Historical Society celebrates summer with temporary 'crystal fountain'

From left are Garland County Historical Society Vice President Bitty Martin, volunteer Cindy Rogers, President Julie Brenner Nix, and volunteers Duke Nix, and Karen Blohm, with the newly installed crystal fountain sign in front of the Historical Society building at 328 Quapaw. The crystal fountain was at the Central, Whittington, and Park avenues junction from 1952 until 1972. - Submitted photo
From left are Garland County Historical Society Vice President Bitty Martin, volunteer Cindy Rogers, President Julie Brenner Nix, and volunteers Duke Nix, and Karen Blohm, with the newly installed crystal fountain sign in front of the Historical Society building at 328 Quapaw. The crystal fountain was at the Central, Whittington, and Park avenues junction from 1952 until 1972. - Submitted photo

The Garland County Historical Society is celebrating past summers with a temporary "crystal fountain" in front of its building at 328 Quapaw Ave.

The fountain image was enlarged from a postcard that features a well-remembered Hot Springs landmark. "We hope people will 'watch this space' to see more classic Hot Springs images in the future," Julie Brenner Nix, society president, said in a news release.

"The crystal fountain was selected as our first seasonal display because it's so iconic. We placed the colorful and historic sign near the street to make it accessible to the public, who are invited to park in our parking lot and walk over to snap a selfie or take a family photo by the crystal fountain," Bitty Martin, Historical Society vice president and outreach manager, said in the release.

The crystal fountain was located at the Whittington, Central, and Park Avenue junction, "which has been the site of interesting structures from the early days of Hot Springs. In 1899 the Columbia Club, led by Sarah (Mrs. Prosper) Ellsworth, built a pavilion that housed a cold-water drinking fountain in the middle of the intersection," the release said.

In the early 1900s, the Hot Springs Railway Company replaced the first pavilion with one that sheltered passengers waiting for trolleys.

"It was a busy transfer point for passengers going to or coming from popular Whittington Park," the release said. "When the trolleys were replaced with buses in 1938, the pavilion became a bus stop. In 1944, the pavilion collapsed when a truck sideswiped one of the supporting columns. The owners of the truck paid for the pavilion's restoration, but increasing automobile traffic at the intersection made this a dangerous place for pedestrians."

The Kiwanis Club raised $5,000 for a fountain that replaced the pavilion in 1952. Called the "Fountain of Youth," its dedication featured a combined Marine and Army and Navy General Hospital band, many dignitaries, and a program telling the history of Hot Springs. Distinctive Arkansas crystals and other state minerals were added in 1952. A loop around the crystal fountain was a ritual for a generation of teens on Friday and Saturday nights in the 1950s and 1960s, the release said.

The crystal fountain was replaced by the current one in 1971 by E.M. "Mac" Bush of Bush Construction Company in memory of his late wife, Alice Bush.

The Garland County Historical Society is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

This 1950s postcard is featured on a sign that has just been installed in front of the Garland County Historical Society building at 328 Quapaw. The card features the crystal fountain that graced the junction of Central, Park, and Whittington avenues from 1952 to 1972. - Submitted photo
This 1950s postcard is featured on a sign that has just been installed in front of the Garland County Historical Society building at 328 Quapaw. The card features the crystal fountain that graced the junction of Central, Park, and Whittington avenues from 1952 to 1972. - Submitted photo

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