There's not much left of the Majestic Hotel at Hot Springs these days--a piece of concrete here, part of a brick there.
For most visitors, it's just another empty lot. Lots like these can be found in slow-growth and no-growth cities across America. Nothing special. Nothing surprising. Just a place for weeds to grow.
As I walk past the Majestic site on a summer day, I think about this spot. These visitors have no idea what a huge role this space will continue to play in the Spa City's history. If properly developed, it could lead to Hot Springs again being a nationally known resort. If the wrong choices are made, it will go down as another botched project on the long list of missed opportunities in Arkansas.
I remember where I was that night in February 2014 when the Majestic burned. I was attending a lecture at the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock when the texts started to come in on my phone. It was obvious that Arkansans realized this marked a possible turning point for downtown Hot Springs.
The owner was ordered to clean up the rubble, but he had no money. It was June 2016 before the Hot Springs Board of Directors voted to demolish the rest of the hotel and clean up the site.
"The city has about $2 million from its solid waste fund invested in the property," David Showers wrote for the June 29 edition of The Sentinel-Record. "That money paid to acquire the site, demolish and remove condemned structures and clear the five-acre property of any environmental liabilities."
Many Hot Springs residents have advocated for a park with thermal pools as the lead attraction. A recent report from the University of Arkansas' Fay Jones School of Architecture & Design makes clear that it will take more than that.
"Novelty projects, such as water parks and splash pads, are of insufficient scale and import to suffice," the report states. "At the same time, overscaled displays such as the oft-cited fountains at Bellagio in Las Vegas preclude a long-lasting and durable response overall. Providing a drive-to destination water feature is not in the best interest of the city and would not provide broader interest in the surrounding area. People will drive in and then drive out. But what will keep them on the site and what will encourage them to move out beyond the site?"
The authors of the report noticed the large number of buildings that have been destroyed and never replaced.
"The architects said that downtown was in critical need of infill, a necessity at odds with the consensus that developed around an open space/parking concept during input sessions," Showers wrote. "They noted how parking lots and parking structures replaced the Hot Springs Opera house and various hotels. The looming demolition of the old St. Joseph's Hospital infirmary on the campus of the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts represents a further hollowing out of downtown's urban identity, they said."
The UA report states: "Much of the paved surface of the historic area of upper Central Avenue is given over to parking. It is hard for this group to understand how more parking would be of benefit to the city. In no proposal should street-front parking of any sort be considered acceptable. It's hard to imagine a solution that would include extensive greenspace given the wealth of greenspace extant. Open space in lieu of buildings which provide urban conditions is too abundant in the city. More open space without significant architecture and sidewalk presence would be detrimental to the success of this project."
Where does that leave Hot Springs?
Frankly, it leaves the city with an easier choice once the request for proposals for redeveloping the site goes out. Several developers have already unveiled plans that combine thermal pools open to the public with a larger structure that will have hotel rooms and perhaps condominiums.
I hear people say that Hot Springs "doesn't need more hotel rooms." That's true. What's also true is that it does need additional upscale hotel rooms to attract the wealthy, highly educated families that fill the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. These families demand the kind of first-class accommodations, restaurants, spas and recreational amenities that Hot Springs needs more of if it's to again be the Saratoga of the South. T-shirt shops and rides on the duck boats don't cut it for this crowd.
Those who study the history of the Majestic realize that there was an era when the facilities in Hot Springs were world-class for their time. The Avenue Hotel was built in 1882 and became known for offering streetcar service to the bathhouses every five minutes. The name changed to the Majestic Hotel in 1888. In 1892, elevators and a new building were added. An-eight story annex was built in 1926. Air conditioning was installed in the 1950s. The Majestic became so well-known in cities such as St. Louis and Chicago that one of August Anheuser Busch Jr.'s weddings (he had four wives) was held there with the Budweiser Clydesdale horses stabled in the Majestic garage.
"After Hawaii became a state in 1959, all things Hawaiian became popular," writes historian Nancy Hendricks. "The Majestic Hotel opened the Lanai Tower in 1963. ... The Lanai suites were said to boast the first modern sliding-glass doors. The suites surrounded a waterfall and tropical-themed pool."
It's time for Hot Springs to return to the days when its resorts matched or exceeded what could be found in other parts of the country. This empty lot provides that opportunity.
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Senior Editor Rex Nelson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He's also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried.com.
Editorial on 07/24/2019