Join correspondent Tom Wilmer and Associate Producer Jillian Parks for an exploration of Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Often called the "birthplace" of Spring training baseball, Hot Springs first welcomed Major League Baseball back in 1886, when the Chicago White Stockings (now the Chicago Cubs), brought their coaches and players to the city in preparation for the upcoming season.
This is where Babe Ruth hit his record-breaking home run, and it was the healing spring water that drew the players here.
Before the advent of modern medicine, the thermal Hot Springs were the first choice for people seeking cures or everything that ailed them.
Hot Springs resorts soon became legendary, and some of the most iconic architectural edifices remain along the main street downtown.
Hot Springs also became legendary as a place of respite for gangland mobsters including Al Capone, Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Frank Costello and Bugs Moran.
Hot Springs National Park is maintained by the National Park Service, including Bathhouse Row, which preserves the eight historic bathhouse buildings and gardens along Central Avenue.
join Steve Arrison. Executive Director of Visit Hot Springs for a most fascinating tales of Hot Springs past and present and some cool things to do and see.
Afterwards will stop in for a visit at Starlight Haven. a fascinating glamping spot less than 10 minutes from town.
Downtown Hot Springs is preserved as the Central Avenue Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Be sure to stay tuned for upcoming Hot Springs shows featuring historic places to stay, from the iconic Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa to historic motor courts, iconic pubs and diners, Mining for quartz crystals, sake tasting, as well as a visit at the historic Superior Bathhouse Brewery, home of the world’s only beer brewed with thermal spring water & the only brewery located in a National Park!
You are invited to subscribe to the Award-winning travel podcast, Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer, featured on the NPR Podcast Directory, Apple Podcast, and more than twenty other podcast hosting sites including iHeartRadio and Spotify
