By 1985, only the Buckstaff Bathhouse remained open (and still is, boasting continuous operation from 1912). Yet as new medicines developed in the 1950s, therapeutic bathing declined, and business dried up. By 1921, the popularity of Hot Springs - whose baths were said to rival those of ancient Rome - led to its creation as our 18th national park. What’s more, a bathhouse regimen could cost as much as 55 cents, an average worker’s daily salary in 1915 (the government did provide the needy a free bathhouse, which was later segregated). Of course, these were white, wealthy endeavors African Americans were mostly banned from using the bathhouses where they worked, forcing them to build their own nearby. At first, accommodations were rudimentary - wooden shacks built atop a gurgling spring - but eventually, the waters’ healing reputation and laws requiring more sanitary and fireproof buildings shaped Hot Springs into a destination nicknamed “the American Spa.” Its marquee attraction is Bathhouse Row, a collection of eight imposing stone buildings that line Central Avenue in downtown Hot Springs, each with its own unique architectural style. During the Golden Era of Bathing (1880 to 1950), the mineral-rich H2O was thought to have medicinal properties, and, encouraged by their doctors, the ailing flocked to them for relief from conditions such as arthritis and back pain. “quaffing the elixir” - has been a public commodity since 1832, when President Andrew Jackson deemed what’s now Hot Springs National Park protected land - 40 years before Yellowstone. Bathing in or drinking the water - a.k.a.
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