Date:  June 2, 2024  |   Story: Stephanie Maxwell Newton  |   Photography: Bailey Dougan  |  

One of Spa City’s most well-known collectors and civic leaders gives his take on the area’s past, present, and future

When Davis Tillman relocated from Memphis to Hot Springs in the early 1990s, he didn’t expect he would still be there more than three decades later. “It was pretty bleak when I first moved here. I thought, I’ll give it two years,” he says. The motivation for his move was to help with his father’s antiques store, Tillman’s Antiques, but he had one good-natured demand: “Part of my negotiation with my father was to be able to buy the building and renovate the upstairs,” he says. These floors above the store became a well-collected backdrop for charity events and parties through the years. With each new face he met, he became more intertwined in the community. “It turned out to be one of the best moves I ever made in my life,” he says. “Hot Springs has been a good place to live, and it’s good to see it going in the right direction. Every year it gets better and better and better.”

Davis Tillman

Q: You and your father’s antiques store, Tillman’s Antiques, was open for 40 years. I’m sure you met lots of interesting people over the years, whether they were locals or visitors.
A: There were definitely more out-of-towners at the start. It’s amazing the people who came through Hot Springs at that time. We had celebrities in the ’80s and ’90s, like when they shot the movie The White River Kid—people like Bob Hoskins, Beau Bridges, and Randy Travis all came in. When locals began to come downtown during the mid- to late ’90s, at first they were coming to see some of the celebrities. But then we started to have the Hot Springs Music Festival, the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, and poetry readings that drew people who lived here back to this area.

Q: Tell us more about how Hot Springs has evolved over the years.
A: The city’s heyday was the 1920s through the ’50s, at which point we had a lot of casinos and the top entertainers in the country coming in on a regular basis to visit places like The Southern Club, The Vapors, and The Belvedere Club. People came from all over the midsouth to shop and stay at The Arlington and The Majestic. But when the casinos left and major retailers moved to malls in the 1960s, downtown just went dark.

By the 1980s, the city had realized saving historic buildings was important. The first improvements were made with things like sidewalks and lighting downtown. There were minor successes until the ’90s, when the arts community came in and started taking back the older buildings and renovating. With the art galleries came the restaurants, and that’s when tourism really started to come back. That success continued into the end of the ’90s with the building of the Hot Springs Convention Center—that was like a new day for Hot Springs. All of a sudden we had the redevelopment of retail in downtown and midtown as well as on the lake. The casino at Oaklawn was the next thing that really changed the vitality of Hot Springs. That has meant more fine restaurants, an incredible lineup of entertainment, and, with that, greater purses. Between the historic downtown, the lake, and the gaming, all of a sudden we have more amenities than any other community of our size.

Q: What are some more recent additions to Hot Springs that you think add to the overall experience of the city?
A: One of the things that excites me has been a greater emphasis on live entertainment. Oaklawn has a facility that has been bringing in major names, and that’s wonderful. In the last decade or 15 years, we’ve also become kind of a foodie community. Every year we’re seeing a more sophisticated visitor, people with more discerning tastes in what they expect when they come here. The renovation of The Arlington Hotel, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, has been wonderful to see. The reuses for the bathhouses—Superior as a brewery, The Hale as a restaurant and hotel rooms—those redevelopments have been phenomenal. It shows the bathhouses aren’t just relics, they’re really assets to downtown.

Read on for more of our favorite ways to discover Hot Springs.

Path leading to the Grand Promenade behind Bathhouse Row.

Helpful staff at Gene Lockwood’s.

Graphic tees at Lavish Boutique.

SHOP
Located in downtown’s Ouachita Avenue Historic District, Lavish Boutique (lavishonmain.com) is a must-visit for on-trend women’s clothing and accessories, including favorite brands such as Free People, Show Me Your Mumu, and Z Supply. Gene Lockwood’s (genelockwoods.com) is a go-to for game-day gear and outdoor apparel. Stop by their location on Albert Pike Road for a cooler and new pair of Chacos before heading out for a weekend on Lake Hamilton.

DINE
Craving Mexican food? Taco Mama (tacomama.net) has all of your favorites, including quesadillas, tacos, and tamales. (If you have a special occasion coming up, take note: Taco Mama provides catering and a food truck, too!) The 18-inch pies at Deluca’s Pizzeria (originaldelucas.com) have developed a cult following, and for good reason. If there’s a line outside, don’t let that deter you—grab a spot and get ready for a mouth-watering slice. For dinner with a view, head to Fisherman’s Wharf (501.525.7437)—by car or by boat—and choose from an array of seafood favorites on the restaurant’s expansive waterfront deck on Lake Hamilton.

VISIT
Get creative at Hammer & Stain (hammerandstainhotsprings.com), a do-it-yourself studio where you can try your hand at a number of home décor crafts such as wall hangings, outdoor games, and knitted blankets—all suited toward a variety of styles and ages. For a day of relaxation, book a treatment at Astral Spa at Oaklawn (oaklawn.com), whose services include massages, luxury skincare, hydrafacials, and access to men’s and women’s locker rooms equipped with needle showers, a steam room, an infrared sauna, and more. Finally, reserve tickets to the Maxwell Blade Theatre of Magic (maxwellblade.com) for an unforgettable evening with illusionist and comedian Maxwell Blade in the historic Malco Theatre. Showtimes are Tuesdays through Saturdays, and each performance has something the whole family will enjoy.