Fordyce Bathhouse in Hot Springs Turns 100

The Fordyce Bathhouse on Bathhouse Row in Hot Springs National Park turns 100 this year! Bathhouse Row is a National Historic Landmark District and eight picturesque and historic bathhouses are located there including the Fordyce, which serves as the park’s visitor center.

The Fordyce, named after owner Colonel Samuel Fordyce, operated as a bathhouse from 1915 to 1962. It remained vacant until it reopened as the park visitor center in 1989. Located in the middle of Bathhouse Row, the Fordyce has exhibits on the thermal bathing industry and via a self-guided or guided jaunt, you can check out the many different rooms there, which appear as they did during the prime time it served as a bathhouse. One room not to miss if you take a tour is the Men’s Bath Hall, which hosts a life size statue of Hernando de Soto and a lovely stained glass sea scene above that. The antique gymnasium on the third floor, which was the largest gym in the state in 1915, is also fascinating.  For more details on Bathhouse Row, click here.