Bathhouse Tour

Tuesday we slept in, Jordan cooked breakfast, (which was provided in the little cabin we rented), and then we headed to Bathhouse Row to tour the Fordyce Bathhouse. The Fordyce Bathhouse is part of Bathhouse Row, which is part of Hot Springs National Park. And the Fordyce is actually the visitor center.

Park rangers greeted us inside the beautiful lobby. (But let me just say this is not what I think of when I think of a national park!!!)

People came to the bath houses because of the water - the natural, hot springs water. Whether they were sick, (sometimes they would come with a prescription) or they just wanted to relax, people came for the water. And people still come for the water. At one of the bath houses that is still operating, we read the standard temperatures and time limits for the different parts of the bath, and one place said that you could exceed the temperature or time limits only with a prescription. - So people still come for these healing waters!

Here's the women's locker room. The Fordyce was known as the nicest bathhouse in town.

The women's bathing room in the Fordyce originally had 7 baths/stalls. Business was so good that they needed an additional bath, so they built one more.

I just had to hop in a tub!

Look at how big these tubs are!!

Then came the men's side. Here's the men's locker room.

And here's the men's bathing room. The Fordyce claimed that the men's and women's sides were equal or even, but that's obviously a joke! There were more than 20 baths/stalls. The stained glass ceiling features Netpune's daughter. And the fountain used to have natural hot springs water coming from it, so the men could get a drink from the fountain before or after their baths.

Jordan stepped into the needle shower.

Here's some equipment that they used to use on people. But notice the white thing behind Jordan? That's like a sauna that you sit in. The type here is fully enclosed, so your head is inside, too. There are other types that have a hole at the top (instead of those windows), so your head can stick out.

This is a very deep tub designed for people who were immobile. Workers could move that platform by rolling it along a track on the ceiling. Then they could lower it and put a patient on it. Then they'd raise it up, wheel the patient over the tub, and lower the patient into the tub. So even immobile people had the chance to be healed in the baths.

There was a little garden area in an enclosed portion of the roof where people could sunbathe. The men's and women's sides were separated by a greenhouse. I didn't get any pictures there, but it was funny to think that men and women were running around up there nude.

On the top floor even more socializing happened in the music room, which also served as the social room.

The stained glass ceiling in the music/social room


Also on the top floor was the gymnasium. You can see punching bags, hanging rings, a climbing ladder, parallel bars, a pommel horse, weight machines, weight balls, a scale, a sink, and more. It was really cool to see all of this.


And that was our tour!