New York Times Article about Eureka Springs

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By DIANE MEHTA
Published: July 6, 2007
TUCKED into a deep valley in the Ozarks, Eureka Springs first embraced visitors in the 1880s, when people flocked there to bathe in its mineral springs. Over the decades, its distinguished (and not so distinguished) guests have included W. C. Fields, who went for the waters, and Al Capone, who went to elude the law.

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Eureka Springs, Ark.
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Three for Sale
Situated in northwestern Arkansas, Eureka Springs continues to attract tourists and second-home owners. These days, though, they tend to come for the steep terrain of hardwood and evergreen forests, the lakes and the rivers, and not for the 60 or so springs that still gurgle throughout town.
Richard Speer, a retired airline pilot, prefers Eureka Springs to his primary home in Nehalem, on the Oregon coast. “I don’t get out that much when I’m out on the coast,” he said, “but when I come here I have more energy than I do practically anywhere I’ve ever lived.” He bought a three-bedroom Victorian downtown for $229,000 last year after touring Arkansas on a motorcycle.
The Ozarks peak and curve across the horizon, and daily life seems anchored by the outdoors. In the afternoons, people relax on the porches of their gingerbread Victorians, many of them perched on stilts above rock outcroppings. The local trolley, which covers the crooked 1.5-mile historic downtown loop, jingles by every so often. Dogwoods, redbud and forsythia bloom in spring and flood the streets with color. “When serviceberries are just beginning to pop out,” said Jim Magee, a local jeweler, “you look over the mountain and it’ll look like it’s snowing.”
The region is not defined by hills so much as by water: Lake Leatherwood, Beaver Lake, Kings River and the White River, which runs north to Holiday Island where it turns into Table Rock Lake, are all nearby. So it’s no surprise that even as Eureka Springs flaunts its historic downtown, Beaver Lake 12 miles southwest of town and Holiday Island 5 miles north are sought by second-home shoppers because of their access to water.
The lakes and rivers are busy with fishermen: The White River is known for its large German brown trout and rainbow trout, the Kings River for smallmouth bass and Beaver Lake for catfish.
Jim Butler, whose parents own C & J Sports, a diving outfit on Beaver Lake, said: “People come to see the underwater rock structure or to spearfish. It’s one of the top five freshwater lakes for clarity in the country.”
The 487 miles of shoreline along Beaver Lake has inlets that branch in every direction. In summer, the lake is populated by swimmers, sailboats, party barges, cruisers, kayaks and canoes. WaveRunners chug by, trailed by water-skiers.
Holiday Island, a resort-like retirement community on Table Rock Lake, is home to some 3,000 residents attracted by its golf, swimming, tennis and marina.
The Scene
No one dresses up in Eureka Springs. Out to dinner or at the lake, people wear jeans and T-shirts, and in summertime shorts and sandals. The bustling dining scene is old-style Italian, American Nouveau or barbecue.
“There’s something really magnetic about this place,” said Mary Springer, a local artist. “We just drove through here 20 years ago, living in Memphis, and turned around a month later and bought a house.” (Since Louis Freund, a muralist for the Works Progress Administration, and his wife, Elsie Freund, a jewelry designer, arrived in the 1930s and founded the Summer Art School, the region has attracted artists.)
There is no arts shortage. Music festivals range from opera to bluegrass, and each night at twilight, from late April through October, there is “The Great Passion Play.” Telling the story of Jesus’ last days, it features a cast of 250 local residents, complemented by horse-drawn chariots, camels and a flock of sheep.
The downtown has cafes, galleries and boutiques that may sell antique prints, Amish and Ozark quilts or leather goods. Victorian architecture and brick buildings with cast-iron balconies line the streets.
Barbara Scott, an art historian from Broken Arrow, Okla., was lured by the idea of buying a historic property. “It reminds me of hill country in Italy,” said Ms. Scott, who ended up on Holiday Island. “The architecture has that old-country feeling to it.”
Pros
In the Ozarks, Mountain Greenery and Gingerbread

Published: July 6, 2007
(Page 2 of 2)
Kathy and Greg Hughes, who own a trucking company in Harper, Kan., love the climate. “It has a mountain atmosphere,” Ms. Hughes said, “without having to have nine months of winter.” They bought a Federal-style Victorian downtown in 2004.
The weather does tend to be mild year-round. Temperatures average 38 degrees in winter, 58 in spring, 76 in summer and 60 in fall, according to the chamber of commerce.
Cons
There is a shortage of parking for people who live in the historic loop. “You park at the meter and sit and watch,” Mr. Hughes said. “Winter’s not bad, but in summertime, with all of the tourists around, it’s bad.”
The tourist season starts in March and continues through Christmas, and the town estimates that it receives 500,000 to 750,000 tourists a year.
The Real Estate Market
Much of the housing in the center of town consists of Victorians. Smaller cottages sell faster — and for less per square foot — because part-time residents find them easier to maintain. “I just sold a four-bedroom Victorian with 3,000 square feet for $240,000, a great buy for that size house,” said Mark Mattmiller, a broker with Evelyn Cross & Associates. Clients want Victorian homes with original hardwood floors, high ceilings, original moldings and porches, he said.
Elise and Marty Roenigk, who own the 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa, are developing 38 condos in Prairie-style duplexes near the historic district. The condos are designed in the manner of the late E. Fay Jones, a Frank Lloyd Wright disciple, and will cost $325,000 to $375,000 a unit, the Roenigks say.
Diane Murphy, an agent at Century 21 Woodland, says the market has been steadily increasing in town and in the lake area, especially during the last three years. Average prices for the 51 lake area houses sold in 2006 were $256,000, up from $205,000 in 2005, Ms. Murphy said. In town, average prices for the 57 houses sold in 2006 were $152,000, up from $138,000 in 2005.
In town, time on the market averages five months, versus seven months at Beaver Lake — unless the lot is zoned for a private dock. “A lakefront house with a private dock might not make it a day on the market,” Mr. Mattmiller said.
The lake area, the highest-priced location, has log, dome and ranch-style houses, many with wraparound porches. Mr. Mattmiller said he recently sold a lakefront log house with no dock for $695,000.
Lots in the older part of the historic district, which run 25 feet by 80 feet or 40 feet by 80 feet, sell for $12,000 and up, real estate agents say. Around Beaver Lake, lots are one to three acres, and larger lake-area lots are getting harder to come by; reflecting that scarcity, prices are rising. A 13-acre lot that sold for $550,000 two years ago is now listed at $1.2 million.
On Holiday Island, houses by the golf course are around $200,000, while lake property is $400,000 or higher. Second-home owners are a quarter of the population. “They’re buying it for a vacation home,” Ms. Murphy said, “knowing they can recoup a lot of the cost of it by renting it out.”
LAY OF THE LAND
POPULATION 2,358, according to a 2006 estimate by the Census Bureau.
SIZE Nearly seven square miles, according to the census.
LOCATION Northwestern Arkansas, nine miles from the Missouri line. By car, Eureka Springs is six hours from Memphis and four hours from Little Rock.
WHO’S BUYING Baby boomers, professionals and artists from Kansas, Texas, Minnesota and Nebraska, attracted by the water and mountains.
GETTING THERE Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport is in Bentonville, 50 miles west. The airport has flights (some nonstop, some connecting) to major cities, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
WHILE YOU’RE LOOKING For scenery, there is the 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa (75 Prospect Avenue, 800-342-9766; www.crescent-hotel.com), a castle-like limestone building with panoramic views from its porch. It also has a swimming pool and modern and light-filled, if slightly worn, rooms from $179 in season and $119 in winter. The Palace Hotel and Bath House (135 Spring Street, 479-253-7474; www.palacehotelbathhouse.com), built in 1901, is within walking distance of restaurants and shops. Eight spacious, high-ceilinged suites are $163 to $183, (slightly more during October leaf season) and are furnished with antiques.

[Kel]

Awesome article Steve! Thanks for sharing this!

Kel and Lee

[VBeason]

Great article! Looks like someone else discovered what we knew all along!!!

Vickie