Hill Wheatley Downtowner Motor Inn

The story

Written by AI from this property's National Register nomination and the record above; every sentence is checked against its sources before it appears here. Corrections: privacy@treealive.com

The Hill Wheatley Downtowner Motor Inn is a ten-story hotel at 135 Central Ave. in Hot Springs, Garland County, built from 1963 to 1965. It was designed by architect Noland Blass Jr. in the Mid-Century Modern style and was listed in the National Register in 2016.

Why it's listed

It was listed under criteria A and C, with local significance in architecture, commerce, and entertainment and recreation. Its period of significance runs from 1963 to 1965, the years it was built and opened.

Physical character

The building has walls of brick, concrete, aluminum panels and glass on a concrete foundation, under a flat asphalt roof. Cantilevered concrete slabs, exposed reinforced concrete, and redwood solar screens with wooden shading grills mark its exterior. Inside, a floating stairway rises past a second-floor swimming pool and bathhouse, and an oval gift shop opens off a covered area at the front.

Historical context

Construction began in 1963 on the hotel, and it opened in 1965. In 1965, Hill Wheatley's mother was the hotel's first bathhouse customer. The tenth floor's card rooms, used for gambling from 1965 to 1967, were then remodeled into a residence for Hill Wheatley, with renovation continuing through 1970. Hill Wheatley and his family lived there until 1998.