Missouri-Pacific Railroad Depot, Hot Springs Arkansas

Date added: April 04, 2025

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The community that would become known as Hot Springs was established as early as 1820, though it was not until 1832 that the United States government declared the area a federal reservation. Ironically, this act had the effect of retarding investment within the valley of the hot springs due to the reluctance of potential investors to develop property of which they might be dispossessed. Therefore, small, wood construction bathhouses predominated until after the Civil War, when a number of forces combined to both make Hot Springs and its remarkable natural resources both more attractive and more accessible. Primary among these were the growing interest among the general populace in such waters for their therapeutic and medicinal value; the ability of certain talented entrepreneurs to develop and advertise their bathhouses in conjunction with the federal government; the appeal of gambling, for the pursuit of which the city could boast many attractive institutions; and the arrival of the "Diamond Jo" railroad line in 1875, named for "Diamond Jo" Reynolds, a successful Chicago businessman who deplored the rough coach roads that had heretofore provided the only means of access from the Cairo and Fulton (later Missouri-Pacific) railroad that ran through nearby Malvern.

It is difficult to overestimate the impact of this relatively early arrival of a railroad line to the growth and prosperity of what would become one of America's premier resort cities. The access and convenience afforded travelers by relatively dependable railroad transportation single-handedly transformed the remoteness and isolation of this young city's rugged, mountainous setting from obstacles into attractions. Both literally and figuratively, visitors came to "get away" from the hectic pace and dizzying growth of America's late-nineteenth century industrial and commercial centers, and Hot Springs offered the unique combination of comfortable accessibility, rustic surroundings and a myriad assortment of recreational opportunities. The city grew dramatically thereafter, and continued to experience a relatively high level of prosperity well into the second half of the twentieth century.

The Missouri-Pacific Railroad Depot in Hot Springs was constructed c. 1917 after the Missouri-Pacific Railroad had acquired the old St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern line that ran between Missouri and Texas as part of the its ambitious campaign to expand its network of rail lines all over the country, and to establish the railroad's corporate identity through the exclusive use of the Italianate/Mediterranean style of architecture for its passenger and freight depots.

Building Description

The Missouri-Pacific Railroad Depot in Hot Springs is a single-story, brick masonry freight and passenger depot designed in a distinctly Italian interpretation of the Mediterranean style. Its band of large, compound arched windows extending around the eastern, northern and western elevations, hipped Italianate tower and elaborate, decorative Italianate brackets that ornament the cornices throughout are all reflective of this influence, and also of the relatively high-style quality of this particular depot design. The plan is roughly V-shaped, a response to the triangular shape of its particular lot at the intersection of Broadway and Valley Street. A tall red brick chimney, formerly located on the western flank of the hipped roof of the section along Broadway, has since been removed. A continuous, concrete foundation supports the red clay tile roof and brick walls.

Located as it is on a triangular lot, the building has two principal elevations, including the faceted corner where one elevation blends into the other. As this corner faces roughly north, the two adjoining elevations face east and west. The eastern elevation is ten bays in length, not counting the first of the three bays at the northern end that bend around to the western elevation. The southern five bays and the northern four are each filled with large, combination wood windows set into arched brick openings with concrete keystones. Each window is composed of a four-pane, semi-circular fixed window in the arch above two exterior sidelights of three fixed panes each and two central, three-pane casement windows. The entrance bay is framed by a pair of concrete pilasters that support a concrete balcony and balustrade. The entrance itself features a fanlight of the same form as the windows in the arches in the flanking windows. Two smaller concrete pilasters frame the single-leaf door that leads into the lobby area. The large tower above the entrance is square in plan and capped by a hipped roof. It is ornamented by two arched openings set into an incised arch on each of its four faces.

The western elevation is similar to the eastern elevation in that it contains six bays that are filled with windows of identical configuration as those seen on the opposite elevation, and all the bays are separated by shallow brick pilasters. The fifth bay from the north is broader, as it contains a single-leaf entrance, and another larger bay further south has been filled with a large glass window. The southern end of the elevation is finished by a single window opening (now filled) followed by three separate, rolling cargo doors, each surmounted with a five-bay transom. A single gabled vent dormer adorns the roof directly above the first cargo door.

The northern elevation is composed solely of the three-faceted corner of the building that faces the intersection of Broadway and Market Streets. Each of the three faces of this corner is filled with the same compound window seen elsewhere on the building. The southern elevation is more complicated, as it is composed of the two ends of this V-shaped plan and the wall and roof that connects them; to further complicate matters, more recent (c. 1970) additions that were constructed as part of the conversion of this building into a restaurant have obscured from view all of the eastern end and the wall and roof that connected it to the western end. The principal visual obstruction is formed by the large railroad car that has been placed perpendicular to the roof line of the eastern section of the building. The western end is visible, however, and is lighted with three three-over-two wood sash windows.

Significant exterior details, in addition to the windows already noted, include the elaborate, Italianate cornice brackets that extend around all the principal elevations of the main structure, and around the cornice of the tower; the arched openings in the tower itself; and the elaborate capitals above the pair of entrance bay pilasters that support the concrete balcony and balustrade above.

The alterations to the Missouri-Pacific Railroad Depot in Hot Springs are limited to the removal of the original chimney from the western roof slope and the addition of the new construction on the southern or rear elevation of the building to accommodate the restaurant operations that have operated within the building since the early 1970s. Some alterations have taken place within for the same reason, though they are sympathetic to the original palette of such depots and have not included the removal of major structural members. The building is in very good condition.