By Erin Baber
The Garland County Library, the Garland County Historical Society, and the Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute will present a special program during the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival to celebrate the Arlington Hotel’s 100th anniversary.
Titled “The Arlington Hotel: Birth and Rebirth 1864-1924” the program will feature a presentation by Hollis Duncan on Tuesday, October 22, at noon at the Arlington Hotel.
Duncan, a fifth-generation Arkansan with roots in Pike County, will delve into the rich history of the iconic Arlington Hotel. His presentation will cover the hotel’s origin in 1864 when a friendship was struck in Tennessee between a Civil War soldier and a young hotel clerk.
This friendship renewed in Hot Springs in 1873 and led to the construction of the first, second, and third/current Arlington Hotel which opened on New Year’s Eve 1924. The construction of the New Arlington Hotel was a monumental project that was finished in record time. Its Grand Opening was called the “largest party the South had ever seen.”
Through historical photographs and extensive research, Duncan will share fascinating stories about the people who built the Arlington and the hotel’s significant role in Hot Springs’ history.
The program will be held at the Arlington Hotel during the 33rd Annual Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival.
For more information about the library’s services and offerings, visit www.gclibrary.com, call 501-623-4161, or visit the library in person at 1427 Malvern Avenue in Hot Springs.
Erin Baber is Library Marketing Manager at the Garland County Library.
