Hot Springs, Arkansas: America's Original Sin City Embraces Its Gangster Past
The Smithsonian has featured Hot Springs, Arkansas, often referred to as America's first Sin City, in an article that delves into its vibrant history with notorious figures such as Al Capone, Bugsy Siegel, and Lucky Luciano. Robert K. Raines, who established the Gangster Museum of America, has penned a book and created documentaries exploring the town's legacy of gambling, prostitution, and bootlegging, all shielded by corrupt officials. Mayor Leo McLaughlin held power from 1927 for two decades, cultivating a political machine reliant on bribes from illicit enterprises. The Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa was a popular haunt for Capone. Following the gambling ban in 1967, the town experienced a downturn but has since rejuvenated as a tourist hotspot. Raines is currently working on a biography of gangster Owney Madden.
Key facts
- Hot Springs, Arkansas, was America's original Sin City, with casinos, brothels, and bootlegging.
- The Gangster Museum of America, founded by Robert K. Raines, is located in the historic district.
- Al Capone frequently stayed at the Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa, renting the entire fourth floor.
- Mayor Leo McLaughlin ran Hot Springs from 1927 to 1947 with a corrupt political machine.
- Gangsters like Capone, Siegel, Luciano, and Lansky visited Hot Springs, but no one was ever shot there.
- The town attracted celebrities including Babe Ruth, Marilyn Monroe, and Frank Sinatra.
- Gambling was shut down in 1967 by Governor Winthrop Rockefeller, leading to a decline.
- Hot Springs has since revitalized as a tourism destination, with the Gangster Museum as a key attraction.
Entities
Artists
- Al Capone
- Bugsy Siegel
- Lucky Luciano
- Meyer Lansky
- Owney Madden
- Robert K. Raines
- Q. Byrum Hurst Jr.
- Q. Byrum Hurst Sr.
- Jimmy Hoffa
- Leo McLaughlin
- Orval Faubus
- Winthrop Rockefeller
- Frank Costello
- Rudolph Valentino
- Elizabeth Taylor
- Marilyn Monroe
- Duke Ellington
- Frank Sinatra
- Tony Bennett
- Babe Ruth
- Andrew Carnegie
- F.W. Woolworth
- Franklin Roosevelt
- Harry Truman
- J. Edgar Hoover
- Grace Goldstein
- Josephine Belmont
- Evelyn Anderson
- Mama Carrie
- Deirdre Capone
- George Raft
- Mae West
- Roy Reed
- Richard Grant
- Houston Cofield
Institutions
- Gangster Museum of America
- Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa
- Southern Club
- Ohio Club
- Happy Hollow Amusement Park
- Cotton Club
- Hatterie Hotel
- Buckstaff Bathhouse
- Maurice Bathhouse
- Oaklawn racetrack
- Hot Springs National Park
- Smithsonian magazine
- New York Times Magazine
- FBI
- Teamsters
- New York Stock Exchange
- New York Highlanders
- Red Sox
- Sing Sing prison
- Possum Kingdom
Locations
- Hot Springs
- Arkansas
- Las Vegas
- Nevada
- Chicago
- Illinois
- New York
- Brooklyn
- Manhattan
- Little Rock
- Ouachita Mountains
- Ouachita River
- Leeds
- England
- Hell's Kitchen
- Palm Island
- Florida
- Houston
- Texas
- Tucson
- Arizona
- Harlem
- Washington D.C.