Bathhouse Row consists of eight bathhouses along Central Avenue, the main street of Hot Springs, Arkansas. Also included within the district are the Grand Promenade on the hillside behind the bathhouses, the formal entrance, and Stevens Balustrade, the fountains that provide the public with a taste of the waters purported at various times to heal every ailment imaginable, and the Hot Springs National Park's headquarters / visitor center. The bathhouses were constructed along the eastern edge of Hot Springs Creek, which was covered over and channeled into a masonry arch in 1884.
The Fordyce Bathhouse was built in 1914-15, and designed by George Mann and Eugene John Stern of Little Rock, Arkansas. In style, the building is primarily a Renaissance Revival structure, with both Spanish and Italian elements. The building is a three-story structure of brick construction, with a decorative cream-colored brick facing with terra cotta detailing. The foundation and porch are constructed of Batesville limestone. On the upper two stories, the brickwork is patterned in a lozenge design. The first floor exterior of the front elevation to the west is finished with rusticated terra cotta (shaped to look like ashlar stone masonry). The remainder of the first floor is finished with glazed brick. A marquee of stained glass and copper with a parapet of Greek design motifs overhangs the open entrance porch. The north and south end walls have curvilinear parapets of Spanish extraction. These side walls have highly decorative terra cotta windows on the first floor. On the front elevation, the fenestration defines the seven bays of the structure and provides the architectural hierarchy typical of Renaissance Revival style buildings. The windows on the first floor are of simple rectangular design. Those on the second floor are paired six-light casements within an elaborate terra cotta molding that continues up around the arched window/door openings of the third floor. The arches of those openings are incorporated into the terra cotta frieze that elegantly finishes the top of the wall directly below the cornice. Visible portions of the roof are hipped, covered with decorative tile. Hidden portions of the roof are flat and finished with built-up roofing material, with the exception of the large skylights constructed of metal frames and wire glass. The first floor is the lobby complete with terra cotta fountains, stained glass clerestory windows, and ceramic tile flooring. In the vicinity of the lobby desk are a check room, attendant dispatch room, and elevators. The north and central portions of the building house the men's facilities: cooling room, pack room, steam room, hydrotherapy room, and bath hall. The women's facilities, considerably smaller in size, are at the south end of the building. Although the men's & women's bath halls both have stained glass windows in aquatic motifs, the most impressive stained glass is the massive skylight in the men's area, with the DeSoto fountain centered on the floor directly below it. The second floor contains cooling rooms, dressing rooms, and courtyards. The third floor houses a massive ceramic-tiled therapeutic tub, areas for men's & women's parlors, and a wood paneled gymnasium to the rear. The most impressive space on the third floor is the assembly room (now museum) where the segmentally arched vaults of the ceiling are filled in with arched, stained glass skylights. Arched wood frame doors surrounded by fanlights and sidelights open out to the small balconies of the front elevation. The basement houses various mechanical equipment, a bowling alley (since removed), and the Fordyce Spring -- a glazed tile room with an arched ceiling and a plate glass window covering over the natural hot spring. The interior of the building was remodeled between 1930 & 1940 to accommodate the installation of the Hubbard therapeutic tub. The Fordyce became the first bathhouse on the Row to go out of business when it suspended operations on June 30, 1962, but between 1973 & 1984 the interior was extensively re-plastered, a new roof and flashing were installed, and much of the stained glass was restored. Today, the Fordyce is now enjoying a renaissance as a historically furnished museum.
Bathhouse Row is the largest collection of historic twentieth century bathhouses remaining in the United States, and it represents the high point of that industry when it reached its peak from the 1920's through the 1940's. As an entity, Bathhouse Row represents an area unique to the National Park System — an area where the natural resources historically have been harnessed and used rather than preserved in their natural state. On a regional level of significance, the bathhouses also form the architectural core of downtown Hot Springs, Arkansas. What remains on Bathhouse Row today are the architectural remnants of a bygone era when bathing was considered an elegant pastime for the rich & famous and a path to well-being for those with various ailments. Today only the Buckstaff provides baths and related services. Throughout the country, 19th century bathing rituals have been replaced by late 20th century health spas that emphasize physical fitness & diet, and that sometimes provide bathing as part of the regimen. The bath is no longer the central feature of rejuvenation provided by spas in the United States. Advances in medicine and the high costs of medical care have diminished the importance of bathing in physical therapy. The need for bathhouses on the scale of Bathhouse Row no longer exists. The 150 year tradition of providing bathing services has evolved to near extinction and hopefully the future will hold the key for continued operation of the buildings in related industries.
Bathhouse Row (and all the subsequent bathhouses) were added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on November 13, 1974 and listed as a National Historic Landmark on May 28, 1987. All of the information above was found on the original documents submitted for NRHP listing consideration and can be viewed here:
npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail/da48859c-f7aa-4d7b-8b3...
The Bathhouse Row portion of the Hot Springs National Park website can be viewed here:
www.nps.gov/hosp/learn/historyculture/bathhouse-row-today...
Three bracketed photos were taken with a handheld Nikon D7200 and combined with Photomatix Pro to create this HDR image. Additional adjustments were made in Photoshop CS6.
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