Hot Springs: Gangsters, Spas and Nature

Today Hot Springs is a beautiful, serene place making it hard to imagine that one time it was a hotbed of organized crime and gambling. Gangsters liked Hot Springs because it was a “happenin’ place” and it became a safe haven for outlaws with the police making sure there were “no problems.” Between 1926 and 1967 it was the largest gambling operation in the US. While gambling was never legal it was basically ignored because locals saw gambling as “wealth redistribution” and liked the money it generated. All that changed in 1967 when Winthrop Rockefeller was elected governor and put an end to the gambling. John and I learned about those early days at the Gangster Museum where the guide detailed the those early days and the exploits of Al Capone, Lucky Luciano and other villains who made Hot Springs was their home-away-from-home. Someone quipped that there were never bank robberies in Hot Springs because “…all the robbers were there to relax.” The stories are colorful with one Madame claiming she “…preferred a hit man over a politician. You know what a hit man is going to do.” Gangsters are not be good role models but they lived interesting lives. Today both the gambling and gangsters are just part of the city’s fascinating past.

The city is now known as a spa location but there are also wonderful unique shops. I was especially impressed with Tillman’s Antiques and Collectibles, which is museum-like with beautiful Faberge eggs, a Louis XV leather portfolio where petitioners placed their requests to be submitted to the king, porcelain items from the Chinese Han Dynasty and beautiful estate jewelry.

There are many facets to Hot Springs. Besides the new Museum of Contemporary Art there are several boutique galleries. The Blue Moon Art Gallery calls Hot Springs the “City of the Arts.” The family-owned gallery seeks to discover original and affordable artwork that represents artists, sculptors, and photographers. The first Friday of the month they feature an artist at an Open Reception. Gallery Central and Taylor’s Contemporanea are two other art galleries also offering amazing art. The performing arts have found a home in the Vienna Theater. Ken Goodman, who gave up his day job to follow his dream, takes theatergoers on a trip down memory lane. From the glittering crystal chandelier in the storefront window to the fainting couch in the Ladies’ Room, Goodman offers great entertainment. The night we were there a couple from Canada returned to Hot Springs and brought a couple of friends with them to enjoy the music of the 50s and 60s, a tribute to Broadway, and free homemade treats during intermission. Hopefully the theater survives as Goodman entire family is committed to seeing his dream succeed.

One of the storefronts on Central Avenue offers teaser-displays designed to entice people to visit the Mid-America Science Museum in a bucolic setting just a short distance from the city center. It is the largest science center in Arkansas and was the first of only two Smithsonian Affiliate museums. It offers hours of fun and learning for the entire family. Especially popular are the thrilling roller coaster-type trip on the Virtual Reality Simulator Ride and the gigantic indoor cave with swinging bridges and rope ladders. The Tesla Coil is always good for a hair-raising experience. We were impressed with the way Hot Springs has been reinvented to become a first-class destination.

Garvan Woodland Gardens is beautiful all year

Just outside of Hot Springs John and I went to the top of the 216-foot Mountain Tower for a panoramic view of the Ouachita Mountains and the Diamond Lakes Region. It was early in the morning and the mist was still rising out of the mountains. Hot Springs, nestled between the ridges, was barely visible. We were impressed with all the trees, rolling mountains, and lakes.

Located just a few miles from Hot Springs, Arkansas, on a peninsula that juts out into beautiful Lake Hamilton, Garvan Woodland Gardens is a 210-acre world-class botanical garden. Verna Garvan, a long-time resident of southern Arkansas, donated the land to the University of Arkansas in 1985. It was a beautiful day. John and I enjoyed wandering the trails. The picturesque Full Moon Bridge in the Garden of the Pine Wind reminded us of our trip to Japan, as did the Bonsai Garden. We had been told not to miss the Anthony Chapel. As we approached the 57-foot tall copper-clad Carillon it chimed the hour creating the perfect mood for our first view of the chapel that seemed to grow out of the forest. The chapel, designed by E. Fay Jones, a disciple of Frank Lloyd Wright, has soaring glass walls and vertical columns that blend beautifully with the tall yellow pines.

Later we stopped at Lookout Point Lakeside Inn, also on Lake Hamilton where we took a pontoon boat ride on the lake. It must be very busy during the summer months but on our tour it was serene with only a few fishermen and another tour boat. Lookout Point Inn is a beautiful new B&B perched on the hillside with beautiful gardens, a bubbling stream and a unique labyrinth trail.

Another day we visited Mountain Harbor Resort on Ouachita Lake, Arkansas’s largest man-made lake. It was named one of the cleanest lakes in America by the EPA. It is part of the Lake Ouachita National Forest and popular for hiking, camping, fishing, swimming, and boating. John went out on a houseboat for a couple hours. We like houseboating but this was a luxury DreamChaser houseboat with six queen bedrooms, two full baths, a hot tub, and a water slide. It sleeps 14! Amazing. Of course, there are smaller ones. I loved their on-shore accommodations that were upscale with a rustic ambiance that suited the forest setting. Everything is within convenient walking distance – the shore, pool, restaurant, Laundromat, marina, and spa. I confess, while John was being wowed by the houseboat I was relaxing at the spa. The area struck me as a great location for “snowbirds.” The entire area including Hot Springs and the lake region has beautiful forested mountains with everything in close proximity. Also, they have four seasons but their winter – well, what they call winter – is usually a few inches of snow for a day or so and then it goes away. I was told that there are several retirement villages in the area but they also mentioned that the summers can be very hot. On those hot day it would be a good time to enjoy the lake area – or to head back to NY where the weather is beautiful spring, summer and fall.

Hot Springs: America's First Resort

One of the great joys of travel is learning about new places. John and I had never been to Arkansas. To say that we were impressed with Hot Springs would be an understatement. Although many places claim to be “America’s First Resort,” Hot Spring is the only one that can claim to be the first federally protected area having been so designated in 1832. Hot Springs was, in essence, America’s first national park even though it wasn’t official until 1921. At first the accommodations were rudimentary – mainly a tent over a spring. But as more and more people arrived to enjoy the springs American entrepreneurs continued to improved accommodations ultimately creating luxurious bathhouses.

The Hot Springs National Park Visitor Center is housed in what was the Fordyce Bathhouse. The 1915 Spanish Renaissance Revival building has been restored. Interestingly the men’s bathing side with a beautiful stained glass ceiling is much larger and more elegant that the women’s side. In 1913, Colonel Samuel W. Fordycea planned a "...veritable temple of health and beauty…” because he felt the springs had saved his life."

An informative video in the Visitor Center explains the geology of the area. The hot springs are not volcanic in origin as many thought. It takes about 4000 years for the rain water to percolate down to a depth of 8000 feet. As is descends the water gets increasingly warmer. The result is 47 springs – most of which are 147 degrees and pure enough to drink.

The Fordyce is the starting point for exploring Bathhouse Row. In the 1960s many of the bathhouses closed and fell into disrepair. By 1985 only the Buckstaff Bathhouse remained open. Then in 2004 the National Park Service began to rehabilitate the vacant bathhouses and lease them out under the Historic Property Leasing Program. Today guests can enjoy the thermal waters of the newest spa, the Quapaw Baths & Spa with four large hot-water soaking pools along with private bathing rooms attended by they trained therapists. One of the most unique aspects of the Quapaw is their Natural Steam Cave. The bathhouse was built in the early 1920s over one of the natural thermal springs. A small man-made cave created at that time has been upgraded and is now a unique sauna/stream room where the spring still bubbles forth. Like the Buckstaff, the Quapaw offers a full range of massages and therapies along with a gift shop and café.

Not all the bathhouses are being resurrected as bathhouses. The Ozark Bathhouse opened to the public in 2009 as the Museum of Contemporary Art. The museum advertises that it “displays one of a kind pieces to create a one of a kind experience.” I’d have to agree. The artist, Boban, has created expressive full-size sculptures of athletes, angels, and musicians that shows fluidity of motion by welding together spoons. Equally expressive are the works of Liu Miao Chan whose life-like figures in leather show amazing emotion. He says, "Leather is soft, alive, like skin. It is warm and allows for movement. It gives life to the work."

The newest bathhouse to be revitalized is the former Hale Bathhouse, which now houses The Three Muse’ Arts Café and Bookstore run by a not-for-profit group that plans to eventually feature visual and performing arts. At one time there were eight operating bathhouses. Hopefully, all of them will reopen and once again in one form or another.