hopping out and filling up their water jugs. Take a sip and see how delicious Hot Springs' hot or cold water can be.
Take a step back in time and visit the faithfully-restored historic Fordyce Bathhouse, now open by the National Park Service as a museum and visitors center on Bathhouse Row. Relax and bathe your tensions away in the thermal waters and enjoy the Hot Springs spa salons.
Bathhouse Row is a place to stroll and enjoy the beautiful architecture of the bathhouse buildings.
Map of Bathhouse Row today, showing hot spring water fountains
The Bathhouse Row you see today consists of eight bathhouse buildings that were constructed between the years of 1892 and 1923. This area along with the Grand Promenade was designated as a National Historic Landmark District in 1987.
Lamar Bathhouse
The Lamar Bathhouse building opened on April 16, 1923, replacing a wooden Victorian structure named in honor of the former U. S. Supreme Court Justice Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar. He was Secretary of the Interior when the first bathhouse was built in 1888. The stone, brick, and stucco construction is moderately Spanish in flavor and coordinates well with the five other bathhouses with Spanish motifs. The Lamar was unique in that it offered a range of tub lengths for people of various heights. It also had a small coed gymnasium with another separate area for women adjacent to the gymnasium. The Lamar closed November 30, 1985.
The Lamar Bathhouse building opened on April 16, 1923, replacing a wooden Victorian structure named in honor of the former U. S. Supreme Court Justice Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar who was Secretary of the Interior when the first bathhouse was built in 1888.
The present structure cost $130,000 to build. Harry Schwebke’s architectural design for the Lamar can be described as representing “a transitional style often used in clean-lined commercial buildings of the time that were still not totally devoid of elements left over from various classical revivals.” The stone, brick, and stucco construction is moderately Spanish in flavor and coordinates well with the five bathhouses with Spanish motifs. The most distinctive exterior component is the sun porch with its windows of three sections and a wide center bay. The Lamar was unique in that it offered a range of tub lengths (5', 5'6", 5'9", 6', 6'6") for people of various heights. It also had a small coed gymnasium with another separate area for women adjacent to the gymnasium. The lobby, featuring a long counter of Tennessee marble, was the largest of the eight bathhouses on the Row. Murals and stenciling were added to the lobby and stairways sometime in the 1920s by Danish muralist W. L. Zelm for a European aura. In the mid-1940's, the interior halls and stairs were embellished with marble, ornamental iron balustrades, and silver glass interspersed with red panel wainscots. The Lamar closed November 30, 1985.
The Lamar Bathhouse building opened on April 16, 1923, replacing a wooden Victorian structure named in honor of the former U. S. Supreme Court Justice Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar who was Secretary of the Interior when the first bathhouse was built in 1888.
The present structure cost $130,000 to build. Harry Schwebke’s architectural design for the Lamar can be described as representing “a transitional style often used in clean-lined commercial buildings of the time that were still not totally devoid of elements left over from various classical revivals.” The stone, brick, and stucco construction is moderately Spanish in flavor and coordinates well with the five bathhouses with Spanish motifs. The most distinctive exterior component is the sun porch with its windows of three sections and a wide center bay. The Lamar was unique in that it offered a range of tub lengths (5', 5'6", 5'9", 6', 6'6") for people of various heights. It also had a small coed gymnasium with another separate area for women adjacent to the gymnasium. The lobby, featuring a long counter of Tennessee marble, was the largest of the eight bathhouses on the Row. Murals and stenciling were added to the lobby and stairways sometime in the 1920s by Danish muralist W. L. Zelm for a European aura. In the mid-1940's, the interior halls and stairs were embellished with marble, ornamental iron balustrades, and silver glass interspersed with red panel wainscots. The Lamar closed November 30, 1985.
The Buckstaff Bathhouse
The Buckstaff Bathhouse, named for controlling shareholders George and Milo Buckstaff, replaced the former Rammelsberg Bathhouse. Designed by Frank W. Gibb and Company, Architects, the present bathhouse cost $125,000 to build and contains 27,000 square feet on three main floors. Because it has been in continuous operation since it opened on February 1, 1912, it is one of the best preserved of all of the bathhouses on Bathhouse Row, but it has undergone many changes over the years. Originally it had a large hydrotherapeutic department. Only it, the Fordyce and the Imperial had these.
Buckstaff Bathhouse
The Buckstaff Bathhouse, named for controlling shareholders George and Milo Buckstaff, replaced the former Rammelsberg Bathhouse, a brick Victorian structure. The Rammelsberg replaced the A. B. Gaines bathhouse destroyed in the 1878 fire, but evidently there was a brick bathhouse on the site in the late 1850's.
Designed by Frank W. Gibb and Company, Architects, the present bathhouse cost $125,000 to build and contains 27,000 square feet on three main floors. Classical in design, with imposing Doric columns and urns gracing the front of the building, the building is of taupe brick with white stucco and wood trim. It epitomizes the Edwardian style of classically designed buildings popular during the first decade of the 20th century. Because it has been in continuous operation since it opened on February 1, 1912, it is one of the best preserved of all of the bathhouses on Bathhouse Row, but it has undergone many changes over the years. Originally it had a large hydrotherapeutic department. Only it, the Fordyce and the Imperial had these, and all three were allowed to close them in 1921.
Colorado marble is used throughout the interior, particularly in the bath halls. The floors are of white and colored hexagonal tile in varying patterns. All levels may be accessed by way of stairs or the building’s original elevator, with an ornate interior reminiscent of the Golden Age of Bathing. The capacity of the building is 1,000 bathers per day.
The mosaic tiled dome of the Quapaw Bathhouse makes it the most striking building on Bathhouse Row today.
Quapaw Bathhouse
The Quapaw Bathhouse opened in 1922. It is the longest on Bathhouse Row, occupying the site of two previous bathhouses. Vacant since 1984, it is the first to be leased for adaptive use. It will open as a family oriented spa in late June 2008.
Ozark Bathhouse
Designed by architects Mann and Stern of Little Rock, the bathhouse was completed in the summer of 1922, just a few months after the Quapaw opened for business. Built at a cost of $93,000 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, the building is set between low towers whose receding windows suggest the nascent Art Deco movement. Like the Quapaw, the Ozark was more impressive in its exterior facade than in its interior appointments, with only 14,000 square feet and twenty-seven tubs. It catered to a middle economic class of bathers unwilling to pay for frills. The Ozark closed in 1977.
Ozark Bathhouse
From the early 1870s to the great fire of 1878, the Weir and George Bathhouse occupied the site of the Ozark Bathhouse. This frame house, typical of the early bathhouses, probably would have fallen down due to decay if the fire hadn’t destroyed it first.
The first Ozark Bathhouse derived its name from the surrounding mountain range then considered to be a part of the Ozark range but now known as the Ouachita Mountains. This elegant Victorian structure was roomy and comfortable, but it was also built of wood and subject to rotting and fire just as the earlier primitive bathhouses were. The present fire-resistant brick and stucco Ozark Bathhouse replaced the Victorian structure. Designed by architects Mann and Stern of Little Rock, the bathhouse was completed in the summer of 1922, just a few months after the Quapaw opened for business. The owners rejected three earlier Mann and Stern designs considered too grand and expensive. Built at a cost of $93,000 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, the building is set between low towers whose receding windows suggest the nascent Art Deco movement. The prominence of the towers was lessened during the 1942 renovation that brought the building’s wings forward in line with the front porch, which was enclosed at the same time. The plaster-cast window boxes are unique on Bathhouse Row. The cartouches on both sides of the front are of the scroll and shield type with the center symbol described as The Tree of Health or The Tree of Life. Like the Quapaw, the Ozark was more impressive in its exterior facade than in its interior appointments, with only 14,000 square feet and twenty-seven tubs. It catered to a middle economic class of bathers unwilling to pay for frills. The Ozark closed in 1977. A painted wooden porch enclosure was removed in the late 1990s to return the building to its original appearance.
Quapaw Bathhouse
The Quapaw Bathhouse was built in 1922 on two lots that were previously used for two Victorian style bathhouses (the Horseshoe and the Magnesia). Designed by George Mann and Eugene John Stern, the building was originally to be named the Platt Bathhouse after one of the owners. However, when a tufa cavity was discovered during excavation, the owners decided to promote the cavity as an Indian cave, and the bathhouse was renamed Quapaw Bathhouse in honor of a local Native American tribe that briefly held the surrounding territory after the Louisiana Purchase was made.
The most impressive exterior detail of this Spanish Colonial Revival bathhouse is its dome, inset with colored tile and topped with a decorative cupola. Sculpins inset in scallops adorn each end of the building. Its 24,000 square foot area mostly covers the first floor, but a second floor had additional dressing rooms and a lounge room in the center. Construction costs for the building totaled $214,837. Its lease provided water for forty tubs, making it the largest business for bathing, its main service. Although other services were not stressed at the Quapaw, it did offer massages and some electro-therapy. The Quapaw closed in 1968, but shortly afterward other bathhouse owners reopened it as Health Services, Inc. It was the only bathhouse on the Row to make services available on evenings and weekends when the other businesses were closed. Shortly before its final closure in 1984, the bathhouse reclaimed its current and historic name. Recently, a 1928 windowed enclosure was taken off so as to restore the sun porch’s architectural design.
Fordyce Bathhouse
The Fordyce opened March 1, 1915. Designed by Little Rock architects Mann and Stern and constructed under the supervision of owner Sam Fordyce's son John, the building eventually cost over $212,000 to build, equip, and furnish. Totaling approximately 28,000 square feet, the Fordyce is the largest bathhouse on the Row. It has three main floors, two courtyards, and a basement under most of the building. The Fordyce became the first bathhouse on the Row to go out of business when it suspended operations on June 30, 1962, but it was extensively restored by 1989 and is now enjoying a renaissance as a historically furnished museum. It also functions as the park’s visitor center.
Fordyce Bathhouse
The site of Fordyce Bathhouse was home to several bathhouses and shops. Sam W. Fordyce had an interest in the Central Bathhouse on the site. The bathhouse burned in 1878, and the site was subsequently awarded to Sam W. Fordyce et al for a new bathhouse. The Palace Hotel was erected on the site in 1880, and razed in 1914 to make way for yet another new bathhouse, the Fordyce.
The Fordyce opened March 1, 1915. Designed by Little Rock architects Mann and Stern and constructed under the supervision of owner Sam Fordyce's son John, the building eventually cost over $212,000 to build, equip, and furnish. Sam Fordyce deliberately waited until Maurice’s bathhouse was complete to build his own, determined to improve on whatever amenities the Maurice offered. Totaling approximately 28,000 square feet, the Fordyce is the largest bathhouse on the Row. It has three main floors, two courtyards, and a basement under most of the building. The building's second and third floor windows have ornate ivory-glazed window surrounds of sculpted terra cotta with the bust of Neptune centered atop each of the second floor windows in the front. The interior features marble walls, benches, and stairs; terra-cotta fountains; stained glass skylights and windows; a wood-paneled coed gymnasium (at the time said to be the largest of its kind in the state); and private staterooms. Even the basement was bustling with activity, with its bowling alley and its quartz-crystal ornamented spring display. The bathhouse provided more services than any other bathhouse on the Row. In addition to the standard hydrotherapy, electrotherapy, massage, and mercury treatments, the management offered a full range of chiropody services, a beauty parlor, a shoe shine stand, an elegant assembly room complete with grand piano, a pool table in the men’s parlor, iced thermal water, Zander exercise machines, a roof garden, and many other amenities. The Fordyce became the first bathhouse on the Row to go out of business when it suspended operations on June 30, 1962, but it was extensively restored by 1989 and is now enjoying a renaissance as a historically furnished museum. It also functions as the park’s visitor center.
Maurice Bathhouse
Designed by architect George Gleim, Jr., the present Maurice Bathhouse was built by William (Billy) Maurice to replace an existing Victorian-style building, the Independent Bathhouse, later renamed the Maurice Bathhouse after owner Charles Maurice (William’s father). The present building opened for business on January 1, 1912. With a total floor space of 23,000 square feet, the three-story bathhouse had ample room for a complete range of services and amenities, including a gymnasium, staterooms, a roof garden, twin elevators, and in the 1930s a therapeutic pool, situated in the basement. It was the only bathhouse on the Row to have a pool. The Maurice closed in November 1974.
Maurice Bathhouse
Designed by architect George Gleim, Jr., the present Maurice Bathhouse was built by William (Billy) Maurice to replace an existing Victorian-style building, the Independent Bathhouse, later renamed the Maurice Bathhouse after owner Charles Maurice (William’s father).
The present building opened for business on January 1, 1912 and ushered in a new, more luxurious bathhouse milieu. The Maurice Bathhouse’s architectural style is eclectic, but its major stylistic features are California Modern, as seen in the works of Louis Mullgardt and others in the Bay Region School, incorporating Mediterranean and Renaissance Revival styles.
When Sam W. Fordyce completed his bathhouse in 1915, Maurice hired the architects of the Fordyce Bathhouse, Mann and Stern of Little Rock, to renovate the Maurice. He purchased large stained glass skylights from the Rossbach Art Glass Company in Columbus, Ohio (later of Chicago), along with hand-painted canvas wall coverings. To the third floor he added a striking Craftsman style den complete with stained glass ceiling and a frieze entitled “Dutch Life” hand-painted by artist Frederick Wernicke. The room was dubbed the “Roycroft Den” to commemorate Elbart Hubbard, founder of the Roycrofters craftsman design studio, who died on the Lusitania. Hubbard published a booklet from his “Little Journey” series on the Maurice Bathhouse.
With a total floor space of 23,000 square feet, the three-story bathhouse had ample room for a complete range of services and amenities. The interior boasted a lobby lined with gilded oak pilasters with ionic capitals, large stained glass skylights in both bath halls and the men’s pack room, private staterooms furnished with Mission Style oak pieces, and of course the Roycroft Den with its a stone hearth, stained glass clerestory, and plaster Bacchus mascarons. The Maurice also had a gymnasium, staterooms, a roof garden, twin elevators, and in the 1930s a therapeutic pool, situated in the basement. It was the only bathhouse on the Row to have such a pool. The Maurice closed in November 1974.
Hale Bathhouse
Named for early bathhouse owner John Hale, the present Hale Bathhouse is at least the fourth building to use this name. The present Hale Bathhouse is the oldest visible structure on Bathhouse Row. Most of the present structure was completed in 1892, as designed by George and Fremont Orff. A major 1914 remodel by the Little Rock architectural firm of George Mann and Eugene Stern significantly enlarged the red-brick building and modified its style to Classical Revival. In 1939 the building was redesigned by the firm of Sanders, Thompson, and Ginocchio in the Mission Revival style, and the brick was covered in stucco to look as it does today. The Hale closed on October 31, 1978.
Hale Bathhouse
Named for early bathhouse owner John Hale, the present Hale Bathhouse is at least the fourth building to use this name, although the first Hale Bathhouse, built in 1854, was on a site south of the present building. It more than likely burned, along with most of the rest of the town, during the civil war. After the war ended, the second Hale House was constructed on the present site, with its bathhouse situated on the opposite side of the creek. Sometime before 1882 a Victorian style bathhouse was built on the site by William Nelson, who signed a water lease for the site in 1879 effective 16 December 1878 to 15 December 1883. Construction costs were only $5,000. Excavation for this bathhouse was accomplished by blasting. According to Henry Hecox, a local citizen during that time, Nelson said, "there is no doubt about [there being danger of losing the springs by blasting] but as I have commenced I will finish". Supt. Hamblen apparently also thought the blasting was a danger but nevertheless did nothing to stop it. Hecox and others believed the blasting had decreased the flow of some springs and made others disappear entirely.
The present Hale Bathhouse is the oldest visible structure on Bathhouse Row. Most of the present structure was completed in 1892, as designed by George and Fremont Orff. A major 1914 remodel by the Little Rock architectural firm of George Mann and Eugene Stern significantly enlarged the red-brick building and modified its style to Classical Revival. It cost over $50,000.
Hale Bathhouse, 1889
The present building has 12,000 square feet on the two main floors. The lobby arcade was used as a sunroom where guests could relax in rocking chairs. In 1917 one of the hot springs was captured in a tiled enclosure in the basement, and this feature is still in place. This bathhouse also was connected with a thermal cave carved out of the mountainside and used as a “hot room” in the 1890s (it was rediscovered during a 1993 drainage project and is now a federally protected archeological site). In 1939 the building was redesigned by the firm of Sanders, Thompson, and Ginocchio in the Mission Revival style, and the brick was covered in stucco to look as it does today.
Superior Bathhouse
The first Superior was constructed on portions of the old Hale and Big Iron bathhouse sites. It was made of red brick, some of which may have been reused in the current building. The style of construction was markedly different from that of the Victorian bathhouses that were its contemporaries. The business’s name was said to derive from offering superior service, but it may also have been meant to appeal to the many health seekers arriving from the upper Midwest.
The present Superior opened on February 1, 1916. It was built by L. C. Young and Robert Proctor in “an eclectic commercial style of classical revival origin,” contained 11,000 square feet, and cost $68,000 to build. The architect was Harry Schwebke. Brick pilasters lend architectural interest to both the forward projecting sun porch and to the second story portion of the main building. The vaguely Doric pilaster capitals are inset with a center medallion of green tile, as are the paterae over the pilasters. Both the sun porch and the second story portion of this bathhouse are topped with brick parapets. The smallest bathhouse on the Row, the Superior also had the lowest rates; it offered only the basic hydrotherapy, mercury, and massage services. It closed in November of 1983.
Arlington Hotel
Arlington Hotel (Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas)
Arlington Hotel at head of Central Avenue after 1925.The Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa is a nearly 500 room resort in the Ouachita Mountains of Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, home of Oaklawn Race Track and the Arkansas Derby.
The resort's accommodations range for groups between 20 and 2000. There are spring-fed Mineral Baths and Massages in the Arlington Spa. The hotel provides three restaurants, and guests enjoy golf and tennis privileges at the Hot Springs Country Club.
It is located just north of "Bathhouse Row".
Constructed in 1893, the second Arlington Hotel contained 300 rooms.Samuel W. Fordyce and two other entrepreneurs financed the construction of the first luxury hotel in the area, the first Arlington Hotel which opened in 1875. When it was rebuilt in 1892-93, it was known as the New Arlington, and boasted of its Spanish Renaissance architecture. With 300 rooms in four stories of red brick, it had corner towers. This second Arlington burned to the ground on April 5, 1923. Those buildings were at the north end of Bathhouse Row, where the Arlington Park then was created. The third Arlington Hotel, designed by Mann and Stern in 1925, is the current hotel at the "Y" intersection at the corner of Central Avenue and Fountain Street. The building's huge size, Spanish-Colonial Revival style, and placement at the terminus of the town's most important vista made the building a key Hot Springs landmark. The original site became a park at the north end of Bathhouse Row.[1]
In the 1930's, the Arlington Hotel was a favorite vacation spot for Al Capone.
Hot Springs, looking north. Bathhouse Row is on right where Central Avenue widens. Published circa 1924.
Hot Springs Mountain Tower is a 65.8 metre high observation tower built of lattice steel on Hot Springs Mountain at Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA. Hot Springs Mountain Tower was built in 1983.
The tower was not the first to be built on the mountain. In the nineteenth century, a 75-foot wooden fire tower was constructed on the site. This tower was later struck by lightning and burned to the ground. The mid-twentieth century saw the construction of a 175-foot steel structure which later proved unstable and was torn down.
Hemingway House-Piggott
Ernest Hemingway wrote portions of his novel, A Farewell to Arms, at this home in w: Piggott, Arkansas, now a visitor center of the Crowley's Ridge Parkway.
Robinson, Joseph Taylor, House
From 1930 to 1937, this little-altered 2 1/2-story frame-and-granite dwelling was the home of Joseph Taylor Robinson (1872-1937), Senate Majority Leader during the early part of the New Deal. Robinson's ability to keep the "Senate's nose to the grindstone" played a major role in the achievements of Franklin D. Roosevelt's first "100 Days" in office, when such epochal laws as the Emergency Banking, Civilian Conservation Corps, Federal Emergency Relief, Agricultural Adjustment, Tennessee Valley Authority, Home Owners' Loan, and National Industrial Recovery Acts were passed.
Oaklawn Starting Gate
Oaklawn Park Racetrack
Even before the Civil War, the former pasture where Oaklawn Park Racetrack now stands in Hot Springs (Garland County) was home to impromptu races between local farm boys riding their fastest ponies. Today, the track is Arkansas’s only thoroughbred horse racing venue and the lone remaining gambling center in a city once known as much for its casinos as for its famous thermal baths.
The popularity of Sportsman’s Park, built on the southeastern edge of Hot Springs in the early 1890s, sparked an interest in developing the sport of thoroughbred horse racing in the area. Following the 1903 repeal of anti-gambling laws, Essex Park was built in 1904. Charles Dugan, Dan Stuart, and John Condon—owners of the Southern Club—decided to build a racetrack on a site closer to downtown. In 1904, they formed the Oaklawn Jockey Club and began construction shortly afterward. The name “Oaklawn” came from the rural community in which the track would be built, which in turn took its name from what Peter LaPatourel, an early settler to the area, called his home, around which a large stand of ancient oaks stood. Oaklawn Park opened on February 15, 1905, and prevailed as the lone remaining horse-racing venue by 1907. The original venue reportedly cost $500,000 and could seat 1,500 spectators. It included innovations such as a glass-enclosed grandstand and steam heat—one of the first racetracks in the country with either.
Anti-gambling sentiments, driven by former Essex Park owner and former state legislator from Garland County William McGuigan, rose in the form of a bill entitled “An Act to Prevent Betting in any Manner in This State on any Horse Race.” The bill was approved by the state government on February 27, 1907, and necessitated the closing of Oaklawn Park at the end of the 1907 season and for a decade after that. The infield of the track continued to be used for other purposes and was the site of the Arkansas State Fair beginning in 1906 and continuing through 1914, including a 1910 fair that was attended by former president Theodore Roosevelt.
By 1914, Oaklawn was owned by Louis A. Cella and his brother Charles, both of St. Louis, Missouri. The track has remained in the Cella family since then. In 1915, a bill to legalize horse racing and pari-mutuel betting , a system in which all bets are pooled and winners are paid based on odds established before each race, had passed both houses of the legislature but was vetoed by Governor George Washington Hays. The veto was challenged in the courts by local citizens but was eventually affirmed by the Arkansas Supreme Court.
The aftermath of fires in 1913 caused a downturn in tourism in Hot Springs, fueled by rumors that the city could not accommodate guests as a result of the damage. The persistence of these rumors inspired city leaders to find a way to draw tourists back to the city. In 1916, the Hot Springs Men’s Business League reopened Oaklawn Park by setting a short racing schedule beginning on March 11 under the guise of a nonprofit civic enterprise. Pari-mutuel betting was not allowed, but this did not preclude any unofficial wagering. This thirty-day season was a success and led to the reopening of both Oaklawn Park and Essex Park the following year, with plans for the two tracks to split a full season. Unfortunately, the newly refurbished Essex Park burned the day after its grand reopening in 1917, thus moving the entire season to Oaklawn and marking the end of racing at Essex permanently.
Pending litigation and the Men’s Business League sponsorship, along with the banning of pari-mutuel betting, had allowed Oaklawn Park to continue to have races until 1919, when Circuit Judge Scott Wood put forth the opinion that continuing to hold the races was illegal, and the track was again closed. In 1929, another bill made it through both the Arkansas House and Senate only to be vetoed, this time by Governor Harvey Parnell.
Attempts to pass legislation to permit pari-mutuel betting on horse races in 1931 and 1933 both failed, but in 1934, a group of prominent Hot Springs citizens and businessmen, including Mayor Leo P. McLaughlin, formed the Business Men’s Racing Association and announced that races would be held in March of that year. The move was inspired by growing national interest in the sport of thoroughbred racing and the need to draw more visitors to the city. On March 1, 1934, Oaklawn reopened to a crowd of 8,000 spectators without the consent of the legislature. Future legal ambiguity was avoided in 1935 with the passage of a bill to permit horse racing with pari-mutuel wagering. This time, the bill was signed into law by Governor Junius M. Futrell.
According to Oaklawn Park history, the first Arkansas Derby ran in 1936 with a purse of $5,000. The derby is the most prestigious race regularly held at Oaklawn Park and is considered a preliminary for contenders at the highest levels of national thoroughbred horseracing. Several participants in the Arkansas Derby, such as Smarty Jones and Count Fleet, have gone on to compete in and win some or all of the races that make up the Triple Crown.
Attendance at the track increased yearly, and in 1961, the thirty-day season was increased to forty-three days. By 1984, the racing season at Oaklawn Park had increased to sixty-two days a year, following steady increases in attendance and wagering, but the following years witnessed the first declines at the track in many years. This, coupled with the legalization of riverboat gambling in nearby Mississippi and Louisiana, led track leadership to explore ways to supplement Oaklawn’s income and help fund more competitively lucrative purses during the live racing season. This effort was aided by 1989 legislation to legalize simulcast or off-track betting and to allow for a public referendum on Sunday racing. Shortly thereafter, Oaklawn began offering betting on races from other tracks during its off season as well as during the live season. Sunday racing was also passed, and in 1989, the first Sunday racing at Oaklawn Park was held.
Continuing to press for additional sources of income to counter the growing impact of competition, Oaklawn leadership was given some additional relief by the Arkansas legislature in 1999 when “instant racing” was approved as a legal form of gambling. Instant racing involves a machine, much like a slot or video poker machine, which allows the player to bet on the outcomes of previously run horse races. These races are viewed in the form of digital videos that are played on the machine once the player has placed a bet. Instant racing was first tested at Oaklawn Park and has become increasingly popular nationwide as a way of providing electronic gaming where live racing is already legal. With the 2005 passage of another public referendum allowing so-called “games of skill” at Oaklawn and Southland Greyhound Park in West Memphis (Crittenden County), video poker was added to the gambling options available at Oaklawn year round.
Throughout Oaklawn Park’s history, the facilities have been regularly improved and expanded to serve greater numbers of patrons and accommodate changes in the business. Expansions and additions during the latter half of the twentieth century increased the size of the facility and improved available amenities. In 1992, the largest hand-crafted artwork at any thoroughbred racetrack in the country was completed on the front façade of Oaklawn. The mural, which measures 240 feet by fourteen feet, represents a race from post parade to the finish and can be seen along the upper edge of the building over the main or southernmost entrance. After 2000, the expansion of electronic gaming demanded more space, requiring the conversion of areas previously dedicated to live racing on the lower level at the south end of the facility. This area has evolved into what is now a self-contained electronic gaming area, complete with its own restaurant.
Notable people
Hot Springs is also noted as the boyhood home of former President Bill Clinton. Actors Alan Ladd and Gauge were born in Hot Springs and actor Billy Bob Thornton was born in nearby Malvern.
Adam L. Brown, a distinguished and highly decorated United States Navy SEAL was born in Hot Springs on February 5, 1974.Fulham Davies, stockbroker in Hot Springs, later opened the Merrill Lynch office in Little Rock and kept it intact during the Great Depression.
Lynn A. Davis, the temporary head of the Arkansas state police during the Winthrop Rockefeller administration, cleared Hot Springs of illegal gambling in 1967.
Metropolitan Opera diva Marjorie Lawrence was a resident for many years. Decorated World War II combat aviators Earl T. Ricks and I. G. Brown were Hot Springs natives who served as reform mayor and sheriff, respectively (1947–1949), before resuming their Air Force careers.
Hot Springs was the home of prominent attorney Q. Byrum Hurst, a member of the Arkansas State Senate from 1950–1972 and the Garland County administrative judge from 1947-1950.
The "Countess von Leon", the widow of Bernhard Müller, a leader of a small 19th century Utopian group, spent her last years in Hot Springs, where she died in 1881. Her work is commemorated at the Germantown Colony and Museum north of Minden, Louisiana, where she operated a religious commune from 1835-1871.
Clergyman A. T. Powers lived in Hot Springs from 1943–1948, when he was the pastor of the Oaklawn Missionary Baptist Church. He relocated to Texarkana to become director of missions.
NFL Hall of Fame Running Back Bobby Mitchell was born in Hot Springs on June 6, 1935.
NFL Dallas Cowboys free safety Cliff Harris played quarterback at Hot Springs High School until his senior year when he moved to Des Arc. He would later star at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia. He was an undrafted free agent for the Cowboys in 1970 and played until he retired in 1979. His name is in the Ring of Honor at Cowboys Stadium.
The town was a haven for gangsters in the 1930's, including longtime resident Owney Madden and Lucky Luciano.
George Luke Smith, who served in the U.S. House from Louisiana's 4th congressional district, relocated to Hot Springs, where he engaged in the real estate business and died in 1884.
Hot Springs was the birthplace of James Rector, who won a silver medal at the Olympics, and was the first Olympian from Arkansas.
Golfer Paul Runyan was born in Hot Springs. He went on to win two PGA Championships, and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Attractions
Bathhouse Row, consisting of eight turn-of-the century historic buildings, lies within Hot Springs National Park and is managed by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Two of the bathhouses remain in operation: The Buckstaff and the Quapaw, which was reopened in 2008. Another bathhouse, the Fordyce, has been converted into a museum to give tourists a glimpse into the fascinating past of the city. The federally-protected, natural thermal waters are also used for thermal bathing at several downtown hotels and a hospital. The water is available free for drinking at several fountains in the downtown area. It is also available free throughout the city in the homes of the residents.
Oaklawn Park has been in operation since 1904. (An additional horse racing park was once within the city limits, but was eventually closed). The meet, which is annually held from January through mid-April each year, is sometimes referred to as the "Fifth Season" and features the "Racing Festival of the South" during the last week of the racing season each April. Many Triple Crown contenders compete in the Arkansas Derby, which is the big finale each year of the meet. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, his half-brother Roger, and Billy Bob Thornton, all Hot Springs natives, have been known to frequent Oaklawn Park in the past.
Other annual events in town include the Valley of Vapors Festival, free Hot Springs Jazz Festival in September, the free Hot Springs Blues Festival in September, the downtown Bathtub Races in the spring, the Big Barbecue Cook off in Spring and Fall, the World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade every March 17, and the outdoor skating rink November through January. Venues for live music are Low Key Arts and Maxine's.
Superlift Offroad Vehicle Park hosts the annual Ouachita Jeep Jamboree, an off-road adventure weekend that draws people and their 4x4's from a dozen states. All come to Hot Springs to get a taste of the Ouachita Mountain trails, wildlife, and the views of the changing leaves in Arkansas.
Educational institutes and conventions are also important events in the spa city. Perhaps the most popular of these events is the Hot Springs Technology Institute (HSTI), drawing over 1300 participants each June. Hot Springs is also home to the annual alternate reality game Midnight Madness, based on the movie from which it gets its name. Teams race throughout the city at night, solving clues based on difficult puzzle and physical challenges. Games last 12 hours or more, with the winning team designing next year's game.
Points of interest
- Arkansas Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo
- Garvan Woodland Gardens
- Hot Springs Mountain Tower
- Hot Springs National Park
- Magic Springs and Crystal Falls
- Mid-America Science Museum
- Oaklawn Park
- Mount Ida crystal mines
External links
- City of Hot Springs • City of Hot Springs Official Website
- Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce • The Greater Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce
- History of Hot Springs' Jewish community (from the Institute of Southern Jewish Life)
- Hot Springs Convention and Visitor's Bureau • Hot Springs National Park tourism & vacation information
- Hot Springs Art Scene Covering Art, Music, Film, Performance Arts in Hot Springs Arkansas