Hot Springs in Garland County, Arkansas — The American South (West South Central)

Bathhouse Row

— Hot Springs National Park —

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, November 5, 2022

1. Bathhouse Row Marker

Inscription. A stroll along Bathhouse Row evokes the Golden Age of Bathing, when “taking the waters” was a fashionable form of recreation. The present structures date from 1911 to 1939. Though the same waters were piped to all the bathhouses, the owners competed for customers by offering distinctive services and unique interior and exterior design.

The architecture reflects a vanishing era. Behind the bathhouse facades, bathers have sough restored vigor, relief from pain, and cures for dread diseases. The Buckstaff remains open for traditional bathing, while the National Park Service preserves Bathhouse Row as a significant national landmark in the culture of leisure.

Captions:
• (Top left) Restored Assembly room in Fordyce Bathhouse. In the middle of Bathhouse Row, at the Fordyce Bathhouse Visitor Center, you can explore restored interiors furnished with tubs, steam cabinets, and hydrotherapy equipment from 1915-1936.
• (Top, center) Fordyce Assembly room, 1920s.
• (Bottom) Bathhouse Row, 1906.

Erected by National Park Service.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1911.

Location. 34° 30.939′ N,

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93° 3.2′ W. Marker is in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in Garland County. It is on Central Avenue (Arkansas Route 7) south of Fountain Street, on the left when traveling south. Marker is on Arlington Lawn. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 325 Central Ave, Hot Springs National Park AR 71901, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Arkansas’ Ouachita Mountains.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

the Louisiana Purchase,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: 304 (a few steps from this marker); 308 (within shouting distance of this marker); Hot Springs' Postwar Boom (within shouting distance of this marker); Competing Claims for Hot Springs (within shouting distance of this marker); 260 (within shouting distance

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, November 5, 2022

2. Bathhouse Row Marker

of this marker); “A Modern and First Class Hotel” (within shouting distance of this marker); Hot Springs (within shouting distance of this marker); Site of the State Capitol of Arkansas (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hot Springs.

Bathhouse Row image. Click for full size.

via National Park Service (Public Domain), circa 1948

3. Bathhouse Row

Four women enjoy a stroll down Bathhouse Row in the late 1940s. The Buckstaff Bathhouse is in the foreground and the Ozark Bathhouse is in the background.

Bathhouse Row Today image. Click for full size.

via National Park Service (Public Domain)

4. Bathhouse Row Today

Now on the National Register of Historic Places, the bathhouses have been adapted for modern uses. Pictured right to left are Ozark Bathhouse and Quapaw Bathhouse. One of the Arlington Hotel's two towers is visible in the background.

Credits. This page was last revised on November 24, 2022. It was originally submitted on November 22, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 289 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 22, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 3, 4. submitted on November 24, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.