Everyone In Arkansas Must Visit This Epic Hot Spring As Soon As Possible
Tiffany
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Hot Springs, Arkansas is known throughout American history as being one of the country’s best spa cities. The town was settled upon several natural hot springs, and people in the area have been enjoying the health benefits of them for centuries. The Quapaw Baths and Spa, located on historic Bathhouse Row, is a perfect cure-all for getting away from the day’s usual stress and just relaxing in a luxurious atmosphere.
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As far as architecture goes, the Quapaw Baths and Spa is a real work of art. The bathhouse was constructed in 1922 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. The huge central dome, (the most recognized among the many historic buildings on Bathhouse Row,) is covered with a mosaic of tiles. The bathhouse was a hotspot in the Spa City during the Roaring Twenties, but business fell off after World War II and by 1968, the bathhouse doors were closed.
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The bathhouse reopened again between the years 1969 and 1984 as a general health services clinic, but the glamour that was once there lay dormant for a long while. A rehabilitation phase started by the National Park Service for the historic structures on Bathhouse Row began in 2004. As a result, the Quapaw saw itself renewed with much needed repairs and new additions such as skylights. Local Hot Springs architects Bob Kempkes and Anthony Taylor (along with Don Harper, a financial backer and Spa City native,) began working with the National Park Service on negotiations that resulted in Quapaw Baths LLC. The agreement was signed in April 2007, the 175th anniversary of Hot Springs National Park. By summer 2008, a restored and revitalized Quapaw Baths and Spas was open to the public.
Milton Dailey
Eight years after its grand reopening, the Quapaw Baths and Spa is once again riding high in luxury as it did in the 1920s. Spa enthusiasts will tell you; this is a bathhouse you absolutely must visit when you need to shoo away life’s troubles and feel like royalty for a while. Plan your visit next time you’re in the area.
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