Hot Springs National Park is a unique unit of the National Park Service. We’ve previously looked at Bathhouse Row—a collection of buildings where people a century ago could enjoy geothermally warmed water and hopefully derive some therapeutic benefit from it. The row is interesting and quite a tourist attraction.
A Brief History of the Fordyce Bathhouse:
Today I’d like to look with some detail at one of the buildings on Bathhouse Row, the Fordyce Bathhouse. The Fordyce opened in 1915 and covers about 28,000 square feet, making it the largest bathhouse on the row. It cost about $212,000 to build and equip, and has 3 floors and a basement level. It was designed to be elegant and to compete the finest European spas.
The building is named for Colonel Samuel W. Fordyce, an important person in the history of the area. Col. Fordyce received an injury during the Civil War and believed the thermal waters of the area cured his injury. He was an entrepreneur, opening not only this bathhouse but several nearby hotels and other businesses in town.
The Fordyce ceased operation in 1962 due to declining visitation, becoming the first Bathhouse on the Row to close. It remained vacant for more than 2 decades when it was extensively restored, reopening in 1989 as the Park’s Visitor Center. You can go on a free self-guided tour of the building which is a historically furnished museum, which is exactly what my wife and I did.
The Bathhouse provides an interesting look into the “bathhouse business”. Remember that a century ago it was strongly believed that thermal waters had healing and even curative properties. People would travel great distances for “treatments” in the hot springs bathhouses, and it was a big business. The evolution of new therapies (eg. antibiotics, insulin, pain medications) changed perspectives and made people less interested in hot water therapies.
Visiting today:
The first floor of the Fordyce introduces you to the beauty of the bathhouse. From lobby’s nicely appointed, with marble, statues and stained-glass…
The following photo of Spanish explorer (De Soto) receiving a drink from an Indian maiden sits at the center of the Fordyce’s Men’s Bath Hall. This photo was used as our One Clue Mystery photo two weeks ago. It was recognized by George G — excellent work as always, George!
The Fordyce’s Men’s Bath Hall is actually best known for its stained-glass ceiling (situated above the De Soto fountain), and is shown below. Its fine detail is definitely a cut above most hot springs bathhouses in town.
The building is filled with historic furnishings, lockers, changing rooms, plumbing fixtures and exhibits that explore the history of bathhouses and how they were used to treat visitors. I found it all quite fascinating…..
Some of these devices remind me of equipment you might use to torture people, but they were considered therapeutic at the time.
The top floor has comfortable looking rooms in which clients could relax and enjoy music from a grand piano.
Below is some suggested attire to wear in these lounge areas….
The third floor also showcases a beauty parlor….
…and staterooms in which you’d spend the night during your period of therapy….
I found this century old gymnasium quite interesting — a forerunner of modern health clubs.
The basement houses various mechanical equipment,and the Fordyce spring – a tile room covering the hot spring (spring number 46).
(from the basement of the Fordyce)
A few final photos for your interest. Water from the hot springs was bottled and sold during the hey-day of the bath houses….
The thermal water was rich in minerals and as such was hard on the plumbing. The sections of pipe shown below show how these mineral deposits could compromise flow….
Overall, I found this museum to be a quite interesting look into the past and worth exploring.
