G.A.S.P.

The next day (2-3) we went to Hot Springs National Park, which essentially surrounds the city of Hot Springs.  This Park is quite different from any of the other 35 National Parks I’ve visited so far.  At one time there was much scenic splendor here relative to the numerous hot springs that bubbled out of Hot Springs Mountain and cascaded down the hillsides forming tufa (calcium carbonate) cliffs 50 to 60 feet high and up to 400 yards long.  In fact, the hot springs and surrounding lands were the first tracts of land in the United States that were “reserved” by the Federal Government simply to protect a natural resource.  This occurred in 1832 with the creation of the Hot Springs Reservation – a full 40 years before Yellowstone became the nation’s first National Park.  The scenic splendor is mostly gone now, however.  Oh the surrounding mountains and forests are still pretty, but the creek is now buried (beneath Central Avenue since 1884) and the springs were all covered with metal boxes in the same timeframe (to prevent contamination of the spring water) so they no longer cascade down the hillside.

So why then is this a National Park?  In 1921, the first Director of the National Park Service, Stephen Mather, convinced Congress to declare the Hot Springs Reservation the 18^th National Park.  He did so because this had become a very popular destination for vacationers and health seekers who found relaxation and cure (at least perceived) for whatever ailed them – everything from liver disease to tuberculosis to syphilis.  There was a genuine belief at the time that the waters of Hot Springs had medicinal value and that the right (doctor- prescribed) treatment could cure many ailments. 

The role of the Federal Government since the creation of the Reserve had been to control the hot springs.  By the 1870s, the government had allowed private bathhouses to be built along Hot Springs Creek.  These ranged from the simple to the elegant, and the government even operated a free bathhouse and public health facility for those who could not afford the private enterprises.  The National Park Service took on this role in 1921.  In the 1920s new bathhouses of brick and stone replaced the older wooden structures along Bathhouse Row.  These new buildings came with all of the latest equipment and technology, as well as the opulence of marble, brass, stained glass, murals, fountains and statues.  Bathers were pampered with hot baths, steam cabinets, hot and cold packs and massage.   

Shortly after WWII, there were advances in medical technology that led to the rapid decline of water therapy.  During the 1950s and 1960s, the elegant bathhouses of Hot Springs closed one by one.  Today, only one of the traditional bathhouses (the Buckstaff) on Bathhouse Row is still in operation (several other hotels also still offer baths, however). 

When the decline hit, I’m not sure that the National Park Service knew what to do with its Park.  Ultimately, however, they came up with a winner of a plan.  I quote from the National Park brochure: “In the 1980s local citizens and the National Park Service began exploring ways to return the bathhouses and Bathhouse Row to the splendor, if not the function, of Hot Springs in its heyday.  This has resulted in the fortuitous union of private and public money, with public guidance, to return the exteriors of the buildings to their original splendor.  The interiors are being restored and adapted for a multitude of new uses under the provisions of a historic property leasing program.  This is an example of the merger of the needs of the future with the preservation of the past and is an essential element in the revitalization of Bathhouse Row and downtown Hot Springs.”