The History of French Lick Resort

West Baden Springs Hotel

Early resort developments

The intriguing history of Southern Indiana's West Baden Springs Hotel extends to 1778 when George Rogers Clark is said to have discovered the area's mineral springs and salt licks. The supposed curative powers of such springs, combined with the idyllic landscape of Southern Indiana, have been a draw throughout the years to people searching for relief from the stresses of the workaday world.

The region's reputation as a mineral springs resort area began with the building of the first French Lick Springs Hotel in 1832. Another hotel followed in the nearby town of Mile Lick—later renamed West Baden—in 1855. By the late 19th century, seven rail lines brought guests from all over the U.S. to the Springs Valley to relax and take the cure.

Creation of "The Eighth Wonder of the World"

In 1888 Lee W. Sinclair acquired controlling interest in the West Baden hotel and within a few years was its sole owner. He transformed it into a sophisticated resort, adding an opera house, a casino, a two-deck pony and bicycle track and a full-size baseball field. All the guests escaped harm when a fire destroyed the entire hotel building in less than two hours in June 1901.

Sinclair used this tragedy as his opportunity to build the hotel of his dreams—a circular building topped with the world's largest dome, built as much as possible of nonflammable materials and decorated like the grandest spas of Europe. A 35-year-old unknown architect, Harrison Albright of West Virginia, accepted Sinclair's challenge—considered impossible by most in the architectural community—to complete the grandiose building within a year.

In September 1902 the wondrous new hotel opened for business. If the advertisements and press about the new hotel could be believed, the West Baden Springs Hotel truly deserved its reputation as the Eighth Wonder of the World. Ads claimed the resort's mineral baths and drinking waters could cure everything from sterility to senility. The hotel offered something for everyone, including golf on two courses, horseback riding, billiards, bowling, baseball, swimming, hiking on scenic trails, bicycling, movies and nightly theater. A stock brokerage firm joined a bank, barbershop and other personal services offered in the hotel.

Birds flew from palm to palm in the 200-foot-diameter atrium, and an enormous fireplace burned 14-foot logs to add to the ambiance on cool evenings. It was a perennial vacation spot for the great and near-great during the first three decades of the twentieth century; guests included "Diamond Jim" Brady and Al Capone, John L. Sullivan and entire professional baseball teams who held spring training at the resort, Mayor "Big Bill" Thompson of Chicago, and New York Governor and presidential candidate Alfred E. Smith.

After Sinclair died in 1916, his daughter and her husband took over the hotel's operation and completed a massive renovation effort begun in 1913. Overextended by the renovation, Lillian Sinclair in 1923 sold the hotel to Ed Ballard for one million dollars. The ebullient Ballard, who began his career with the hotel as a bowling alley worker, made his fortune by operating a flourishing—if illegal—gambling business in the area.

Ballard, who also owned several nationally recognized touring circuses, was a beloved figure in the Springs Valley. When the rise of the automobile and the burgeoning resorts in Florida began drawing business away from the West Baden Springs Hotel, he made up the loss by aggressively promoting the hotel to conventioneers and trade exhibitions.

Great Depression ushers in college era

When the stock market crashed in 1929, many guests witnessed the event from the brokerage firm's offices in the hotel. The hotel emptied of guests almost overnight. Even Ballard's most valiant efforts could not keep the hotel afloat. He closed the hotel in June 1932 and in 1934 sold it to the Jesuits for one dollar.

To transform the hotel for use as a seminary, the Jesuits removed many of its elegant appointments and eventually dismantled the building's four Moorish towers rather than invest in their repair. Known as West Baden College, the seminary operated until June 1964 when declining enrollment led the Jesuits to close the facility. In 1966 the Jesuits sold West Baden to a Michigan couple who donated it to Northwood Institute, a private college, which operated on the property until 1983.

Post college years bring vacancy and deterioration

While the colleges did not maintain the West Baden property in the same lavish style it exhibited during the hotel era, the landmark was relatively well cared for until 1985 when Northwood sold it to Marlin Properties, a real estate development firm based in Los Angeles, CA. Marlin declared bankruptcy before redeveloping the hotel. The property was tangled in years of litigation before a Los Angeles federal bankruptcy court judge resolved an issue of contested ownership.

Meanwhile, the elements had taken their toll on the neglected hotel. Although the property was listed as a National Historic Landmark in1987, it was closed to the public in 1989 for safety reasons. In January 1991 a buildup of ice and water on the roof and in drain pipes caused the collapse of a portion of the exterior wall. The collapse affected less than 10% of the exterior masonry ring that surrounds the dome, and the dome itself remained structurally sound.

Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana led in building a coalition with two goals: stabilize the hotel to preserve its redevelopment potential, and help attract a new owner capable of restoring the property for a new use. In 1992 Historic Landmarks Foundation spent $140,000 to stabilize the hotel, matching a $70,000 contribution from an anonymous donor. The work included patching the roof, constructing scupper openings in parapets, installing tie rods, and shoring up the fourth through sixth floors on either side of the collapse.

Other work included creating marketing materials to assist the bankruptcy court in attracting a responsible buyer, and financial support to create zoning and a redevelopment commission for the town of West Baden Springs.

In May 1994 the Los Angeles bankruptcy court receiver sold the hotel to Minnesota Investment Partners [MIP] for $500,000. Grand Casinos, Inc., an investor in the purchase, optioned the hotel from MIP. During the 1995 legislative session, Grand Casinos unsuccessfully lobbied to amend an Indiana law to allow riverboat gambling on a body of water they proposed to build on the property. While Grand Casinos' lobbying effort failed—the legislation passed in the House and was defeated in the Senate—many legislators expressed support for the landmark and its restoration.

Partial restoration designed to attract buyer

After its legislative defeat, Grand Casinos decided not to pursue development of the West Baden Springs Hotel. MIP listed the hotel for sale for $800,000. During its period of ownership, MIP invested in the lobbying effort as well as a Phase I environmental study and architectural and site planning, but the firm undertook no stabilization or renovation work.

Worried that the nationally significant landmark could not withstand another winter without investment in the building, HLFI West Baden, Inc., a subsidiary of Historic Landmarks Foundation, bought the West Baden property for $250,000 in July 1996. An anonymous donor contributed the purchase price.

A corporate benefactor, Cook Group Incorporated of Bloomington, Indiana immediately began stabilization and partial restoration to make the property more attractive for redevelopment. Initially committed to spending $12-14 million on the property, Bill and Gayle Cook and their companies eventually tallied $30 million on the Phase I restoration (1996-early 1999), and an additional $5 million in maintenance (1999-2004). The exteriors of the hotel and all outbuildings were restored along with the garden. On the interior, the 100' x 200' domed atrium, lobby and flanking rooms, and dining room were returned to their original elegance.

After meeting with no success in its campaign to sell the half-restored West Baden Springs Hotel, Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana joined a lobbying effort to bring casino gaming to Orange County in order to save the National Historic Landmark (NHL) hotel and the nearby French Lick Springs Hotel, a landmark of the same era. Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, Cook Group and Boykin Lodging (owner of French Lick Springs) joined with a group of citizen lobbyists who came to be known as "The Orange Shirts" for their t-shirts bearing the slogan "Save French Lick and West Baden Springs."

The multiyear lobbying effort succeeded when the Indiana legislature approved a casino in the 2003 session and a countywide referendum passed with ease that fall. The legislation created a joint preservation commission of the towns of French Lick and West Baden to oversee the historic hotels and casino district. A competitive process in 2004 resulted in the selection of Trump Hotels & Casinos as the operator of the new casino. However, the Trump firm's subsequent bankruptcy reorganization diminished its ability to meet the Indiana Gaming Commission's (IGC) requirements. In March 2005, the IGC reopened the bidding process for the French Lick/West Baden casino.

To ensure preservation of the two landmark hotels, Bill, Gayle and their son Carl Cook formed an entity called Blue Sky, LLC, in a bid for the casino license. Cook Group Inc. bought the French Lick Springs Hotel from Boykin in spring of 2005. A year later, Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana sold the West Baden Springs Hotel to Cook Group Inc. for a nominal sum in recognition of the vast investment the Cooks had made in its restoration. The Cook venture pledged to restore both hotels and build the casino and accompanying parking garage.

The Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) selected Blue Sky as the casino operator in summer 2005. The French Lick Resort sought to "put heads in beds" on a year-round basis, thereby creating economic viability for the two historic hotels. The French Lick Springs Hotel closed just after Thanksgiving 2005 and was completely restored before opening with the new casino and conference center on November 3, 2006.

Restoration resumed at the West Baden Springs Hotel in the summer of 2006. When it reopened as a hotel in May 2007 for the first time since 1932, the hotel held approximately 240 rooms/suites, reduced from the original 508 small guestrooms (created in a time before queen-sized beds and television, when visitors spent little time in their rooms). The hotel's natatorium, long missing from the landscape, has been faithfully reconstructed based on historic photographs of the structure.

To ensure long-term protection for the West Baden Springs Hotel, Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana holds a perpetual preservation easement on the property. The easement requires Historic Landmarks Foundation's approval for exterior changes to the hotel and its grounds and ensures that the site will be maintained no matter who may own it in the future.