Date Original
1920
Description
This collection contains an envelope for the Hale Bath House located in Hot Springs.
Biographical/Historical Note
The envelope in this collection is for the Hale Bathhouse in Hot Springs, Arkansas and it contains family history on the Ward family, and a drawing of the Hale Bathhouse. Named for early bathhouse owner John Hale, the present Hale Bathhouse is at least the fourth building to use this name. The first Hale Bathhouse remains unknown. After the Civil War ended, a second Hale House was constructed on the present site, with its bathhouse situated on the opposite side of the creek. Sometime before 1882, a Victorian style bathhouse was built on the site by William Nelson, who signed a water lease for the site in 1879. Construction of the new building cost $5,000. The present (and fourth) Hale Bathhouse is the oldest visible structure on Bathhouse Row. Most of the present structure was completed in 1892, as designed by George and Fremont Orff. The exact design of the 1892 bathhouse is unknown. A major 1914 remodel by the Little Rock architectural firm of George Mann and Eugene Stern significantly enlarged the red-brick building and modified its style to Classical Revival. At this time the building had rectangular windows on the ground floor with arched windows on the second floor - a typical style element of the Classical Revival style. The Hale closed on October 31, 1978. In 1981 it was remodeled for use as a theatre and concessionaire operation (snack bar, gift shops, and arcade). A new emergency exit was installed at the South of the lobby to meet fire code regulations. The concessionaire operation failed and the building closed nine months later.
Physical Description
Document, 8.5" x 11"
Geographical Area
Hot Springs, Garland County (Ark.)
Language
English
Identifier
SMC.048.028
Resource Type
Text
Collection
Hale Bath House envelope, SMC.048.028
Publisher
Arkansas State Archives
Contributing Entity
Arkansas State Archives
Recommended Citation
Hale Bath House envelope, Arkansas State Archives, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Rights
Use and reproduction of images held by the Arkansas State Archives without prior written permission is prohibited. For information on reproducing images held by the Arkansas State Archives, please call 501-682-6900 or email at state.archives@arkansas.gov.
Disciplines
United States History
