The Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa | |
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General information | |
Location | Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas |
Address | 239 Central Avenue |
Coordinates | 34°31′0″N93°3′11″W / 34.51667°N 93.05306°W |
Opening | 1875 (original building), 1893 (second building), 1924 (current building) |
Other information | |
Number of rooms | 484 |
Website | |
www | |
Arlington Hotel | |
Part of | Hot Springs Central Avenue Historic District (ID85001370 [1] ) |
Designated CP | June 25, 1985 |
The Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa is a resort in the Ouachita Mountains of Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, home of Oaklawn Race Track and the Arkansas Derby. The Arlington's design inspired the Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells, Texas.[ citation needed ] The hotel is located at the north end of "Bathhouse Row".
Samuel W. Fordyce and two other entrepreneurs financed the construction of the first luxury hotel in the area, the first Arlington Hotel, which opened in 1875. [2] After almost 20 years of use, it was razed to build a new hotel. [3]
When it was rebuilt in 1892–93, [2] the hotel was known as the New Arlington, and was designed with Spanish Renaissance architecture. With 300 rooms in four stories of red brick, it had corner towers. This second Arlington burned to the ground on April 5, 1923, killing one fireman and causing an estimated $1.6 million in damage (1923 dollars, about $23.5M in 2018 dollars). [4]
Those buildings were at the north end of Bathhouse Row, where the Arlington Park then was created. The third Arlington Hotel, designed by Mann and Stern in 1924, is the current hotel at the "Y" intersection at the corner of Central Avenue and Fountain Street. The building's huge size, Spanish-Colonial Revival style, and placement at the terminus of the town's most important vista made the building a key Hot Springs landmark. The original site became a park at the north end of Bathhouse Row. [5]
In the 1930s, the Arlington Hotel was a favorite vacation spot for Al Capone at room 443. The whole floor was even rented out for his staff and bodyguards. [6]
Many famous people including the U.S. presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, George H.W. Bush, and native son Bill Clinton have stayed. Even baseball legend Babe Ruth and Tony Bennett, Barbra Streisand and Yoko Ono have all luxuriated at the hotel. [6]
For 30 years the hotel was air conditioned via windows and door louvers until 1955 when the central heating & air was installed. The three guests elevators, in operation since 1969 replaced the original elevators that were installed in 1924. The original bath house elevator – lined with beveled glass and shining brass still exists and still manually operates. [6]
The Arlington Hotel has a history of luxury and class, a prime example of all the vast celebrities that have come to it. it was even referred to as “the most elegant and complete hotel in America” in Charles Cutter's 1892 Guide Book. [6]
The nearly 100-year old hotel is under extensive renovations as of August of 2023. CEO of Sky Capitol Group Al Rajabi purchased the hotel and, backed by Arkansas Federal Credit Union, is restoring the exterior facade back to how it looked in 1924. [7] This preservation effort also seeks to modernize the building to update it to current building codes, as well as modern guest sensibilities.
The Lobby Bar of the Arlington is on Esquire Magazine's list of the best bars in America.
Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is named. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 37,930, making it the 11th most populous city in Arkansas.
The Omni Bedford Springs Resort is a resort hotel which is located outside of Bedford, Pennsylvania. Established in 1806, it is one of the last and best-preserved of 19th-century resort hotels based around mineral springs.
A resort is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel is frequently a central feature of a resort and the term resort may be used for a hotel that provides an array of entertainment and recreational activities. Some resorts are also condominium complexes that are timeshares or owned fractionally or wholly owned condominium. A resort is not always a commercial establishment operated by a single company, but in the late 20th century, that sort of facility became more common.
Hot Springs National Park is an American national park in central Garland County, Arkansas, adjacent to the city of Hot Springs, the county seat. Hot Springs Reservation was initially created by an act of the United States Congress on April 20, 1832, to be preserved for future recreation. Established before the concept of a national park existed, it was the first time that land had been set aside by the federal government to preserve its use as an area for recreation. The hot spring water has been popularly believed for centuries to possess medicinal properties, and was a subject of legend among several Native American tribes. Following federal protection in 1832, the city developed into a successful spa town.
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are especially widespread in Europe and Japan. Day spas and medspas are also quite popular, and offer various personal care treatments.
Gilroy Yamato Hot Springs, a California Historical Landmark and on the list of National Register of Historic Places, is a property near Gilroy, California famed for its mineral hot springs and historic development by early settlers and Japanese immigrants. The earliest extant Italianate–Victorian style structures date from the 1870s, and the earliest bathhouse dates from 1890. Other early structures are a Buddhist shrine from 1939 and a Japanese garden teahouse from that same year. The property is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The hot spring's temperature ranges from 99° to 111 °F. These springs are the site of occurrence of certain extremophile micro-organisms, that are capable of surviving in extremely hot environments.
Banff Upper Hot Springs are commercially developed hot springs located in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada, near the Banff townsite. Europeans first became aware of the springs in 1883. As it has been developed since, the hot pool is outdoors and while in the pool, visitors can look across the valley to Mount Rundle. It is located at 1,585 metres (5,200 ft) of elevation, which makes it the highest hot spring in Canada.
Bathhouse Row is a collection of bathhouses, associated buildings, and gardens located at Hot Springs National Park in the city of Hot Springs, Arkansas. The bathhouses were included in 1832 when the Federal Government took over four parcels of land to preserve 47 natural hot springs, their mineral waters which lack the sulphur odor of most hot springs, and their area of origin on the lower slopes of Hot Springs Mountain.
The Arlington Hotel Open was a PGA Tour event that was played from 1955 to 1963 at the Arlington golf course of the Hot Springs Country Club near the Arlington Hotel, now known as the Arlington Resort Hotel and Spa, a 484-room resort in the Ouachita Mountains of Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas. The event was also known as the Hot Springs Open or Hot Springs Open Invitational. The Majestic Golf Course was constructed by Willie Park, Jnr. in 1898. The Arlington Golf Course was designed and built by William Diddle in 1927. Jimmy Demaret won the last of his 31 PGA Tour wins at this event in 1957.
The Warm Springs Pools are two spa structures near Warm Springs, Virginia. The name was changed in the 20th century from "Warm Spring Pools" to "Jefferson Pools" before being returned to its original name in 2021. The spa is part of The Homestead, a resort hotel in nearby Hot Springs.
George Richard Mann was an American architect, trained at MIT, whose designs included the Arkansas State Capitol. He was the leading architect in Arkansas from 1900 until 1930, and his designs were among the finalists in competitions for the capitols of several other states.
Manitou Bathhouse or Manitou Spa is a historic building located along Fountain Creek in Manitou Springs, Colorado. Once used as a mineral water bathhouse or spa, the building is now used for stores and other businesses on the first floor. The second and third floors hold residential units. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. Located in the building is Adam's Mountain Cafe.
The Central Avenue Historic District is the historic economic center of Hot Springs, Arkansas, United States, located directly across Central Avenue from Bathhouse Row. Built primarily between 1886 and 1930, the hotels, shops, restaurants and offices on Central Avenue have greatly benefited from the city's tourism related to the thermal waters thought to contain healing properties. Built in a variety of architectural styles, the majority of the buildings constituting the district are two- or three-story structures. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985, at which time forty contributing structures were identified; 101 Park Avenue was added in 2007, and a boundary decrease was approved in 2019.
The Jack Tar Hotel and Bathhouse is a historic former tourist resort property at 145 Oriole Street in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
The Woodmen of Union Building is a historic commercial building at 501 Malvern Avenue in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is a four-story structure, built mainly out of brick and ceramic blocks, although its southeastern section has upper levels with wood framing and finishing. Its main facade has an elaborate projecting entrance portico, with the entrance set in an elliptical-arch opening supported by fluted pilasters. The interior retains significant original features, including a bank vault, marble wainscoting, and a 2,500-seat auditorium. It was built in 1923-24 for the Supreme Lodge of the Woodmen of Union, an African-American social organization, which operated it as a multifunction bathhouse, hotel, hospital, bank, and performance venue. It was purchased in 1950 by the National Baptist Association.
The Hot Springs Federal Courthouse is located at 100 Reserve Street in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is a three-story building, with a steel frame clad in orange brick, with porcelain panels and aluminum-clad windows. It was designed by the Little Rock firm Wittenberg, Delony & Davidson, and was built in 1959–60 on the site of the Eastman Hotel, once one of the city's largest spa hotels. It is one of the city's best examples of commercial International architecture.
Historic Hotels of America is a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation that was founded in 1989 with 32 charter members; the program accepts nominations and identifies hotels in the United States that have maintained their authenticity, sense of place, and architectural integrity.
The Hot Springs Arlingtons were a professional Negro leagues baseball team based in Hot Springs, Arkansas from 1896 to 1904. The Hot Springs Arlingtons played as members of the Southern Negro League and hosted home games at Whittington Park. The team was known as the Hot Springs Blues in 1904.
Tate Springs was a historic world-class luxury resort complex located on U.S. Route 11W in Bean Station, Tennessee, United States. Known for its mineral spring water shipped internationally, it was considered to be one of the most popular resorts of its time in the Southern United States, and was visited by many wealthy and prominent families such as the Ford, Rockefeller, Firestone, Studebaker, and Mellon families.
Fairmont Hot Springs Resort is a resort in Silver Bow County, Montana, United States.