Post #3 - The Gangster Museum of America

Also on Saturday we went in to The Gangster Museum of America. It is something Nathan and Pamela had been wanting to see since they moved to Hot Springs from Blytheville in April. Anyway, it was something Dave and I wanted to see also, so we went in. They say that this museum was the winner of the 2009 Tourism of The Year Award.

This is what their little brochure says. "Take yourself back to the days of the 20's, 20's, and 40's when mineral water, gambling, bootlegging, and other extreme pleasures brought visitors from all over the world to Hot Springs, Arkansas".

"The Gangster Museum of America is an historic and entertaining account of how some of the most violent and infamous criminals in America co-existed with the quaint population of this little valley town in the mountains of central Arkansas. The high-tech audiovisual experience of the four galleries is in itself worth the price of admission. Play in the antique casino and hear the historian in the museum theater relate who, what, when, and where stories that are facinating, informative, and educational. Capone, Luciano, Madden, Siegel, Maxine and the rest of the gang will be waiting for you".

Before visiting the museum, I had no clue that all these mobsters had come to this town and do what they do. Capone and probably the rest of them stayed in the Arlington Hotel (I mentioned in my earlier post) on a certain floor and in a certain room. It was pretty interesting. They showed a film about the mobsters and if I remember correctly, they said that Capone and the rest of them didn't go out in daylight for days at a time. They used the tunnels to get from one place to the other. Nate got to hold a real Thompson Machine Gun in the Felony Theatre they showed the film in. I'd like to tell the whole story as we heard it, but it would take way too long.

Any way, here are a few pictures I took while there.

Here I am giving Al Capone a shoulder rub

Some of you may know what game this is,....all I know is that it's antique

Southern Club Roulette Wheel

Two of the 3 antique slot macines.

I got to pull the arm of what they called the "one arm bandit" twice

The day was enjoyable. I hope you enjoed going to The Gangster Museum of America with us. If you would like to know more, here are some links to click on. This site is way cool. It has alot of info. One more link. I think you get the picture now. Thanks for going!