We wonder why this hotel was named “The Crescent.” The word, crescent, refers to the shape of the increasing or new moon when it is receding from the sun. It is often used as an emblem of progress and success. The symbol was popular in heraldry and was used by at least three orders of knighthood, first instituted by Charles I of Naples and Sicily in 1268; the second instituted at Angiers by Rene of Anjou in 1464; the third instituted by Selim, Sultan of Turkey in 1801 in honor of Lord Nelson. It is both a religious and military emblem of the Ottoman Turks. In architecture, the word refers to a range of buildings in the form of a crescent or half-moon. Some of the stone work of the Crescent Hotel is in the form of a crescent and this may have given the building its name. Personally, we like to think of it as an emblem of progress and success in the hotel world.
Eureka Springs entertains 150,000 or more tourists annually and it has need of numerous hotels, motels and courts to provide adequate housing for these guests. During its seventy-five years as a resort, it has had more than 100 establishments of this class. One of the first of these hotels was the St. Charles on North Main Street, opened by Powell Clayton in 1882. It was first called the Clayton House. The Grand Central was opened in 1883. Two years (1884-1886) were spent in building the Crescent which opened May 1, 1886. The Palace opened in May, 1901. The Wadsworth was dedicated February 14, 1902. The name was changed to The Allred a few years later. In 1949 it was purchased by Cecil Maberry and renamed The Springs. In August, 1954, it was purchased by Gale Reeves and many improvements made. The Basin Park Hotel was opened for guests May 5, 1905 and had its “grand opening” July 1. The site was formerly occupied by the Perry House, which was destroyed in the big fire of 1888. The building that housed the Lansing Hotel (Carthage House) still stand on Center Street. The Landaker is another of the older hotels now used as an apartment house. The Southern, just south of the Basin Circle, was destroyed by fire in 1935. The Thach, popular with Texans, was destroyed by fire in 1932. The Belden at Lion Spring was once a popular hotel.
