Majestic Hotel

HOT SPRINGS — February 2024 will mark the 10th anniversary of the catastrophic fire that destroyed the Majestic Hotel, a landmark property that helped define the historic downtown of Hot […] read more >

Ahead of the 10th anniversary of the catastrophic fire that destroyed the landmark Majestic Hotel, Hot Springs city officials are under pressure to find someone to build something on the now-vacant 5-acre property. read more >

Hot Springs continues to move forward with important tourism-related projects and activities despite the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Steve Arrison, CEO of Visit Hot Springs. read more >

The growth in downtown Hot Springs has been dramatic since the Majestic Hotel burned on Feb. 27, 2014. Since that date, 144 new businesses have opened. Most of those are boutique retailers and restaurants. read more >

Jim Shamburger owns the Best Western Winner Circle Inn just across the street from Oaklawn Racing & Gaming in Hot Springs. When Oaklawn announced in mid-November its plans for a $100 million expansion on site to include a 200-room hotel, an 28,000-SF casino and a 14,000-SF events center, Shamburger couldn’t have been happier. read more >

The destruction of the Majestic Hotel left an indelible scar on the psyche of Hot Springs officials and residents. read more >

News is bubbling up in Hot Springs, where Mayor Pat McCabe and his wife, Ellen, are planning a boutique hotel in the Hale Bathhouse and the city is brainstorming on what to do with the site of the old Majestic Hotel. read more >

Pat McCabe was appointed mayor by the Hot Springs Board of Directors in April after the resignation of Mayor Ruth Carney in March. read more >

The fire that destroyed the historic Majestic Hotel in Hot Springs three years ago helped prompt a wave of development in the downtown district. read more >

Hot Springs' board of directors voted unanimously to hire Spirtas Wrecking Co. of St. Louis for demolition and abatement of the yellow brick section of the destroyed Majestic Hotel. read more >

Dealing with property owners who neglect dilapidated commercial buildings is becoming a growing problem for cities, especially when they crumble, Pine Bluff Mayor Debe Hollingsworth said. Other officials in cities and towns in Arkansas agree with her. read more >

While some residents in downtown Hot Springs want the Majestic Hotel debris cleaned up, some are rallying to protect portions of the crumbling building they say can and should be restored to its former glory. read more >

Cole McCaskill is a Hot Springs native who recently stepped into the newly created position of downtown development director. His job is to manage the Hot Springs Metro Partnership’s Strategic Plan for Downtown Development, which grew out of the February fire that destroyed the historic Majestic Hotel. read more >

The Greater Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce and the Hot Springs Metro Partnership recognized after the Majestic Hotel fire that they should embrace the adage to "never let a crisis go to waste," commissioning the Downtown Game Plan Task Force to study all aspects of downtown development. read more >

The days of the humble news chopper are waning. It’s now cheaper, easier and more effective to shoot stories with drones. News stations are adapting to this change in different ways. Some are hiring freelancers with access to the technology. read more >

The February fire that destroyed the Majestic Hotel in Hot Springs has focused concerns on two troubling issues facing the resort city’s historic downtown: the fire danger posed by other largely vacant properties and the failure of building owners to maintain their properties. read more >

Out of a terrible fire has come an opportunity for Hot Springs to recommit to an effort to preserve and enhance the city’s great natural and architectural beauty. Now it’s up to the city to take advantage of that opportunity, for the benefit of all Arkansans. read more >