Buckstaff Bathhouse Historic Structure Report, Hot Springs National Park
Seven Generations AE. 2026. Buckstaff Bathhouse Historic Structure Report, Hot Springs National Park. Historic Structure Report. National Park Service. Interior Regions 3, 4, 5
The three-story Buckstaff Bathhouse was completed in 1912 in the Neo-Classical Revival style. Exterior walls are brick, with white stucco accents. Engaged two-story columns divide the entrance into seven bays. First floor windows are arched; second story windows are rectangular. The building consists of approximately 27,000 square feet on three main floors. The first floor of the building contains the lobby and men's facilities. Women's facilities are on the second floor. The third floor is a common space containing reading and writing rooms and access to the roof-top sun porches at the north and south ends of the building. The Buckstaff is the only bathhouse on the Row that has been in continuous operation as a bathhouse since it opened. The goal of the Buckstaff Historic Structure Report is to document its history and chronology, present a feature condition assessment, and recommend a conceptual level treatment plan for continued operation as a bathhouse facility. Hot Springs National Park was once known as Hot Springs Reservation. It was set aside in 1832 to protect the Park's primary resource, the hot springs. This type of Reservation was an early version of a National Park unit. Hot Springs was the first area in the United States to be set aside for its natural features. In 1916 the National Park Service was formed and in 1921, Hot Springs Reservation changed its name to Hot Springs National Park, making it the 18th National Park in the Service. Bathhouse Row, one of the park's most prominent historic landscapes, is a National Historic Landmark.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Seven Generations AE
- Date of Issue
- 2026-06-30
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- HOSP
- Keywords
- architecture, Arkansas, bathhouse, Bathhouse Row Historic District, heath, historic elevator, medicine, National Historic Landmark, thermal bathing
- Subjects
- CRIS-HS: 000709: Buckstaff Bathhouse
- License
- Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International