Historical photos that have never been made public before will be showcased as part of the photographic exhibit, “Hot Springs: A Journey Through History.” 

   The 19 photos will be added to 90 shots currently slated for the exhibit, which opens Dec. 13 at the Hot Springs Convention Center. The exhibit is part of a permanent collection owned by the Hot Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau and will be open for three months. It contains what is believed to be the oldest photograph of a Hot Springs business, shot in the early 1870s. 

   The free photo exhibit, which will run until mid-March, consists of photographs from the collection of the Garland County Historical Society that have been enlarged and framed for exhibition purposes. Some of the previously unreleased photos include shots of Babe Ruth at the Hot Springs Country Club, circa 1923, another shot of Ruth riding a horse at Oaklawn Jockey Club, circa 1923, one of legendary baseball pitcher Cy Young, circa 1907, a photo of the 1932 Centennial Parade that marked the 100^th birthday of Hot Springs Reservation (now known as Hot Springs National Park) and a shot capturing the fire at the State Theater on Central Avenue, circa 1939. 

    “We selected photos we thought would be of interest to our visitors and residents,” said Steve Arrison, executive director of the CVB. “Buildings that people would remember, buildings that used to stand at locations people are familiar with and of well-known personalities that have visited the city.” 

   The collection traces the history of a city known for its vivid and varied past, capturing historically significant events, as well as purely entertaining ones.  

   “Visitors have been coming to the Spa City since Hernando de Soto discovered the hot waters,” Arrison added. “The first spring training site for major league baseball was here. Babe Ruth, Cy Young, Rogers Hornsby all enjoyed the city. Tony Bennett first sang ‘I Left My Heart in San Francisco’ in the city, and Al Capone, Bugsy Siegel and all the big gangsters from around the U.S. vacationed in town.”  

   The opening will be marked by a free public reception at 5 p.m. at the Convention Center. There will also be a book-signing at that time by Hot Springs historian Orval Allbritton for his new book, “Hot Springs Gun Smoke,” which traces colorful and sometimes violent incidents in the city’s past. Allbritton also wrote “Leo and Verne,” which looks at politics in the city in the 1930s.
 

   For more information about this or other photo exhibits at the Hot Springs Convention Center call (501)321-2027.

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This release, along with others by the Department of Parks & Tourism, is available electronically at the Department’s on-line media room: www.arkansas.com/media. Hundreds of high-resolution photos are also available at this Web address.