hot Springs dine & discover
OLLI’s Dine & Discover series offers you the opportunity to experience an overview of an interesting topic while enjoying lunch with your peer group.
10386 - Historic Arlington Hotel
Presenter: Hotel Historian
Date: September 15
Time: 11:30 am – 1:30 pm
Location: Arlington Hotel
Cost: $25
Min Enrollment: 10 Max Enrollment: 30
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This tour will fascinate the audience with stories of the architecture and construction of this historic building in the middle of downtown Hot Springs. Learn about the lively presence and influence of gangsters, the one-year reconstruction of the burned original structure and the beginning of the hotel as the center of Spa City politics and mayhem in 1925. Sure to engage, join us for lunch in the hotel’s classic dining room and a tour of the public areas of yesterday that are still in use today.
Valet parking is available (at participant cost) and individuals can park in hotel parking lot.
10387 - The Village – From the Ground UP
Instructor: Joanna Williams, Arkansas State Parks (Retired), Author
Date: October 9
Time: 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Location: 19th Hole Restaurant – Hot Springs Village
Cost: $20
Min Enrollment: 10 Max Enrollment: 30
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Enjoy lunch in the heart of the village while learning about Hot Springs Village from conception to the thriving community it has become today. Joanna Williams, known by some as the village history expert, has resided in the area since 1971 when most of the area was wooded and there were no gates and only a few roads. Whether you’re a long-time village resident or a newcomer, don’t miss this opportunity to hear interesting stories of success, growth, and the building of a village.
10388 - Gangsters of Hot Springs
Instructors: Robert Raines, Owner, Gangster Museum of America
Date: October 13
Time: 11:00 am
Location: The Gangster Museum of America
Cost: $25
Min Enrollment: 10 Max Enrollment: Unlimited
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Feast on the stories, fables, and facts surrounding the famous and the infamous in this wild-west afternoon. Go back in time with this tour of the outlaws and their hide-outs, criminal undertakings, and underground affairs. Robert Raines, is the local authority on the detailed accounts of the gangsters who gave the Spa City its reputation, mystique, and unrelenting notoriety. Enjoy lunch in the historic district at The Colonial Pancake House (included in your class fee).
10389 - Railroads of Hot Springs
Presenter: Mike Sypult, Expert Rail Enthusiast
Date: November 13
Time: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location: Hot Springs Train Depot
Cost: $50
Min Enrollment: 10 Max Enrollment: Unlimited
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Special guest instructor Mike Sypult is a lifelong rail enthusiast. He has led numerous groups on train trips around the nation, and his research into all things rail-related is somewhat of an obsession. Learn the rich history of area railroads and their impact on the growth and development of Hot Springs. Explore the geography, routes, trains, and people who provided freight and passenger transportation to the masses of visitors who longed for the Spa City’s natural resources and the healing properties of its’ thermal waters. Discover the rise and fall of regional railroads and their effect on the area. Enjoy lunch (included in your class fee) with the instructor during Q & A and open forum discussion at the Brick House Grill in historic downtown Hot Springs. Don’t miss this opportunity to spend time with an expert whose passion for the subject that is sure to infect you, as well!
Deadline for registering for this class in October 30th.