Page 11 - February 2022

travelers was my grandmother, who under doctor’s orders, spent time in Hot Springs in the 1930s and early 1940s to treat what ailed her.
By the 1960s, therapeutic and medicinal bathing had fallen out of vogue. This put nearly all of the his- toric (and often grand) bathhouses out of business. They became ram- shackle and by 1985 only one (The Buckstaff) remained operational. With more recent appropriations of funds, many of the historic bath- houses have reopened as day spas, hotels, and even art museums (most with attractive décor restored from their original heyday and palate- pleasing dining options as well). Today, the HSNP Visitor Center is housed in the fully restored Fordyce Bathhouse. The Fordyce was con- sidered the best bathhouse in Hot Springs in the first decades of the 1900s and has not only been re- turned to its former splendor but remains historically accurate with
furniture and medicinal bathing equipment from that era. Today, Bathhouse Row in downtown Hot Springs is a National Historic Land- mark District and con-
tains several bathing and
dining facilities open to
the public (Note: COVID limitations may apply,
please inquire in advance).
Bathing and spa services
at the various bathhouses
are regulated and inspect-
ed by the National Park
Service (NPS), including
the only remaining tradi-
tional therapeutic bathing experience offered at The Buckstaff, now in its 110th
year of continuous opera-
tion. Modern medicine has
little place in the thermal
springs today, but there is
little doubt that some relaxation and a nice hot soak rarely does harm to one’s health and disposition.
“Today, Bathhouse Row in downtown Hot Springs is a National Historic Landmark Dis- trict ... ”
Cessna Piston Twins
FEBRUARY 2022
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 9