Bill Clinton Slept Here, part II
Written: Nov 29 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: history and scenery
Cons: decrepitude
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| skippio's Full Review: Arkansas |
This is the second half of an extremely long epinion on Hot Springs, Arkansas. If you’re interested, we wouldn’t mind a couple extra clicks on the first half. Thanks for reading!
In days gone by, the focal point of Hot Springs was “Bathhouse Row,” a section of Central Avenue that is dominated by turn-of-the-century brick and stucco bathhouses. The Department of the Interior maintains one of the bathhouses at the southern end of the row as an administrative office for the park. Outside the building are plaques that describe the history of the bath industry, which reached its zenith in the Roaring Twenties when high-society travelers would go to soak in the healthful hot mineral water. Tourists still visit the area for the spas and “baths,” but they are offered in posh hotels instead of the bathhouses.
A fountain of continuously-flowing hot spring water sits directly in front of the building. This fountain was the object of the complete, unadulterated attention of two grinning Japanese tourists who stood filming the streams of water with a mini-camcorder for at least twenty minutes. Apparently water is a scarce commodity where they come from. Those are going to be some exciting home movies.
Another fountain stood to the right of the building, consisting of a wooden basin and five or six galvanized pipes, each with an individual spigot. We were told that local residents come here to get their drinking water, rather than use the municipal water supply which comes from Lake Ouachita. As a matter of fact, we happened to observe some people filling plastic jugs at the spigots. As another matter of fact, Mountain Valley and Aquafina, those purveyors of fine and exotic mineral waters, also get their water from springs in the area.
Eight bathhouses are preserved on Bathhouse Row, a National Historic Landmark District. As far as we know, these bathhouses are not currently in operation. Each bathhouse is imposing yet elegant, bordering on ostentatious. Architectural styles vary depending on the time of construction, and on the whim of whatever captain of industry was financing it. Victorian gingerbread style, Neoclassical, Spanish Revival (a style reminiscent of Moorish mosques, complete with dome and tile mosaics), and California Mission style bathhouses stand side-by-side.
On the hillside directly behind and above Bathhouse Row is the Grand Promenade, a wide brick-paved walkway. On one side of the Promenade is the hillside lined with tufa, the bumpy gray rock material formed from mineral deposits from the hot springs. Today, most of the largest springs have been contained and tapped, for use in the spas and as drinking water. In a couple places, however, the springs have been allowed to follow their natural path down the hillside.
How hot are these springs anyway? you might be asking. Depending on the spring, temperatures range from about 120-160 degrees Fahrenheit. We felt compelled to reach our hands into every source of running water we passed, to verify its hotness. This led to an urgent need to visit a restroom of some type; unfortunately, it was Thanksgiving, and those wacky National Park people saw fit to lock up all the public restrooms in honor of the holiday. So be aware of this if you decide to visit on a major holiday.
One structure in particular dominates the skyline of downtown Hot Springs. An immense yellow-brick behemoth, it sits high on the hill above the bathhouses and the Promenade. Nine stories high it is, with twin peaked towers and a wide staircase leading up to it from the street. Not only is it big, but it is a rare specimen of architecture, an undefinable blend of late Victorian elegance and early Art Deco geometry. As we drove around the town this building kept emerging into our line of vision. We kept asking ourselves, “What is that big building? A courthouse? An old resort hotel? What could it be?” Once we parked and walked towards it, we noticed a small discreet sign indicating the building was a rehab center.
Our only conclusion at that time was that an awful lot of Arkansans must need rehabbing. Later we found out that the building was originally an Army/Navy Hospital that housed wounded soldiers in the first half of the century. At some point in its history it made the conversion to its present purpose. Our Hot Springs informant, Klynt at IHOP, told us the patients are only allowed out at night so they won’t bother the tourists. Klynt also said it is best for our health and safety not to wander around the park at night.
Klynt, a native Hot Springian and waiter at IHOP, was a wealth of information. He said Hot Springs is the “retirement capital of Arkansas,” and people come to spend their declining years in Hot Springs and its satellite communities. (Therefore, golf courses abound for the sporting enthusiast.) Homeowners in the area, Klynt said, sometimes have a hot spring pop up on their property, flow for a while, then dry up and never be seen again. He also told us that the historic bathhouses, which once were owned by the Department of the Interior, have recently been sold to private owners who plan to renovate them.
At first glance, the bathhouses appear to be in excellent shape. Even peeking in the windows, it seems the bathhouses could re-open their doors to customers tomorrow. But stepping back almost to the street, and looking up to the second story, we noticed the windows were broken out and plaster was falling down from the ceilings. This aura of general disrepair seemed to be a common theme throughout the city of Hot Springs. The downtown area is full of shops, stores and hotels that look good from the sidewalk, but casting an eye to the upper stories or non-street-facing sides of the buildings, we noted peeling paint, crumbling masonry and other signs that downtown Hot Springs is in sad shape. A more glaring example of this is the two vacant late-Victorian buildings beside Levi Hospital downtown. The buildings had been abandoned for quite some time, and obviously pillaged of their fixtures such as doors, trim, railings, etc.
Hot Springs is a beautiful historic city in a tranquil mountain setting. Unfortunately, Hot Springs will never regain the glory, prominence and popularity it once had. It seems to us that, although Hot Springs remains a popular tourist destination, not enough revenue is coming in to maintain the historic buildings properly and keep them in their original state.
We recommend a visit to Hot Springs if you ever happen to be in the area. If you enjoy hiking, sight-seeing, fishing, golfing, boating, camping, horse racing, or shopping this might be a destination for you. As an added bonus, you can brag to all your friends that you visited Bill Clinton’s home town.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
skippio
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Member: W. Fritz
Location: Newton, Iowa
Reviews written: 44
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Winners of Fitter Families, Best Couple, Texas State Fair, 1926. We haven't aged much.
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