Contractor sought to replace Bathhouse Row magnolias

HOT SPRINGS — Hot Springs National Park is still searching for a contractor to remove 10 of the iconic southern magnolias that line historic Bathhouse Row, which means the trees may not be cut down until sometime this fall, said Mark Scott, facility manager for the national park.

In May, the national park announced the project on what is sometimes called “Magnolia Promenade” in downtown Hot Springs. Fifteen magnolia saplings will replace the trees that will be axed, Scott said. There are now 50 magnolias lining Bathhouse Row. Once the project is completed, the number will increase to 55. The new, younger trees will be old enough so as not to create a vastly noticeable difference from the existing ones, he said.

The news that a number of the magnolias are going to be cut down has caused concern in the Hot Springs community. Park officials said the trees must go because they are becoming potentially dangerous.

The national park office has been fielding numerous calls from residents who are puzzled about why the trees will be removed. Meanwhile, an article published May 22 in The Sentinel-Record received hundreds of comments, some expressing anger, about the trees’ removal.

“That’s dumb. Leave the trees alone. They’re gorgeous,” wrote one commentator on Facebook.

It is true that the trees likely were planted in the late 1800s or several decades later, Scott said.

Magnolia trees were first planted on Bathhouse Row in 1894 to provide shade for the bath houses and for the sidewalk, Tom Hill, museum curator for the national park, said in an email. More magnolias were added in 1914 to fill any gaps between the originals.

A tornado damaged some of the trees in 1924. Five magnolias were killed by an underground gas leak in 1949, Hill said. A few have been damaged by traffic accidents. Southern magnolias, or

magnolia grandiflora, the species name, grow about 1 to 2 feet annually and can live a century or more. They are classified as evergreens and are native to the southeastern United States.

The trees that will be cut down are towering, with thick trunks and branches that cascade beautifully over the sidewalks in front of the bath houses. The problem is the space where the magnolias grow is simply too small for a plant that is so big and with such a vast root structure, according to Scott.

In a natural environment, not constrained by concrete, the root structure of the magnolia would extend out as far as the canopy of the tree reaches above ground.

The roots of the magnolias downtown are not able to do this, and they are growing on top of one another in a tangled mess that, in some cases, is beginning to ball up above ground.

“The roots can’t get the nutrients they need,” Scott said. “Eventually they will die if there is nowhere else for the roots to go.”

The trees have become topheavy and could topple over, damaging cars, injuring pedestrians, or both, Scott said. Additionally, some of the trees have huge holes in their trunks, caused possibly by disease or insect infestations over the years. These are unstable for similar reasons.

“The biggest driving force is public safety,” Scott said, adding that the project had to be approved by the National Park Midwest Regional Headquarters in Omaha, Neb.

“The ultimate decision was theirs,” he said.

Park officials in Hot Springs said they sent dozens of photos of the trees to the office in Omaha. They also consulted with Arkansas forestry officials regarding the health of the magnolias.

But though residents enjoy the beauty, and the shade, of the southern magnolias downtown, every so often some will have to be removed because the small plots of land where they grow are not ideal living conditions for magnolias or any tree of substantial size. It’s also virtually impossible to change the size of the beds where they are planted without compromising the size of the promenade.

“The magnolia trees are a beautiful tree on Bathhouse Row with the intent of giving visitors the feeling of being in the South,” said retired Hot Springs National Park Superintendent Roger Giddings. “They are high-maintenance, however, and replacing those that are in definite decline or a safety hazard to visitors is sound management of them.

“You hate to lose a friend,” he added. “But sometimes, you do.”