HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – A Hot Springs building that has more than 90 years of history was demolished Wednesday.

As the walls and ceiling came down, community members spent much of the afternoon reminiscing about the once-vibrant Belvedere Country Club which had a history dating back to 1912.

The current construction site is something former owner of the club Robert Raines said he never imagined. 

“You never dream that someday it will be torn down but it’s just sad,” Raines said. “Back in those days when you came to Belvedere, you were in another world.”

However, he said times have changed as he was told the building was falling apart, leading to bulldozing.

“Every time I heard a crack (caused by the bulldozing) I knew it was either the granite we put in there or the hardwood floors,” Raines said.

Before the present time construction, the Executive Director of Garland County Historical Society Elizabeth Robbins said back in 1912, Belvedere not only looked different but had a different name and was a popular place for people to go.

“It was as called The Chicago Inn and it was pretty rowdy and colorful,” Robbins said.

According to the Historical Society’s documents in March of 1927, W.S. Jacobs bought the property where it was later named The Belvedere Club.

“It became one of the premier clubs in the era of illegal gambling,” Robbins said.

She also says it built a glamorous reputation for high rollers.

“It’s rumored that moon shine was put in containers there and shipped by Al Capone up to Chicago during Prohibition, so it had a pretty wild reputation,” Robbins said. 

The illegal gambling at the club, Robbins says, was shut down in the 1960s by then-Governor Winthrop Rockefeller but the entertainment venue continued.

“Louis Jordan was very popular there and through the decades they had the best entertainment.” Robbins adds, “The Belvedere was an important part of that history that makes Hot Springs unique, the glamor of it, the entertainment, the recreation, even if it didn’t have anything to do with gambling and it was an important part of that hot springs history and we should remember that.”

She also said it helped economically and the entertainment portion of the club grew it to be a symbol of glittering high life.

According to the historical society’s documents, In 1975 Belvedere was auctioned to make room for a multi-million dollar development for what would be the last name of the building, The Belvedere Country Club.

“It was where the local high society played golf and brought their children to swim,” Robbins said.

Raines said he and others bought the country club back in 2018 under the Hills at Belvedere LLC and said at the time it was still a wonderful place.

“It was an absolutely fantastic place. A lot of people got married here,” he said. “It was an 18-hole golf course where PGA players did expeditions and competitions.”

Robbins said the building went through various changes over the course of its history, but it will never be forgotten, which is one of the reasons she and the volunteers at the historical society aim to keep documents and preserve the history of the club.

“Things stay alive in our memory and if we can keep the documents, autographs, in photographs that generations can look at and learn from, that’s the best we have to keep things like that alive,” Robbins said.

The property has seen a lot of tales and Robbins says its spirit will never truly go away.

“If you think of the spirit of the Belvedere, let’s go to Hot Springs and have fun. Well, that spirit is very much alive today,” Robbins said.

We have reached out to talk with the current owners of the property according to the county’s assessor’s office which is Belvedere Cottages LLC and are waiting to hear back on the possible next steps for the property.