Hot Springs National Park



Today, with the threats of thunder storms and tornadoes, we set out to explore this great park.  The Department of Interior did a great job of preserving one of the bathhouses by turning it into the visitor center.  The Park Service was able to maintain the integrity of the building by restoring  all its furnishings to better depict what this place was like during the heyday of these bathhouses in the 1920-30s.  

Below I’ve tried to capture some of the stained glass windows and floors of this grand old bathhouse. 






The visitor center is housed in what was the Fordyce bathhouse. All of the interior photos are from that former bathhouse. Of the remaining bathhouses on the row on Central Avenue only two still operate. The Buckstaff has been in continuous operation  since it opened in 1912. The Quapaw is now an upscale salon that still offers bathhouse services. The remaining houses are either restaurants or breweries or under the operation of the park service. 

The windows:







The bathhouse is three stories and a basement where the water is controlled as it comes through the ground. The temperature is at about 143 degrees so it must be cooled so guests can enjoy it without getting burned. 

The rooms:
















Around town there are several locations where you can gilll water bottles with the water. It is hot so you must be careful.  


After exploring the row of bathhouses you can then hike up to the tower that sits high above the bathhouses. It was originally a fire lookout tower, now it’s a 20 story tower (with an elevator) that affords an amazing view of the surrounding landscape. One floor right below the outdoor deck has memorabilia from gangsters, to baseball players, to the history of segregation in the bathhouses.  Another fun fact is that this is where Bill Clinton went to high school so there is a wall dedicated to his history in high school.  

Phil and I went up but it was a very rainy day so not a lot to see.  

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