Hot Springs

[Aporkalypse]

Harrison is the ultimate destination of the Dallas flights. It stops at Hot Springs en route.

There were a handful of people at ASMSA who used the Harrison flight to fly back home during holidays. Saves a solid 3 hours.

It just seemed a little bizarre anyone flies into Harrison commercially. It's an isolated town of 12,000 in the Ozarks.

That drive up to Harrison through the Quachitas and Ozarks would be particularly brutal, no doubt.

[Mith242]

Does anyone besides me feel like Hot Springs has been a career underachiever as a tourist city?

I mean you have a lot to do - nice recreational lakes, scores of historical buildings, beautiful mountain scenery, a racetrack, and a second tier amusement park.

I guess my question is why hasn't Hot Springs ever become a more significant tourist destination? Of all places, why did Branson develop into what it has while Hot Springs with every advantage was passed by? Has the state of Arkansas and the region (including LR) done enough to promote the area?

I'd like to see more secondary tourist alternatives like the Ripley's Museum, etc. Most importantly, there has been a lack of upscale hotels. The Arlington certainly qualifies but the lack resorts and most of the hotels on Central fall into the moderate to low income tier. The shopping, aside from some nice antique and art galleries downtown is decidedly mediocre. Hot Springs Mall doesn't have much. Most visitors are largely middle class. What could Hot Springs do to better appeal to middle to upper income people for vacations and for retirement?

I wonder if it has more to do with Arkansas just not really knowing how to develop tourism compared to Missouri. I really do like Arkansas' natural beauty. But I just feel the state doesn't do seem to capitalize on more urban tourism.

[johnnydr87]

I wonder if it has more to do with Arkansas just not really knowing how to develop tourism compared to Missouri. I really do like Arkansas' natural beauty. But I just feel the state doesn't do seem to capitalize on more urban tourism.

There are not many urban areas to capitalize on.

[Mith242]

There are not many urban areas to capitalize on.

True, Arkansas isn't very urban but what is doesn't seem to be capitalized on much. Just seems to me that other states seem to do a better job focusing on other features other than the natural aspect. But it seems to me a number of cities and towns have a lot of potential, Hot Springs obviously being one of them.

[Aporkalypse]

True, Arkansas isn't very urban but what is doesn't seem to be capitalized on much. Just seems to me that other states seem to do a better job focusing on other features other than the natural aspect. But it seems to me a number of cities and towns have a lot of potential, Hot Springs obviously being one of them.

Few places have a vacation destination with the appeal of a Hot Springs. I agree we don't capitalize on it the way we should.

[AshJs3]

This is off the topic that you all are talking about now, but I need some Hot Springs info!

I'll be down there in a few weeks and I need a good place to stay. We'll be going to Magic Springs so hopefully something close to there. We want to stay somewhere nice, but also don't want to spend a lot of money. Also, how far is this from the "downtown" area? I've only been there once, but I was like 12 so I don't remember much.

[Aporkalypse]

This is off the topic that you all are talking about now, but I need some Hot Springs info!

I'll be down there in a few weeks and I need a good place to stay. We'll be going to Magic Springs so hopefully something close to there. We want to stay somewhere nice, but also don't want to spend a lot of money. Also, how far is this from the "downtown" area? I've only been there once, but I was like 12 so I don't remember much.

The downtown area is the closest place to stay, it's not walking distance but probably just a mile and a half or so away from Magic Springs. The Embassy Suites and Arlington come to mind as closeby, I don't know if that costs too much for you. Don't stay near Lake Hamilton, that's a good 15-20 min away.

[AshJs3]

Thanks! I will look at those!

[tim2462]

This is news from last month, but no one ever posted it. Hot Springs was chosen for a new passport facility. It is open, but not yet fully operational. By the end of the year, it will employ 200 and will produce / mail over 10 million passports annually. The Hot Springs facility will become the primary passport facility for the entire US.

[johnnydr87]

Very cool.

I just typed in the address into google maps, and it looks like it's a block down from my Alma Mater, ASMSA. I doubt that....but for some reason google maps converts Office Park Drive into Park Ave.

[Aporkalypse]

Very cool.

I just typed in the address into google maps, and it looks like it's a block down from my Alma Mater, ASMSA. I doubt that....but for some reason google maps converts Office Park Drive into Park Ave.

Johnny, what do you think about the ASMSA's proposal to put another campus in Little Rock?

I always kind of thought that's what should have been done in the first place but now that's it's in Hot Springs I don't really see the point of building a second campus.

[johnnydr87]

Johnny, what do you think about the ASMSA's proposal to put another campus in Little Rock?

I always kind of thought that's what should have been done in the first place but now that's it's in Hot Springs I don't really see the point of building a second campus.

I don't like the idea of a second campus either. I'm not sure how it would work, but if students were given the choice of either campus, most would choose Little Rock (including me). The status of the Hot Springs school would decline.... If it were limited to a certain region, more schools of the same type should be planned for other regions...

Little Rock already has a sleu of good schools--if ASMSA can't get those kids, that's fine. ASMSA caters mainly to sharpminds from the backwaters of the state--kids who don't have access to calculus, let alone vector calculus or quantum mechanics. We do have brilliant minds from LR too, but not in the proper ratio to LR's population of whiz kids.

I really like the Hot Springs location. It spreads the state's academia away from one centralized location, and almost seems to add a level of sophistication to Hot Springs' downtown by being there. The geographic and cultural location is like noneother. My dorm on othe eastern side of the building had a view down Central ave. It really was an awe-inspiring sight: the canyon of mid-rise/high-rise buildings embraced the boulevard, and the mountains (err, very large hills) embraced the buildings. On the western end of campus, in the academic building, a pristine view of the often cloudy/foggy mountain valley unrolled through the windows. Students could then take an elevator ride down, and walk through a bustling, eclectic downtown promenade, with hikin trails not more than a few hundred yards away in the valley and whittington park. Charter field, our multipurpose sports/recreation field, was on the side of a cliff above the school, and when we played soccer around 9pm at night, it was awsome to see the car lights thread through the mountainside roads and just to play on this plateau of a field. If charter field is too small, there's Linden park just a block down, with a large soccer field/basketball courts/tennis courts.

Where in LR would you have this suitable of a location? Only downtown Little Rock, but it would not come near the natural beauty of downtown hot springs. In addition, it's downtown is rather mature-minded and much more limited/vacant/spread out than downtown Hot Springs'. There are no good parks in downtown Little Rock, comparable to Hot Springs' parks.

I love downtown Little Rock, but it just wouldn't be suitable for a high school like this. 70% of downtown is still run-down/empty. I get greeted by panhandlers sometimes when I visit. Rivermarket district is where it's all at, everything, and river market district is smaller than downtown hot springs. Macarthur park (the only nearby one) is fairly dilapidated, there are way too many shady places downtown that it would be hard to keep track of students (In hot springs there is only one street of downtown, through the valley). I think it would be much harder to attract the parents of kids who live in the backwaters if they knew their kid would be able to wander a place like downtown LR.

The alternative would be some suburban type place, and that would just be like solitary confinement for students without cars (90%). It would be a cultureless, mass produced location like any other in the USA, and that would be a detriment (compared to the HS location) the the student's learning.

I say spend the investment on expanding the existing school. It's in a valley, so it'll be hard to expand. Start by remodeling that old building (former St. Joseph's hospital). It reeks of old, and it's aged hallways really do get a bit depressing after a while. I'm certain the turnover rate would be much lower if the appearance was more inviting. Update it, make it more inspiring than a place where people used to go to die. Expand charter field. Expand the academic departments. Expand the arts department. Enlarge the student body size. Etc.

[Aporkalypse]

I had heard the issue was in getting the bright kids from Central AR to attend school down there, the commute was too long and many students didn't want to be away from their parents. I think the environment in LR would be better and would have UALR and UAMS research facilitiesand faculty to draw from and enhance the experience. I also don't share your views about how bad off downtown LR is, I think very little of it is "dilapidated" and certainly no more than Hot Springs which as much as I love has a lot of buildings needing renovation and a fair number of seedy areas near downtown as well.

I just think a second campus will really handicap the current one.

[johnnydr87]

I had heard the issue was in getting the bright kids from Central AR to attend school down there, the commute was too long and many students didn't want to be away from their parents. I think the environment in LR would be better and would have UALR and UAMS research facilitiesand faculty to draw from and enhance the experience. I also don't share your views about how bad off downtown LR is, I think very little of it is "dilapidated" and certainly no more than Hot Springs which as much as I love has a lot of buildings needing renovation and a fair number of seedy areas near downtown as well.

I just think a second campus will really handicap the current one.

Well I definitely disagree about the downtowns.

Look at Main Street. Bennett's military supply is the busiest store. Much of the other storefront property is vacant. Huge parking lots/ parking decks break up main street (I use main street as an example b/c it's where the next major revitalization of downtown LR is supposed to begin, the first being Clinton Ave.) Some of main street are offices, which have little pedestrian value for people other than employees, whereas downtown Hot Springs is geared more towards visitors, with chocolate shops, coffee shops, restaurants, eclectic stores, etc. Downtown hot springs gets more pedestrian traffic than anywhere in downtown little rock, other than the river market. Main street is one of the better streets in downtown Little Rock.

ASMSA does have research labs, although I agree that if we were on the UAMS or UALR campus, we'd have better research labs. If the new school were put downtown, it would be far from UALR or UAMS, meaning using those facilities would require transport, which is another hassle. If the school were put on UALR, students wouldn't be able to go downtown or to parks as easily. Downtown Hot Springs is really what makes ASMSA unique compared to even other math and science schools, with its National Park and other unique amenities. Like I said, going downtown after school was a daily affair for many kids. After classes, head downtown. After classes, head to Linden Park soccer field/tennis court/basketball court--just a good 10-20 min. walk away. After classes, head to the multiude of parks around. This google map shows a little about what I'm talking about:

I'm not sure what you mean about the commute from central AR to Hot Springs being too much. It's 45 min-1hr from Hot Springs to Little Rock. All students stay in dorms, no commuting daily allowed. So, like every other student, they just need to commute to school at most once every weekend (and many students don't go home for multiple weeks). Students come from all four corners of the state, some traveling around 4 hours or more.

Edited July 31, 2007 by johnnydr87

[Aporkalypse]

Well I definitely disagree about the downtowns.

Look at Main Street. Bennett's military supply is the busiest store. Much of the other storefront property is vacant. Huge parking lots/ parking decks break up main street (I use main street as an example b/c it's where the next major revitalization of downtown LR is supposed to begin, the first being Clinton Ave.) Some of main street are offices, which have little pedestrian value for people other than employees, whereas downtown Hot Springs is geared more towards visitors, with chocolate shops, coffee shops, restaurants, eclectic stores, etc. Downtown hot springs gets more pedestrian traffic than anywhere in downtown little rock, other than the river market. Main street is one of the better streets in downtown Little Rock.

ASMSA does have research labs, although I agree that if we were on the UAMS or UALR campus, we'd have better research labs. If the new school were put downtown, it would be far from UALR or UAMS, meaning using those facilities would require transport, which is another hassle. If the school were put on UALR, students wouldn't be able to go downtown or to parks as easily. Downtown Hot Springs is really what makes ASMSA unique compared to even other math and science schools, with its National Park and other unique amenities. Like I said, going downtown after school was a daily affair for many kids. After classes, head downtown. After classes, head to Linden Park soccer field/tennis court/basketball court--just a good 10-20 min. walk away. After classes, head to the multiude of parks around. This google map shows a little about what I'm talking about:

I'm not sure what you mean about the commute from central AR to Hot Springs being too much. It's 45 min-1hr from Hot Springs to Little Rock. All students stay in dorms, no commuting daily allowed. So, like every other student, they just need to commute to school at most once every weekend (and many students don't go home for multiple weeks). Students come from all four corners of the state, some traveling around 4 hours or more.

Downtown LR isn't about retail, though I hope some can be successful there in the future. That said, besides antique shops and gift shops, there's not much retail in downtown HS, either. It has a tourist niche just like Eureka but standard shops you'd find in the downtowns of major cities don't go there, they go to the mall area on Central if they locate in HS at all. There's still a considerable amount of vacant/debilitated property in and around downtown HS. Most importantly there is a tremendous amount of momentum in LR right now with considerable renovation as well as new construction on both sides of the river. Downtown HS has been stagnating for a couple of decades for various complex reasons, the downtown boom in larger non-tourist cities hasn't impacted HS at all. As someone that has a particular love for HS I'm wondering what can be done about this. The hotel/tourist industry in HS peaked decades ago and has been stagnating since. Somehow the state and HSCVB need to do a better job of making it an attraction again. One good thing that has happened is the Summit Arena, which draws some minor concerts and sporting events.

I guess you didn't catch my point about commuting. That's the whole reason that ASMS misses the vast majority of the best potential students and the reason one would consider adding a new campus - to allow people to commute.

If the ASMS opened a second campus in LR I would assume it wouldn't be downtown but rather close to the UALR or UAMS campuses or possibly utilizing an existing vacant school (such as the old historic elementary just south of Ark Children's Hospital's research complex). While it might accomodate boarders I would bet it would be designed for students who live at home, the whole purpose of a second campus would be to keep students close to their families, the boarders from a couple hours away could still go to the HS campus which would be better suited for them (you can walk more places and function better without a car).

[Mith242]

Hot Springs has picked up the Sunbelt Basketball Tournament for 2009-2011. Sounds like if they can manage to get good attendance they could possibly keep it for a longer period.

[Aporkalypse]

Hot Springs has picked up the Sunbelt Basketball Tournament for 2009-2011. Sounds like if they can manage to get good attendance they could possibly keep it for a longer period.

I thought this was very good news for Hot Springs. The Summit Arena seems to be a nice tool for pulling in visitors to the area - the DII Women's NCAA Final Four, the Sun Belt, Arkansas HS Championships, etc.

Tourism has been stagnant and there haven't been many new hotel rooms added in quite a while. Attracting conventions and tournaments like this will help demand and if people like the area enough when they visit they'll eventually come back. Even better, it pulls people back to downtown and away from the lakes.

[Mith242]

I thought this was very good news for Hot Springs. The Summit Arena seems to be a nice tool for pulling in visitors to the area - the DII Women's NCAA Final Four, the Sun Belt, Arkansas HS Championships, etc.

Tourism has been stagnant and there haven't been many new hotel rooms added in quite a while. Attracting conventions and tournaments like this will help demand and if people like the area enough when they visit they'll eventually come back. Even better, it pulls people back to downtown and away from the lakes.

I certainly agree. I didn't even know Hot Springs was trying to host it. Hot Springs is too small to host many other tournaments. But this one could work out well if the locals turn out and support it.

[theman]

Looks like the Majestic is about to be renovated into apartments starting in the next couple of months.

[Mith242]

Looks like the Majestic is about to be renovated into apartments starting in the next couple of months.

Seems like I remember hearing something about that. Just wish I could remember which one that was.

[Mith242]

Has anyone heard there's a gangster museum in Hot Springs? Apparently the first of it's kind. I have no idea how long it's been open. I believe it focuses a lot of some of the gangsters that visited Hot Springs back in the 30's.

[Aporkalypse]

Has anyone heard there's a gangster museum in Hot Springs? Apparently the first of it's kind. I have no idea how long it's been open. I believe it focuses a lot of some of the gangsters that visited Hot Springs back in the 30's.

It's open? I hadn't heard a thing about it, I'd like to check it out. That town was a mafia town for a while and there are still some connected people down there.

Al Capone used to have a house, hotel and nightclub there.

A mafia/gangster museum would really help the historical tourism the city should have more of.

[Mith242]

It's open? I hadn't heard a thing about it, I'd like to check it out. That town was a mafia town for a while and there are still some connected people down there.

Al Capone used to have a house, hotel and nightclub there.

A mafia/gangster museum would really help the historical tourism the city should have more of.

Yeah I thought it was an interesting idea and fitting for the city. Of course Hot Springs never would have ended up like Las Vegas. But it does make me wonder what it could have been like if things had happened a little differently. But anyway from the article I read in the paper it sounded like it was open. Surely there's some sort of website for it to find out some more info.

[Aporkalypse]

Yeah I thought it was an interesting idea and fitting for the city. Of course Hot Springs never would have ended up like Las Vegas. But it does make me wonder what it could have been like if things had happened a little differently. But anyway from the article I read in the paper it sounded like it was open. Surely there's some sort of website for it to find out some more info.

That's one thing that amazes me, what an important place Hot Springs was until the 1940s or so when it really started to diminish as a tourist city. It would be nice to find a way to revive it but it needs a different direction. It's amazing what Branson has been able to do when you look at it as they started with so much less to work with than Hot Springs.

[Mith242]

That's one thing that amazes me, what an important place Hot Springs was until the 1940s or so when it really started to diminish as a tourist city. It would be nice to find a way to revive it but it needs a different direction. It's amazing what Branson has been able to do when you look at it as they started with so much less to work with than Hot Springs.

Exactly. I think we all know Hot Springs would have never become a 'Las Vegas' with the way the state is. But it really does seem like it would have been a prime candidate for what Branson ended up becoming. But it also makes me wonder, is Missouri doing a better job of promoting itself like this? Is Arkansas in a sense sorta holding back Hot Springs? While it seems to me that Arkansas does well promoting it's state parks and natural beauty. I'm not so sure it does very well in other aspects. Which also reminds me of Altus. I think Missouri does a very good job of promoting it's wine industry and it's also become a nice tourist destination. I think Altus is just as good as the locations in Missouri. But it seems the state does very little to help promote it. Maybe it has something to do with the fact there's a large group of non drinking Protestants who don't like the idea of promoting a wine producing area. Just seems to me that Arkansas has a hard time promoting anything outside the natural outdoors.