Gangster Museum of America

Hot Springs, Arkansas

Hot Springs was Las Vegas before there was a Las Vegas. It was where criminals of the 1920s, '30s, and '40s took their vacations, enjoying the city's mineral spas as well as its wide-open illegal gambling and prostitution. Hot Springs was run by Owen "The Killer" Madden, an exile from New York who ended up marrying the local postmaster's daughter. "He was a pillar of the community, really. A really nice fellah. Everybody here loved him," according to Robert Raines, who runs the Museum. "He never killed anybody after he left New York."

The Gangster Museum of America really is the Gangster Museum of Hot Springs. Exhibits have a decidedly local skew, and include slot machines and gaming tables from the more popular local casinos, weapons that belonged to The Killer, and a Victrola that was owned by the brother of Al Capone.

Gangster Museum of America

Address:: 510 Central Ave., Hot Springs, AR
Directions:: On the northwest edge of downtown. On Hwy 7/Central Ave. just south of its three-way intersection with Park and Whittington Aves.
Hours:: Su-Th 10 am - 6 pm, F-Sa 10 am - 9 pm. (Call to verify)
Phone:: 501-318-1717

Nearby Offbeat Places

Hot Springs - A Mecca, Hot Springs, AR - < 1 mi.
Josephine Tussaud Wax Museum, Hot Springs, AR - < 1 mi.
Tufa Rock, Hot Springs, AR - < 1 mi.
In the region: Gurdon Spook Light, Gurdon, AR - 40 mi.

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June 18, 2013