Hot Springs, Arkansas
Recently we took a short family vacation to Hot Springs. It's about a four and a half hour drive from Bentonville, regardless of the route you drive. Hot Springs quite a history, including a chapter filled with gambling and gangsters. The most famous, or infamous attraction in town is "Bathouse Row". Eight bath houses, built around the early 1900's offered spa type services featuring mineral water from naturally occurring hot springs. Over the years they were home to gambling, gangsters, and all sorts of illicit activities. All of the bathouses are now on the National Register of historic buildings and owned by the National Park service. I believe only one is still operating purely as a bathouse.
The Superior Bath House might be my favorite. The brick work and details are just beautiful. It is currently a micro brewery and features products made with those same hot mineral waters that were thought to cure what ails you back in the day.
The Fordyce Bathouse is the most ornate of the structures. The brick pattern is amazing and the cast stone window details are stunning.
Hot Springs sits adjacent to Lake Hamilton and is about 45 miles southeast of Little Rock. There are a multitude of condos for rent on the lake as well as hotels in the historic district. It is a tourist town and always has been, so there are a lot of things to do. Sitting next to a lake means you can rent boats or bring your own with all of your water toys. There are a lot of good restaurants along with all of the usual fast food chains. It's easy to see why Hot Springs has been a popular vacation destination for over one hundred years.
I would love to visit and explore here. Love the structures. They have attitude.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous Wordless Wednesday. ☺
With visitors from Babe Ruth to Al Capone, attitude is a very appropriate description for the early days of Hot Springs.
DeleteLove these buildings very quaint :-)
ReplyDeleteHave a nostalgictasic day :-)
I love everything about these buildings, including the stories they could tell, if only walls could talk.
DeleteA beautiful place!
ReplyDeleteThere are some architectural gems here for sure.
ReplyDeletevery interesting. I love photos of places like this right here in the USA that I have never heard of..What luxurious buildings
ReplyDeleteThis country has more interesting places than we can possibly visit in a lifetime.
DeleteYears ago when Logan was still a toddler we dropped him off with his grandparents and Heather went off to Hot Springs for a long weekend. We had a great time. We "took the cure" at the one remaining bath house still in operation and it was quite the experience. Women upstairs, men on the first floor, and modesty out the window. I was boiled like a lobster and kneaded like dough and was glad when it was over.
ReplyDeleteWe had a great time.
Years before that I knew a guy who was a co-owner of horse named Northern Falls and he and his partners raced him at the race track. I was a complete bumbler. First off, I made the acquaintance of a group of nuns who were at the track and told him that I was betting the way they were which embarrassed him and his fellows in the jockey club.
Second and the worst offense was when it came time late in the day for Northern Falls to race. Northern Falls ran the race and finished second and he and the partners got mad at me because I was happy and elated and cheering for the horse. Then they got mad when they found out that I had bet on the horse to "show" (come in third) so I was getting my hundred bucks back and a handsome bonus. Everybody else bet on the horse to win so they didn't get anything. So I was pouted at the rest of the day.
I was never much of a gambler.
My friend has come around now and laughs with me on my betting with the nuns and my celebration with the horse coming in second.
It probably time for you and Heather to make a return trip to Hot Springs and take "The Cure".
ReplyDelete