Imperial Bathhouse

Imperial Bathhouse. Hot Springs National Park. The luxurious Imperial Bathhouse was built on this location in 1893, offering wealthy bathers deluxe amenities almost two decades before the opulent Maurice and Fordyce bathhouses would dominate Bathhouse Row. The red brick building was constructed by local banker and businessman Charles N. Rix and was of Moorish architectural style., It featured keyhole windows and domed turrets that reflected the exotic Middle Eastern and Asian design influences preferred in the late Victorian Era. Extensively remodeled and expanded in 1912, the Imperial was the first bathhouse to offer patrons a gymnasium and private dressing rooms. Interior spaces were finished in tile and marble, with almost no exposed wood, and all furniture was made of white enameled steel, all to improve cleanliness and sanitation. Although financially successful, the building was torn down in 1937 to make way for the southern terminus of the Grand Promenade.