Howe Hotel-Hot Springs

The other day, I headed with some friends to the Howe Hotel in downtown Hot Springs, across from the Arlington. The hotel had suffered burn damage to the back and much of the back was left open and exposed to the elements.

After we were able to gain entrance, however, we found a very different story. Much of the interior was still in some state of functionality. We decided that it would be best if we headed up the top of the building first and checked out the basement later. On one of the floors we were able to find an open elevator just sitting. I climbed out into the elevator and snapped a picture of the buttons on this thing, with images of elevators falling four or five stories filling my head. On another floor, we found an old dentist's chair just sitting out in the hall. We snapped a picture of it, which looked extra creepy in our lights.

Eventually we reached the roof. We weren't able to do much exploring up here because ths hotel is located right next to an active hotel. We could see people watching their TV's in the room right across the street. I snapped a picture out of the door, showing the view towards the Downtowner Hotel. I also snapped another one through a door whose glass was broken.
At this point, we decided to head down to the basement and lower levels of the hotel. This is actually a very dangerous part. The first and second floors have spots that are fully visible to the outside and anyone passing by could see you. However, we were able to pass without problem and made it down to the lower levels. We went into one room and there was a square section cut out of the floor that led down below. It was filled with old debris and trash. However, we were able to find a staircase and descend to an even lower level. This level was partially flooded and we had to step carefully across some cinder blocks. This room and an adjacent one had been carved out of stone a long time ago. Housed in it was a large, rusted machine that seemed to be pumping water out constantly. I snapped a couple of pictures , but none of them came out looking very good. I also decided to snap a final shot of the hotel as we headed out and back home.
Stay safe. Tread carefully.
Fonzi