I am doing a one-day non-Disneyland entry about one of my OTHER favorite places in the world: The West Baden Springs Hotel in West Baden, Indiana. I used to live in Indiana for about 17 years; usually when I mention that to other Sunny California inhabitants, I get a “17 years? What is there to do in Indiana?!?” Plenty. And this is one of those rare, undiscovered gems that is starting to get a little recognition after 70 years of decay and ruin. Built in 1902 and dubbed the “Eighth Wonder of the World,” the hotel was swarmed with guests who traveled here by train to be cured from their ailments with the local sulfur water and do a little gambling while recovering. It was an opulent palace with hand laid italian marble, a firewood made of Rookwood Pottery, 2 golf courses, an opera hourse, its own hospital, spa area, a Catholic Church, movie theater, horseback riding, baseball park (frequented by Major League teams for Spring Training), and much more. It was the Disneyland of its day. Killed by the Depression and Stock Market Crash of 1929, for the last 70+ years it languished and went through a series of owners who tried to maintain it but failed. Finally, at the 11th Hour, after entire walls caved in and the hotel was close to being bulldozed, Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana and entrepreneurs Bill & Gayle Cook stepped in to save this Historic Gem. The Cooks have donated countless hours and dollars (the hotel itself has cost well over $100 million in restoration) to bring the West Baden Springs Hotel back to the glory that it new at the beginning of the century. I HIGHLY recommend that you visit here now that it is open again for business. It’s not easy to get to, but neither is Macinac or The Greenbriar. All are destinations worth the journey. Photo 1 shows the amazing Atrium, with a freespan dome rivaled only by the Houston Astrodome in size. Please be sure to scroll all the way to the right; this is a very wide panorama shot that I pieced together from 3 exposures. Photo 2 is the awe-inspiring ceiling of this area.
The Dining Room:
Rookwood Pottery Fireplace:
The Exterior:
The Sunken Gardens:
Dave- Thanks for the travelogue. The architecture reminds me of the Hotel Del Coronado as well as Glenwood Springs in Colorado.
ReplyDeleteNeat Post! Everyone should check out Daves website on this great old hotel. Super photo spread, the "before" photo's are scary. What a fanastic restoration job they did. Looks like a real hidden gem! Thanks Dave! Tim
ReplyDeleteps. Nice TUX!
Matterhorn: I live about 10 minutes from the Del, and although I have always loved the Del, the West Baden Hotel blows it away...especially since the Del switched hands a few years ago. I still need to check out the Glenwood. And Tim - thanks for the nice comments also. I forgot to mention that for 2 years, I volunteered as a Tour Guide at the Hotel while it was undergoing its initial restoration. Creepy as it used to look, it still took my breath away.
ReplyDeleteCool, it's always nice to return to your home town and the vicinity. This looks like a spectacular building, thank goodness it wasn't bulldozed!
ReplyDeleteIt's a strange experience to visit someone else's nostalgia. Because Disneyland and Knott's send me into a rapture, it is easy to imagine, while peering into old photos of someplace that's similar, the nooks and crannys of someone else's childhood and invent one's own melancholy for a place never visited.
ReplyDeleteI grew up near West Baden -- had to suffer through watching my high school basketball team play against Larry Bird -- ouch! We used to have our proms at the hotel when it was still a junior college. It fascinated me even then, as it was obvious that it had been fabulous in its day. It was actually quite ahead of its time, as it originally had a covered bicycle track. I'm delighted at the work the Cook Group has done in restoring it. Your pix are wonderful. Thanks!
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