Hot Springs, Arkansas

Name: Hot Springs, Arkansas
Address: Hot Springs, AR

Everything Hot Springs is known for

2 songs mention this city 1 artist from here

RoadyGoat plays music like this when you drive through Hot Springs. It's free on iPhone, and full songs play through Apple Music.

Music in Hot Springs

Songs About Hot Springs

32-20 Blues

Robert Johnson

50%

"All the doctors in Hot Springs sure can't help her none"

Have You Ever Been To Little Rock?

Johnny Cash

"They got some hot spring water"

Artists From Hot Springs

Billy Bob Thornton

americana

Rivers & Roads in Song near Hot Springs

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Hot Springs.

Ouachita River 5 songs Arkansas River 8 songs

History of Hot Springs

The Crystal That Keeps Your Watch on Time RoadyGoat

The hills near Hot Springs hide one of the world's great treasures of clear quartz crystal, and the town of Mount Ida just up the road calls itself the Quartz Crystal Capital of the World. Roughly ninety-nine percent of the quartz mined in the United States comes out of this corner of Arkansas, in veins that can run sixty feet wide. But quartz isn't just pretty. It's secretly an engineer. Quartz is piezoelectric, meaning squeeze it and it makes a tiny electric charge, and feed it electricity and it vibrates at a perfectly steady beat. That heartbeat is exactly what keeps a quartz watch ticking and what times the chips inside your phone and computer. So those glittering crystals coming out of the Arkansas ground are the same mineral keeping the modern world on schedule.

Bathhouse Row and the Gangster Truce RoadyGoat

Hot Springs sits in a Ouachita Mountains valley fed by some forty-seven thermal springs, water that fell as rain millennia ago, sank thousands of feet, got superheated, and now surfaces near 143 degrees. The federal government moved to protect those springs unusually early: Congress set aside Hot Springs Reservation in 1832, making it the oldest land in what became the National Park System, decades before Yellowstone, though it wasn't formally renamed Hot Springs National Park until 1921. By the late 1800s grand bathhouses lined Bathhouse Row downtown, and visitors came from everywhere to soak. The same easygoing, look-the-other-way town also became a famous gangster getaway in the 1920s and '30s, neutral ground where mobsters from Chicago and New York mixed at the baths and the racetrack. Al Capone reportedly favored Suite 443 at the Arlington Hotel and sometimes booked the whole fourth floor. Spa town and outlaw hideout, soaking side by side.

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You're Drinking Bronze-Age Rain RoadyGoat

Fill a cup from a Hot Springs fountain and you're sipping rain that fell before the pyramids were finished. Park scientists carbon-dated this water, and the answer stunned them: most of it is about four thousand four hundred years old. Here's the journey it took. Rain soaked into the Ouachita Mountains during the Bronze Age, then trickled down through cracks in the rock, one painfully slow inch at a time, sinking more than a mile underground. Down there the Earth's heat cooked it to a scald. Then, under pressure, it raced back to the surface in a fraction of the time it took to go down. So the water steaming out today began its trip when wooly mammoths were barely gone and Stonehenge was brand new. It's the oldest thing you'll ever taste.

Bathhouse Row

1832

Eight ornate bathhouses along Central Avenue in Hot Springs, built between 1892 and 1923, forming the centerpiece of the oldest federal reserve in the United States.

Everything Near Hot Springs

28 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

Hot Springs, AR · Local history
Hot Springs, Arkansas, owes its existence to the very thing that gives it its name: the naturally heated springs bubbling up from the earth. Long before it became a city, indigenous peoples recognized the healing…
Hot Springs station · 0.3 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine the crowds that once surged through this V-shaped station, eager to experience the healing waters of Hot Springs. This is the Missouri-Pacific Railroad Depot, built around 1917. The Missouri-Pacific Railroad…
Malco Theatre · 0.5 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Roll up to the Malco Theatre in Hot Springs, and you're looking at a landmark that has mirrored the city's entertainment scene for over a century. Built on a site that previously hosted vaudeville shows, the Malco…
Bathhouse Row · 0.7 mi · Historical Marker
Eight ornate bathhouses along Central Avenue in Hot Springs, built between 1892 and 1923, forming the centerpiece of the oldest federal reserve in the United States.
Bathhouse Row · 0.7 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine a place where people flocked not just for relaxation, but for actual healing. That's Bathhouse Row. In 1832, the federal government recognized the unique properties of the 47 hot springs here and set aside this…
The Crystal That Keeps Your Watch on Time · 0.7 mi
The hills near Hot Springs hide one of the world's great treasures of clear quartz crystal, and the town of Mount Ida just up the road calls itself the Quartz Crystal Capital of the World. Roughly ninety-nine percent of…
Bathhouse Row and the Gangster Truce · 0.7 mi
Hot Springs sits in a Ouachita Mountains valley fed by some forty-seven thermal springs, water that fell as rain millennia ago, sank thousands of feet, got superheated, and now surfaces near 143 degrees. The federal…
You're Drinking Bronze-Age Rain · 0.8 mi
Fill a cup from a Hot Springs fountain and you're sipping rain that fell before the pyramids were finished. Park scientists carbon-dated this water, and the answer stunned them: most of it is about four thousand four…
Hot Springs: The Town That Tells You Exactly What It Is · 0.8 mi
Here's a town that's exactly what it says on the label. Forty-seven natural thermal springs steam out of Hot Springs Mountain at a steady one hundred forty-three degrees, and people have been soaking in them for…
The Mountains That Sharpen the World's Knives · 0.9 mi
The mountains around Hot Springs are made of a rock you've probably never heard of, yet it may have sharpened the knife in your kitchen drawer. It's called novaculite, an ultra-fine quartz stone that geologists say is…
Arlington Hotel (Hot Springs National Park) · 0.9 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Stay where gangsters and celebrities once mingled at this grand hotel, a landmark of Hot Springs' glamorous past. The Arlington Hotel has been a cornerstone of Hot Springs since the late 1800s. The current Arlington,…
Medical Arts Building (Hot Springs, Arkansas) · 0.9 mi · Scraped Hmdb
This Art Deco skyscraper once housed doctors catering to visitors seeking the healing waters of Hot Springs. Built in 1929, the Medical Arts Building was designed by Almand & Stuck. It rose 16 stories, making it the…

Show all 28 nearby places

Aristocrat Motor Inn · 0.9 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Pull over for a minute and check out the Aristocrat Motor Inn, a classic example of mid-century roadside architecture. This motor inn was built in 1963 by Samuel Kirsch, a local Hot Springs businessman. He designed it…
Park Hotel (Hot Springs, Arkansas) · 1.0 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine the elegance of this Spanish Revival hotel, once a popular destination for visitors to Hot Springs. The Park Hotel was built in 1930 near Bathhouse Row. It was designed in the Spanish Revival style by Thompson,…
Babe Ruth, Capone, and the Original Spring Training · 1.2 mi
Long before Florida and Arizona, baseball's spring training was born right here. In eighteen eighty-six the Chicago White Stockings came to soak in the hot baths and sweat into shape, and soon every legend followed. On…
Butchie's Drive-In · 1.3 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Pull over for a taste of the past at this classic drive-in, a slice of 1950s Americana! Originally Butchie's Drive-In, this roadside gem opened its doors in 1952, offering curb service and a taste of simpler times. It…
Hollywood Cemetery (Hot Springs, Arkansas) · 1.4 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Step back in time as you approach Hollywood Cemetery, the final resting place for many of Hot Springs' earliest residents. Established before the Civil War, the oldest marked grave dates back to 1856. The cemetery…
Bellaire Court Historic District · 1.4 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine cruising Route 70 back in the day, needing a clean, affordable place to crash for the night. That's exactly what Bellaire Court offered weary travelers. Constructed in the 1930s, Bellaire Court was a classic…
Lynwood Tourist Court Historic District · 1.8 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Road trips weren't always about mega-hotels! This place, the Lynwood Tourist Court, is a perfectly preserved snapshot of a time when hitting the road meant something different. Built around 1944, the Lynwood offered…
Jack Tar Hotel and Bathhouse · 1.8 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Once a glamorous tourist resort, the Jack Tar Hotel and Bathhouse offered guests a luxurious experience centered around Hot Springs' famous waters. Opened in 1941, the Jack Tar was designed in the International style,…
Bill Clinton Boyhood Home · 2.0 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Pull over here for a second – this unassuming house played a role in shaping a future president. This is the house where Bill Clinton spent his teenage years, from 1954 to 1961.It was here, living with his mother and…
Fordyce–Ricks House Historic District · 2.4 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine finding a piece of the Adirondacks right here in Arkansas! This is the Fordyce–Ricks House Historic District, a rare example of Adirondack architecture so far south. Back in the late 1800s, Samuel W. Fordyce, a…
Mountain Pine, AR · 8.2 mi · Local history
Mountain Pine, Arkansas, a small community nestled in the Ouachita Mountains, might not be on every map, but it has a history like any other place. While it might not boast a long list of internationally known figures,…
Lake Catherine State Park Prisoner of War Structures · 9.1 mi · Scraped Hmdb
These scenic stone structures at Lake Catherine State Park have a hidden history: they were partially built by German prisoners of war during World War II. Construction on the retaining wall and outdoor cooking area…
Beaudry, AR · 14.0 mi · Local history
Beaudry, Arkansas, sits nestled near the Ouachita River, a place that seems like many other small towns dotting the state. But scratch the surface, and you find a surprising number of figures who left their mark on the…
Crystal Springs, AR · 16.0 mi · Local history
Crystal Springs, Arkansas, nestled in the Ouachita Mountains, carries echoes of a diverse past, primarily shaped by European settlers who ventured west in the 19th century. While not a melting pot in the traditional…
Malvern, AR · 16.4 mi · Local history
Malvern sits nestled in the Ouachita foothills, a town with a history deeper than its clay pits. People know Hot Spring County for its quartz crystals and timber, but Malvern has also quietly seeded the world with…
Benton, AR · 19.6 mi · Wikipedia
This city carries the name of a prominent figure from Missouri's past. It was named in honor of Senator Thomas Hart Benton. He was a significant political voice, serving the state of Missouri. The formal chartering of…

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