Bathhouse Row
The centerpiece of downtown Hot Springs is a row of buildings in Hot Springs National Park constructed in the heyday of the bathing industry, now the home of a growing number of businesses that draw droves of visitors each year.
Known as Bathhouse Row, the eight grand buildings were constructed from 1892 to 1923. This area, along with the Grand Promenade, was designated as a National Historic Landmark District in 1987, according to the National Park Service.
From north to south, the buildings are the Superior, the Hale, the Maurice, the Fordyce, the Quapaw, the Ozark, the Buckstaff and the Lamar.
The Superior, which opened on Feb. 1, 1916, was built by L.C. Young and Robert Proctor in “an eclectic commercial style of classical revival origin,” at a cost of $68,000. It is now home to the Superior Bathhouse Brewery and Distillery.
Named for early bath house owner John Hale, the present Hale Bath House is at least the fourth building to use this name. The present Hale is the oldest visible structure on Bathhouse Row. Pat McCabe and his wife, Ellen, are redoing the Hale as a boutique hotel and restaurant.
Designed by architect George Gleim Jr., the Maurice was built by William “Billy” Maurice to replace an existing Victorian-style building, the Independent Bath House, later renamed the Maurice after owner Charles Maurice, William’s father.
The Quapaw, which opened in 1922, is the longest on Bathhouse Row, occupying the site of two previous bath houses. It now houses the Quapaw Baths & Spa.
Designed by architects Mann and Stern of Little Rock, the Ozark was completed in the summer of 1922, just a few months after the Quapaw opened for business. Built at a cost of $93,000 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, the building is set between low towers whose receding windows suggest the nascent Art Deco movement.
The Buckstaff, named for controlling shareholders George and Milo Buckstaff, replaced the former Rammelsberg Bath House. it has been in continuous operation since Feb. 1, 1912.
The Lamar opened on April 16, 1923, replacing a wooden Victorian structure named in honor of the former U. S. Supreme Court Justice Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar.