![]() Sean Fitzgibbon created this rendering of himself at work on his upcoming graphic novel, “What Follows Is True: Crescent Hotel.” (Courtesy Image/Copyright Sean Fitzgibbon)"What made Norman Baker's cancer cure charade so despicable is the human cost of his fraud," the Crescent Hotel website opines in its recounting of the history. Baker, who called himself "doctor," lured the dying to the Baker Hospital located at the hotel, promising them he could cure them at his "Castle in the Air." He didn't. A "former vaudeville magician, turned inventor, turned millionaire business man, turned populist radio host, turned cancer doctor without a day of medical training in his life," Norman G. ![]() ![]() It was in the 1930s that the history of the Crescent Hotel took the dark turn that fascinates Fitzgibbon. It is lighted with Edison lamps, furnished with electric bells, heated with steam and open grates, has a hydraulic elevator, and is truly a showplace of today's conveniences." ![]() "The magnificent structure was then furnished in the most exquisite manner. "Seldom has such a formidable construction undertaking been accomplished with such efficiency," the Times Echo went on. A Fayetteville artist and recent Artists 360 program recipient, Fitzgibbon has created a "true crime" graphic novel that has just been released - and it's a story that's well known to anyone who has made more than a cursory visit to Eureka Springs.Ĭompleted in 1886 at a cost of $294,000, Eureka Springs' Crescent Hotel, located on 27 acres at the north end of West Mountain - "a majestic location overlooking the valley" - was considered "America's most luxurious resort hotel." "Featuring large airy rooms, comfortably furnished, the Crescent Hotel offers the visiting vacationer opulence unmatched in convenience and service," the Eureka Springs Times Echo wrote on May 20, 1886. If the phrase "graphic novel" makes you think of elves, anime characters and superheroes, Sean Fitzgibbon wants to encourage you to adjust your expectations.
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