Room with a view
The sun was shining that Wednesday afternoon as tourists walked along the sidewalk in front of Hot Springs’ Bathhouse Row. I was touring the soon- to- open boutique hotel across Central Avenue known as The Waters. The tour was being conducted by Hot Springs financial adviser Robert Zunick, who teamed up with veteran architects Bob Kempkes and Anthony Taylor to transform the Thompson Building, whose upper stories long had been empty.
Even though I grew up only about 30 miles from Hot Springs, I had never experienced this view. For decades, the upper stories of buildings on that side of Central Avenue were empty and closed to visitors. I was struck by the view from the rooms on the upper floors. I could study the tops of the bathhouses and watch people walking behind them on the Grand Promenade.
The Grand Promenade, which runs parallel with Central Avenue from Reserve Street to Fountain Street, began as a Public Works Administration project in the 1930s and finally was completed in 1957. The north end passes the site of the first Hot Springs National Park superintendent’s residence, which was demolished in 1958. The south entrance is just below the former Army- Navy Hospital, now the Arkansas Career Training Institute.
As Zunick talked about the restoration, it became evident that the view from here is dominated by three classic structures dating to the 1920s and 1930s. To the south is the Army- Navy Hospital building. To the north are the Arlington Hotel and the Medical Arts Building. They’re three of the most iconic structures in the state, and their preservation is vital to the cultural fabric of Arkansas.
During an 1882 dinner party on the second floor of the Palace Bathhouse, former Confederate Army surgeon A. S. Garnett hosted a former Union Army general, U. S. Sen. John Logan of Illinois. According to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture, “The impressed senator said the city was ‘ an ideal location for an institution of this character’ and promised to introduce legislation for an appropriation upon his return to Washington. By the end of June, $ 100,000 was approved for the building of a 30- bed joint military hospital, the first such effort in U. S. history. President Chester A. Arthur signed the bill in 1882. The Army- Navy Hospital opened to patients in January 1887 under the direct jurisdiction of the secretary of war. It was not until 1957 that control of the facility was transferred to the U. S. Army.”
The current seven- story, brick- andsteel structure was built in the early 1930s at a cost of almost $ 1.5 million. Because of its therapeutic baths, it was the largest center in the country during World War II for treating adults with infantile paralysis. More than 100,000 people were treated for various ailments at the hospital from 1887 until the end of World War II. On April 1, 1960, the facility was transferred to the state as a rehabilitation hospital. It later became known as the Hot Springs Rehabilitation Center. The name was changed to the Arkansas Career Training Institute in 2009, the medical wing was closed and the focus became vocational training.
While parts of the old Army- Navy Hospital remain in use, the Medical Arts Building at 236 Central Ave. sits sadly empty. It was the tallest building in the state from its completion in 1930 until 1960, when the Tower Building was completed in downtown Little Rock. Preserve Arkansas listed it in 2012 as one of the state’s most endangered structures. The Medical Arts Building was built by general contractor G. C. Gordon Walker, with work beginning Dec. 1, 1929. Investors from Little Rock and New Orleans purchased the site, which had been occupied by the Rector Bath House, from the Rector estate of St. Louis. The Rector family had obtained the property from the federal government in 1893.
The Medical Arts Building was designed by the Little Rock architectural firm Almand & Stuck, which also designed Little Rock Central High School. It long has been recognized as one of the top Art Deco skyscrapers in the South. Bas- relief limestone carvings on the frieze and on the facing of the main entrance are among the building’s notable features, along with the bronze grille work above the doors. A September 1930 article in the Sentinel- Record at Hot Springs declared: “The structure as it stands is one of the most imposing buildings in Arkansas and a valuable addition to the business district of Hot Springs.” The brick and reinforced concrete structure cost $ 375,000 to build. It has been largely empty for decades.
As I looked to my left, the Arlington Hotel joined the Medical Arts Building in dominating the view. This is the third incarnation of the Arlington. The original hotel, completed in 1875, was across Fountain Street on what’s now known as the Arlington Lawn. A larger hotel was built in 1893 but burned in April 1923. The current building was completed in November 1924. It was designed by George Mann, the primary architect of the Arkansas Capitol.
The list of famous people who have stayed at the Arlington through the years is a long one. Sen. Joe T. Robinson announced his acceptance of the Democratic nomination for vice president in 1928 from the hotel’s front steps. Chicago gangster Al Capone would book the entire fourth floor on visits to Hot Springs. Kate Smith and Will Rogers were among other regular guests.
With the new view from the renovated Thompson Building, a visitor gains a renewed sense of the city’s rich history.
Freelance columnist Rex Nelson is the director of corporate community relations for Simmons First National Corp. He’s also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried.com.