The new Regions Plaza was dedicated Thursday with both the grand opening of the new Regions Bank Hot Springs Main branch adjacent to the plaza and the unveiling of the historic National Humane Alliance Water Trough Fountain at its center, with several humans, one horse and a few dogs on hand to celebrate.
Jean Wallace, director of Hot Springs Parks and Trails, told the crowd, "We're here to celebrate the return of a piece of Hot Springs history, once lost but now it's found," referring to the solid granite fountain at the heart of the plaza, located at the intersection of Malvern Avenue and Broadway Street.
The fountain was originally placed in Hot Springs in 1909 by the National Humane Alliance, one of 125 animal fountains installed across America, to honor the Alliance's founder, Hermon Lee Ensign, a wealthy business tycoon and animal lover. The 6-ton fountain features lion head spouts on three sides and a dedication plague on the fourth with the large bowl providing water for horses and the smaller bowls at ground level providing for dogs and cats.
Wallace said the fountain was removed after "the advent of automobiles made it obsolete," and was acquired by Thomas E. and Ida Lee Reed in 1970, who kept it for decades until their grandson, Greg Reed, offered it to the city.
Hot Springs' new city manager, David Frasher, said he didn't know his predecessor, David Watkins, but "I know he had a passion for downtown" and the redevelopment of the area "with a special focus on this spot." He said Watkins had hoped the former Austin Hotel would be transformed into a "upscale, modern facility" and that the new Regions Plaza would be a source of pride to the community.
"How fitting to bring that dream to reality," he said, noting he had been to Oaklawn Park earlier in the day and thought about "the history Hot Springs has with horses" which continues today. "They used to haul us around and now they entertain us at the track."
He said the new Regions Bank and Regions Plaza "will build on the momentum to ensure a renaissance in Hot Springs and downtown."
Greg Reed said the fountain had been in his family for 40 years "and we had no idea where it came from." He said history was always important to his family and "for the city to reclaim it is really impressive."
He said it was "great to see the city retain as much of its history as possible," and "to keep embracing and recognizing sites like this." He noted that "everything can't be retained, but if you can retain a piece of it, it's like an echo of history."
Lynn Wright, Regions area president for Arkansas and north Louisiana, said he was "super excited for this day to finally be here," noting the project was "years in the making." He gave credit to former Regions President Elizabeth Farris, who "first came to us during the construction process with the idea."
"We presented it to corporate and they couldn't be more excited," he said, noting the plaza and the new bank showed their commitment to the downtown area and the progress being made.
"Our commitment to Hot Springs goes back more than 100 years and we want it to go for another 100 years," he said.
Wright told The Sentinel-Record their decision to demolish the former building came after remodeling "turned out to not be practical." He noted the extensive damage suffered by the building when a microburst hit on Aug. 5, 2012, was what prompted the plans to rebuild.
"Anything less would have just been a Band-Aid, a short-term fix," he said. "We wanted to make a long-term investment and show our commitment to downtown Hot Springs." He noted construction took a little more than a year with the whole project taking a few years to complete.
Wallace said the return of the fountain to the site, which is believed to be only a short distance from its original location, was "an incredible and circuitous route," noting, "The stars really lined up on this one, folks."
Local on 04/08/2016