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• HOME • GENERAL STORE • NATURAL HERITAGE • HISTORY, CULTURE & CRAFTSMANSHIP |
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History
• Eureka Springs |
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| Eureka Springs Index • Basin Spring • Crescent Hotel • The Southern • Basin Park Hotel Into The Hills Index • Calico Rock Shoe • Eureka Springs • Riverside Inn History Index • Into The Hills • Upper South • Native America • The Irish • The Germans • Civil War • Baldknobbers • Railroads • Ozark Bridges • Ozark Mills • Ozark Theaters • Historic Roads • Cemeteries • Ozark Barns • Springhouses Culture Index • Agriculture • Book Learning • Cooking • Craftsmanship • Faith in the Hills • History • Music • People of the Hills • Storytelling • Tourism |
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Atop West Mountain, the Crescent Hotel stands out nearly as well as the Christ of the Ozarks statue situated a few hills over.
The ambitious dream of Eureka Springs' founding father, General Powell Clayton, the hotel stood as a prime example of everything Eureka Springs had become by the 1890s.
Contemporary accounts tell of the "carriage set" arriving for weeks of high-end relaxation.
In the midst of these Ozark hills, where few had even seen an indoor toilet, the Crescent boasted steam heat, electric lighting and an exotic menu featuring, among other things, a crab and cheese casserole.
As the fortunes of Eureka Springs waned in the 20th century, the "Grand Old Lady of the Ozarks" suffered a series of downturns.
The "castle in the sky" simply proved too expensive to maintain.
Converted first to a girls' school, then a dubious cancer hospital by the late 'thirties, then closed for a time in the 'forties, the facility fell further into disrepair.
The short span of 1937 to 1940 contributed greatly to the mythology of the Crescent. Under the ownership of renegade "doctor" Norman Baker, macabre tales spread.
Today, some list the facility as the most haunted location in the Ozarks.
A fire destroyed large portions of the fourth floor in the 1960s.
Fortunately, under past and current owners, the Crescent Hotel has been largely returned to its former glory.
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Editor's note: For an extraordinarily flowery history of the Crescent Hotel, be sure to read The Grand Old Lady of the Ozarks by D.R. Woolery.
Top, the Crescent Hotel rises from extensively manicured gardens filled with tulips and hyacinths and studded with redbud and lilac.
Lower, a hall on the third floor.
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The property has been purchased and restored by Marty and Elise Roenick, as has the Basin Park Hotel.
Article credits: Above left, historic excerpts regarding Eureka Springs landmarks are made available to the public by a series of plaques found throughout the town.
StateoftheOzarks thanks the Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce and the Community Development Partnership for making this information available.
Additionally, special thanks to Glenna Booth, Arkansas Community Excellent Coordinator of Eureka Springs.
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Excerpt from the Eureka Springs Echo, May 20, 1886,
America's newest and most luxurious hotel built at a cost of $294,000.
It was two years ago that Powell Clayton and his associates chose the site of the new Crescent Hotel.
Twenty-seven acres at the north end of West Mountain, a majestic location overlooking the valley. The commissioning of Isaac S. Taylor as architect was announced and construction commenced.
Special wagons were constructed to transport the huge pieces of limestone from the quarry site on White River near Beaver. Mr. O'Shawnessy, the spokesman of the imported group of Irish masons predicts, "The 18-inch thick walls of the Crescent, fitted without the use of mortar, would withstand the destructive forces of time and retain its original beauty for many years to come."
The property is lighted with Edison lamps, furnished with electric bells, heated with steam and open grates, has a hydraulic elevator, and is truly a showplace of today's conveniences.