Award-Winning Filmmaker Traces Town's Colorful History in New Documentary

Fayetteville, Ark. - The story of the development of the city of Hot Springs, Ark., is a rich and varied tapestry of characters and events woven by the thousands of visitors who have journeyed there since the area was first "discovered" by Europeans in the 16th century.

This colorful history is the subject of the film, "City of Visitors," which premieres this Sunday at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. The film is the project of Dale Carpenter, an Emmy award-winning documentarian and associate professor of journalism at the University of Arkansas. Carpenter -- along with music professor James Greeson, who composed the score -- wrote, directed and produced the film for Arkansas Education Television Network. Major funding for the project came through a grant from the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation.

Carpenter's previous credits include "The Sound of Dreams," featuring the Hot Springs Music Festival, and "The Forgotten Expedition," a story of the exploration of the southern Louisiana Purchase, which was named "Best in Competition" in February 2003 by the Broadcast Education Association.

Drawing on historic photographs, documents, artifacts and narratives, "City of Visitors" traces the often tumultuous evolution of the town from a tiny settlement nestled in the Ouachita Mountains to a thriving city that became one of America's first major tourist destinations.

"The story of the growth of Hot Springs is a fascinating adventure," Carpenter said, "because there really is no other city like it in the country. This area was one of the nation's first tourist attractions, drawing people from all walks of life, all of whom have had an influence on the very unique character of the town. My goal for this project was to capture that character."

It was shortly after completing work on "the Sound of Dreams" in 2000 that Carpenter got the idea for "City of Visitors."

"One of the patrons of the music festival approached me with the idea for this project," he explained. "She had grown up in Hot Springs and remembered it from her childhood as a glamorous, amazing city. She thought that people should know the town's story and asked me to tell it."

As part of his research, Carpenter spent hours exploring the Garland County Historical Society, poring through archived records, photographs and films to gain an insight into the essence of the town. He also interviewed dozens of people whose memories provide perspective on the eras and events that shaped the city.

"I had to find people who could help me tell the story," Carpenter explained, "and who better to do that than the people who lived it. These are folks with a real connection to the city. They have watched these events unfold and shape the nature of the town."

Most people know the city of Hot Springs for the rows of luxurious bathhouses that line its central streets. Built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries during the heyday of the city's tourist trade, the bathhouses were designed to accommodate the thousands of visitors who flocked to Hot Springs to bathe in the beautiful thermal waters that gave the city its name. Many of America's wealthiest and most powerful families prized the town as a posh vacation getaway, while others were drawn to the mystical "healing waters" of the springs. Along with the bathhouses, a host of shops and theaters also sprang up, providing another form of entertainment to beckon tourists. However, as the city grew, Hot Springs began to play host to some less innocuous forms of entertainment.

"The gambling industry kind of grew up side by side with the tourism industry," Carpenter noted. "It provided certain visitors with another form of entertainment besides the more family friendly activities the city was known for."

Several of the people whom Carpenter interviewed shared vivid recollections of their experiences with Hot Springs' "underground entertainment." One of them, Shirley Abbott, an author from New York, has written extensively about her experiences growing up in Hot Springs, where her father worked as a cashier in one of the many casinos.

Although gambling was officially illegal throughout the state, it was often regarded as something of an open secret in Hot Springs, through the mid-20th century. Whether or not the government mounted an effort against it was often related more to the political climate of the times than to issues of legality.

"If the governor was against gambling, life would get a bit more difficult for the casinos," Carpenter explained, "but many politicians felt that it was better just to look the other way. Many times, even if clubs were raided, owners were tipped off beforehand. They would simply put out all of their old equipment and furniture, the police would come and make a big show of smashing it up, and then they would bring out the new stuff and business would go on as usual."

Although casino gambling was finally done away with permanently in the city during the 1960s, its influence left an indelible stamp on the city's culture.

Local politics, Carpenter found, also played a large part in molding the character of the city.

"One of the most interesting interviews I conducted was with former Arkansas Gov. Sid McMath, who grew up in Hot Springs," he said. "As a returning veteran from World War II, he became very aware of the corruption in local politics and led a fight to remove the old guard from office and bring in fresh blood." McMath eventually became the prosecuting attorney for Garland County and went on to become one of the state's most noted politicians.

The thousands of visitors who have passed through the small mountain city of Hot Springs have brought with them a history of luxury, infamy and intrigue. These elements have combined to produce a city unique in the American landscape - a city whose essence is singularly captured in "City of Visitors."