Eureka Springs II

Eureka Springs is plain fun. There are only a couple of streets that actually wind their way through the length of the town in one piece and have some cross streets. Most streets are just a few blocks long and many are just a single block long. Since they just zig and zag to wind up or down hills, there are actually 238 actual named streets in Eureka Springs that have no cross intersections – one street ends in a 90 degree angle and the next begins. The result – this Baptist Church is in the Guinness Book of World Records as being the only church in the world with 3 listed physical addresses – one on Spring Street, one on Mountain and one on Owens.

But it drives Brenda crazy! GPS systems in general are not of much help in Eureka Springs, although trying to figure out paper maps of the maze is maybe not much easier. The mess does provide some interesting benefits however. This home was owned by a couple built on a wedge of a corner. Their upper floor had a doorway exiting to Spring Street, and their first floor had a doorway exiting to Pine. Well, they sadly got a divorce, but weren’t wealthy enough to live in separate homes. So they walled up the stair case, he lives on the first floor, she on the second. She has an address on Spring Street, and he has an address on Pine Street. How convenient!

The rolling hills make for many headaches in building anything of size. St. Elizabeth Catholic Church is another Eureka Springs church to be in the Guinness Book of World Records. Because of the terrain, it is the only church in the world where the only entrance into the church is through the bell tower.

The terrain also provides some majestic construction and architectural opportunities as well. Thorncrown Chapel was a treat to visit. It contains 425 windows and over 6,000 square feet of glass. It was designed by E. Fay Jones, a protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright. Jones studied under Wright in his Taliesin Fellowship. We were blessed when we visited because the director was on duty, and she gladly sang Amazing Grace acapella so that we could hear the acoustics. Being totally glass we were astounded at the amazing acoustics the chapel has. Of course, her amazing voice probably contributed some.

The majestic 8 story Basin Park Hotel quickly became one of our hanging out places. Built in 1905 right on Spring Street in the center of town, it became the center of activity, just before the first real downturn in the economy in Eureka Springs. The hotel is impressive, being constructed of all cut limestone block quarried in the area. The second floor has a massive balcony that surrounds the building. They have made good use of that balcony by making it a restaurant. Because of the height of the building and its orientation, the balcony is nicely shaded all afternoon.

The Balcony became our happy hour destination of choice. First of all, the view from the Balcony is stunning. Because of the hills, the buildings across the street are on lower ground, so you can see over everything in the distance, while also perusing what is happening on Spring Street below. Their 1905 margarita is outstanding, and when coupled with some queso and chips makes a pleasant combination.

You would think that with all the hills and staircases folks would have a little more sympathy. Oh well, at least it’s raining so a sit is just half price!

For out anniversary we treated ourselves to the Works for a couple. The Works includes a hot bath, a steam bath, a couples massage and mud facial. While massage is more the Woman’s thing, even I have to admit that I enjoyed it. All the springs in Eureka Springs are cold springs, not hot like those in Hot Springs Arkansas. So only one bath house was ever built here, the Palace, unlike Hot Springs where a dozen or more were built during the heyday.

Another cool limestone structure, the Palace was built in 1901. It was an instant success. It turns out that the impressive neon sign welcoming you and catching your eye was the very first neon sign installed west of the Mississippi. Local folklore says that when the economic downturns hit that the Palace also operated as a brothel. Local folklore also says that the shape of the neon sign has something remotely to do with those extracurricular activities. I don’t know about you, but I am not sure what they mean.

We had a nice lunch at the Mud Street Café. The café is across Spring Street from the Basin Park Hotel. The café is actually in the basement of the building, built in 1888 – however, it wasn’t in the basement in 1888 – it had an entrance directly from the street. It turns out that over time spring rains would fill the street with mud before the town was able to put controls in place to prevent it. Eventually they gave up trying to remove it, and just raised the level of Spring Street by a story. So when you dine in the Mud Street Café, you still see the magnificent leaded glass windows that are now underground, but used to look out onto Spring Street.

Eureka Springs has always attracted the hippy artsy types, and has a vibrant artist community. In fact, it is likely this community that may be responsible for preservation of all Victorian structures. Over the years when community fathers explored upgrading or modernizing the town, the hippy community totally resisted all attempts, and town benefits greatly now from their opposition. You can find about any kind of art you might have interest in here in the many galleries. To give you an idea of the range of skills, the day before I took this picture this was a dead tree along the road in the Wanderlust RV Park. The owners commissioned a local artist to “pretty it up”.

We happened to visit during the annual Banjo Festival. Banjo players from all over come to play for the public in this 3 day event. When we were in Alaska we had gone to a Bluegrass Festival (yes, in Alaska) which was a bit like this. I went and listened to some music and picked up a couple of CD’s which I like. Maybe that explains why every time I get near a river in the Ozarks I could swear I hear banjo music! Even when the Banjo Festival isn’t in full swing, they love their banjoin and boogeyin here.

This impressive Victorian is the Queen Ann. It was actually moved here from Joplin Missouri stone by stone and reassembled here. Developers thought it would fit nicely with the dense Victorian landscape. It is now an exclusive condominium development.

Talk to you soon!