Videos of Hot Springs Attractions

It's highly advised to check out these four videos before planning your trip to Hot Springs for the SCV Reunion.  There will be other attractions in these videos that are not covered elsewhere on this page.  Please take the time to view them all as Hot Springs, Arkansas has so much to offer!

                                                   Oaklawn Racing Casino & Spa Resort

Oaklawn Racing Casino & Spa Resort is a full service thoroughbred racing, casino, spa and resort (the only one in Arkansas).   It  has hundreds of slots, plenty of craps, Blackjack, roulette, and ability to wager on horse racing world wide.  The new hotel and spa are ranked among the best in the country!  There are restaurants, racing themed bars and live entertainment 24 hours a day.  It is highly recommended to go to guest services and obtain a players card and play with your card inserted to obtain the comps and free play coming to you.  Located at 2705 Central Avenue Hot Springs, less than a mile from the Arlington Hotel where all the SCV events will be taking place.

                                                                                                          Gangster Museum of America   

This is the entry to the Gangster Museum of America, just up Central Avenue from Al Capone's old digs at the Arlington Hotel. The museum chronicles the history of Hot Springs as gangland's open city in the 1930's and 1940's. It was a place where gangsters didn't behave like gangsters. The local politicians and businessmen handled the booze and gambling and all the big city crime figures agreed that there would be no trouble in Hot Springs.

That arrangement came to an end after the Second World War, when returning G.I.'s decided to run for public office on an anti-corruption platform. It was also about that time that the big city gangsters were building hotels and casinos in Las Vegas, so the changes at Hot Springs simply sent more business to their own enterprises in Nevada.

On top of all that fun they've given themselves a subject that can expand in a number of different directions. They could set up one room as a speakeasy--an exhibit during the day hosting private parties at night. They could solicit exhibits from the FBI's artifact collection to set up a Gangbuster Room in the Gangster Museum. They could have rotating exhibits on bandit gangs like the Barrows or the Barkers. When you visit this place you'll think of a hundred ideas of things they might eventually include to encourage visitors to make return trips.

Self-guided tour, time limited by length of recorded exhibits. 113 Central Avenue. Phone 501-318-1717.

                                                                      Bathhouse Row

Named a National Historic Landmark in 1987, consists of eight bathhouses built between 1911 and 1923; the Fordyce serves as the national park visitor center and museum of the bathing industry; the Buckstaff has operated continuously since 1912. The Quapaw has been renovated into a modern day spa. The picturesque Ozark Bathhouse is home to a new Ozark Bathhouse Cultural Center, which hosts events that reflect the history and many cultures of the area. It also serves as an art gallery featuring the park's "Artist in Residence" art collection and is available as a venue for both park and private events. The Superior is now a brewery and distillery.  Bathhouse Row is only a short walk up Central avenue from the Arlington Hotel.

                                                                 The Ohio Club

As we assemble in the name of history, you can belly up to the bar at the Ohio Club and sip a cool drink at the same place Alphonse (Al) Capone and his lieutenants did in the 1930's.  There is a strong gangster link to the Valley of the Vapors and one of them is the Ohio Club.  Featuring wooden bar decoration shipped to Arkansas by steamboat from Ohio, this historic bar as played host to many stars like Babe Ruth.  Just across Central Avenue and a very short walk from the Arlington Hotel.  

                                                                                                                    National Park Duck Tours

      Spend an hour and a half with us on a land and water tour that will take you through down-town Hot Springs and out Hwy. 7 South to Lake Hamilton for a ride on the lake and back to downtown. Our driver and tour guide will make your ride fun and informative. Free pick up at most hotels and motels. Free parking on downtown lots at Bath House St. & Central Ave. across from the Buckstaff Bath House. Special group rates.  https://www.hotsprings.org/places/activities/national-park-duck-tours/