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

Whittington Park

— Hot Springs Central Avenue Historic District —

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 15, 2024

1. Whittington Park Marker

Inscription.
Whittington Park, a popular amusement park, was located at the end of Whittington Avenue. This park had a bicycle track, boxing ring, baseball fields, music stand, summer theater, electric merry-go-round, and concert stage.

Erected by City of Hot Springs.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment • Parks & Recreational Areas • Sports.

Location. 34° 31.099′ N, 93° 3.317′ W. Marker is in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in Garland County. It is on Central Avenue (State Highway 7) 0.1 miles north of Canyon Court, on the right when traveling north. The marker is embedded in the sidewalk, beside a streetlamp post. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 115 Central Avenue, 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.

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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: 101 Central Avenue (here, next to this marker); 122 (within shouting distance of this marker); Hot Springs' Resort Beginnings (within shouting distance of this marker); “An Open Log Cabin and a Few Huts” (within shouting distance of this marker); 126 (within shouting distance of this marker); Hot Springs' First White Settler (within shouting distance of this marker); The Ostrich Farm (within shouting distance of this marker); Hot Springs' First Bathhouse (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hot Springs.

Also see . . . Whittington Park (National Park Service).

Excerpt: Whittington Park was named in honor of Hiram Abiff Whittington, an early Hot Springs resident born on January 14, 1805, in Boston, Massachusetts. He eventually built a large Victorian home on Park Avenue, close to the intersection of
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 15, 2024

2. Whittington Park Marker
Looking north along Central Avenue. The marker is embedded in the sidewalk, beside the streetlamp post. Whittington Avenue ends at Central Avenue in the left background.
Whittington, Central, and Park Avenues. Whittington served as postmaster and county clerk in Hot Springs, and in 1835 he held office as councilman in the Arkansas General Assembly. An American Civil War veteran, Whittington was a highly respected citizen of Hot Springs until his death in 1890. The Whittington Park acreage was purchased in 1896. Tennis grounds with two pavilions of their own added to the park’s amenities. A bandstand was strategically placed among the paths and other landscape features. The entire park was enclosed within a substantial iron fence and approachable via iron gates with stone pillars.
The largest of the park’s pavilions was removed in November, 1932; in September of 1944, the last pavilion was removed. Today the bridges over Whittington Creek are the only reminders that Whittington Park was once an elegant pleasure-ground, but it remains an oasis of shade and greenery that creates a pleasant transition between the residences to the north and the Whittington Avenue entrance to West Mountain.

(Submitted on January 5, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Credits. This page was last revised on January 5, 2025. It was originally submitted on January 4, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 227 times since then and 35 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on January 5, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.