Hot Springs, Arkansas

Story by Mary Medland, Photos courtesy Hot Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau

Quick now. In which U.S. city did Tony Bennett first sing “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”? Easy, it’s the same place that sent Donna Axum off to become Miss America of 1963. It’s also the hometown of Billy Bob Thornton and Alan Ladd, and a favorite hang-out for Al Capone and Lucky Luciano. Still stumped? William Jefferson Clinton grew up here.

Ah, yes, Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Best known for the curing powers of its 40-plus hot mineral baths and spring water, Hot Springs for years attracted those wishing to gamble the night away, imbibe freely of alcohol and visit its houses of ill repute (the last one closed in 1963).

Then in the late 1960s, Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller shut down the gambling parlors. The result was that Hot Springs fell on hard times. And, while it’s still not recovered from the loss of revenue from gambling, the place has spunk—along with beautiful natural scenery, a thriving arts scene, great restaurants and plenty of places to search for antiques.

Perhaps the best place to begin a tour is at the Hot Springs National Park Visitors Center, which also happens to be the oldest—beating Yellowstone by 40 years—and smallest existing park in the National Park System. The visitors’ center was originally the Fordyce Bath House—one of several elaborate places built in the early part of the 20th century. Yet today, of the buildings on Bathhouse Row, the only one still up and running is the Buckstaff. However, the Park Service is aggressively pushing for the renovation of the remaining six houses.

While in the historic district, visitors can stop in at a number of private art galleries and studios. Perhaps the best-known of Hot Springs’ artists is Carole Katchen, whose work can be seen at Legacy Fine Art (804 Central Ave., 501-624-1044, www.art-exchange.com). Those who wish to find paintings that focus on Bathhouse Row and other Hot Springs landmarks should visit Alison Parsons Gallery (802 Central Ave., 501-525-1724, www.alisonparsons.com), while the Fine Art Center of Hot Springs (610 Central Ave., Suite 1, 501-624-0489) has been featuring the work of local, national and international artists for more than six decades. Gallery Central (800 Central Avenue, 501-318-4278, www.gallerycentralfineart.com) represents more than 35 artists and has been recognized by Southern Living magazine.

Also on Central Avenue is the not-to-be-missed Tillman’s Antiques and Collectibles (118 Central Ave., 501-624-4083). Davis Tillman has devoted the first floor of his building—built in 1891 as the Southern Hotel—to his antique trade, while the top floors serve as his living quarters. Tillman’s offerings include pieces by Faberge, from the collection of Napoleon Bonaparte and items from the maharajas of India.

If there is something about the Tillman store and home that reminds visitors of “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” it’s not your imagination. Tillman and his associates often host “Midnight” fundraisers there—including their very own version of The Lady Chablis, “Miss Merlot.”

Hot Springs has an absolute treasure in its Garvan Woodland Gardens. When the wealthy entrepreneur, Verna Cook Garvan, turned over 210-acres of land—44 of which are “sculpted” and of the most interest to the public—near Lake Hamilton to the University of Arkansas School of Architecture in 1985, she nonetheless kept control until her death in 1993. At that point, the Woodland Nature Preserve was handed over to the University of Arkansas’s Dept. of Landscape Architecture, which took on the seemingly overwhelming project of documenting every species of plants before the gardens were opened to the public in 2002.

Depending on the time of year, visitors can enjoy the 98,000 tulip bulbs that are planted annually—needless to say, the gardens rely heavily on volunteers to preserve the property—the JoycManning Scott Full Moon Bridge (a popular spot for weddings) and the Weyerhaeuser Bonsai Garden. Other flora includes azaleas, camellias, daffodils, ferns and hundreds of other species.

Arkansas manages to live up to its motto “The Natural State.” There are a myriad of opportunities to enjoy the outdoors: golfing at the Hot Springs Country Club, fishing on Lake Catherine (all manner of bass, as well as bream, catfish and walleye are there to be caught) and on Lake Hamilton and horseback riding at the Mountain Harbor Resort & Spa.

Mountain Harbor also has a rainbow trout fishery, which is managed by the state’s Game and Fish Commission, and one can take a houseboat tour of Lake Ouachita (WASH-i-taw), which according to the Environmental Protection Agency, is one of the cleanest in the nation. The resort works closely with the U.S. Park Service and other government agencies to insure that development does not damage the local flora and fauna. In addition to drifting on a houseboat—a number of which are available to rent—there are plenty of opportunities to hike, fish, canoe, water ski and so forth.

Hot Springs Eateries

Café 1217 (1217 Malvern Ave., Suite B, 501-318-1094)—the brainchild of chef/owner Diana Marez Bratton—has been recognized by the Food Network’s “Best of Deli’s” and been dubbed by Southern Living as a culinary destination. The menu features items such as garlic cheese grits with hominy, raspberry roasted beets, spicy plum glazed game hen and a portabello mushroom stuffed with spinach, artichoke and crab. Not only does Bratton offer an eat-in space, she also does catering and provides box lunches.

When Bill Clinton was governor, his favorite spot for barbeque was McClard’s Bar-B-Q Restaurant (505 Albert Pike Avenue, 501-623-9665, www.mcclards.com), a family-owned restaurant that dates back to the 1920s. When Arkansas’s governor became president of the United States, he didn’t lose his loyalty to McClard’s. According to Scott McClard, when the president returned to his home state, it was not unusual for McClard to get a call from Air Force One requesting 30 gallons of baked beans, 50 pounds of barbecue and so forth to feed the president and the gang that traveled with him. By the way, for those who have pondered the origin of the word barbeque, McClard’s says that during the 1700s when shipwrecks landed sailors on French islands their only source of food were goats that had fled their owners. The sailors cooked these goats whole and called their feast “de barbe en queue”—eating everything from head to tail.

Porterhouse Steak & Seafood (707 Central Ave., 501-624-7474, http://belleartigroup.com) owner’s Peggy and Chef Joe Gargano have reproduced a New York steakhouse with some of the most fantastic steaks available anywhere. Those who prefer fish will thrive on the polenta crusted Chilean sea bass or the fresh Maine jumbo lobster.