38°33′11″N 86°37′12″W / 38.553°N 86.620°W / 38.553; -86.620
76-792: The West Baden Springs Hotel , formerly the West Baden Inn , is part of the French Lick Resort and is a national historic landmark hotel in West Baden Springs , Orange County , Indiana . It has a 200-foot (61 m) dome over its atrium . Prior to the completion of the Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina , in 1955, the dome was the largest free-spanning dome in the United States. From 1902 to 1913 it
152-435: A natatorium , two golf courses, horseback riding, baseball, several hiking trails, or bicycling on a covered, double-decked oval track. (At 1,760 feet (540 m), the track was the largest in the country.) To cater to their well-heeled clientele, the hotel's facilities also included a bank and a stock brokerage. A trolley transported guests from the hotel's front door to nearby French Lick . Some early advertisements claimed
228-400: A casino, and three golf courses that are all part of a $ 500 million restoration and development project. The casino opened for business on November 3, 2006, after a gaming license originally intended for Patoka Lake was transferred to French Lick. Honoring state law allowing only water-based gaming, it was originally designed as a riverboat and surrounded by a small pond (commonly nicknamed
304-540: A downward spiral for the hotel. As word of the plummeting stock market spread, people congregated in the brokerage firm's offices at the hotel to confirm the news. Within hours the guests began to depart. Ballard kept the facility open for more than two years, but few people stayed in luxury hotels during the Great Depression . Ballard finally closed the hotel in June 1932. In 1934 he donated the $ 7 million resort to
380-507: A male householder with no wife present, and 39.0% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 29.1 The median age in the city was 38.3 years. 24% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.6% were from 25 to 44; 24.2% were from 45 to 64; and 17.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of
456-561: A mania, senseless and purposeless. One man carried for two days a bird cage containing three canaries . Another rode with a huge chafing dish on the pommel of his saddle. Although the weather was intensely warm, another slung seven pairs of skates around his neck. I saw very few articles of real value taken; they pillaged like boys robbing an orchard ." In 1898, Salem was recorded to be a sundown town , where African Americans were not allowed to reside. The last Black person who lived in Salem
532-408: A new affiliate of HLFI, using funds provided by an anonymous donor. Bill Cook , a billionaire entrepreneur, and his wife, Gayle, from Bloomington, Indiana , have been involved with several historic preservation projects. The Cook Group initiated efforts to stabilize the hotel's structural integrity and begin exterior restoration during the summer of 1996. The thirty-month first phase of the project
608-634: A sawmill, erected a bridge to traverse Lick Creek, and built a hotel larger than the French Lick Springs, beginning the competition between the two Orange County sites. Lane opened a hotel around 1852 near the settlement of Mile Lick and named it the Mile Lick Inn. In 1855, when the community was renamed West Baden in reference to Wiesbaden (or Baden-Baden ), a spa town in Germany that was known for its mineral springs, Lane changed
684-424: Is a half mile high banked paved oval that was first built in 1947. Many of the most legendary drivers of the past 50 years have raced there including Ted Horn , Parnelli Jones , A. J. Foyt , Bobby and Al Unser , Mario Andretti , Larry Dickson , Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Gordon . A. J. Foyt at one time held the world record for a half mile oval at the speedway. One of ESPN 's first televised auto racing events
760-501: The Confederate cavalry under John Hunt Morgan had departed Tennessee on what would later become known as Morgan's Raid . Traveling through Tennessee and into Kentucky, Morgan eventually crossed into Indiana; he reached Salem on July 10, 1863, coming north from Corydon . Upon entering Salem at approximately 9 a.m., Morgan immediately took possession of the town and placed guards over the stores and streets. The cavalrymen burned
836-733: The Democratic National Committee , the popular resort attracted many fashionable, wealthy, and notable guests. In the 1920s and into the 1930s the resort became known for its recreational sports, most notably golf, but the French Lick area also had a reputation for illegal gambling. The hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. The restored hotel, with its exteriors of distinctive, buff-colored brick, reopened in 2006. The historic, 243-room luxury West Baden Springs Hotel , in
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#1732772227824912-618: The Disney World of their time. In those days, it was assumed that if you could afford to come to America [for vacation], you would go to French Lick. It was that well-known overseas." Paul Dresser composed Indiana's state song " On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away " at the hotel. Boxers John L. Sullivan and James J. Corbett trained there. Diamond Jim Brady and Al Capone and his bodyguards were frequent guests. Politicians who visited
988-568: The French Lick Springs Hotel , a popular health resort. Bowles served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army during the Mexican–American War . Before his departure for military service in 1846, Bowles signed a five-year lease with John A. Lane, a physician/patent medicine salesman, who agreed to enlarge and improve the facility at French Lick. The business deal would allow Bowles to enjoy an improved facility with
1064-500: The Köppen Climate Classification system, Salem has a humid subtropical climate , abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $ 29,256, and the median income for a family was $ 37,179. Males had a median income of $ 27,521 versus $ 21,952 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 16,299. About 8.5% of families and 11.6% of the population were below
1140-481: The Rookwood Pottery Company . Marble wainscotting was added to the atrium's ground level walls, while the brick support columns were wrapped with canvas and painted to resemble marble. Outside, an elaborate veranda was constructed. Wooden shelters at the springs were replaced with brick structures, and a sunken garden was created with a fountain featuring an angel. Edward Ballard, who financed
1216-562: The Society of Jesus (Jesuits). Beginning in 1934 the Jesuits began renovating the property to convert it into an austere seminary named West Baden College, an affiliate of Loyola University Chicago , and most of the hotel's luxurious fixtures, furnishings, and decorations were removed. The lobby was converted into a chapel with the addition of French doors and stained-glass windows. The former hotel's four Moorish towers were removed from
1292-785: The West Baden Sprudels . They played their rivals, the French Lick Plutos of the nearby French Lick Springs Hotel . The hotel is the setting for Michael Koryta 's thriller, So Cold the River (2010), as well as its 2021 movie adaptation . French Lick Resort French Lick Resort is a resort complex in the Midwestern United States , located in the towns of West Baden Springs and French Lick, Indiana . The 3,000-acre (12 km ) complex includes two historic resort spa hotels, stables,
1368-405: The poverty line , including 14.6% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over. As of the census of 2010, there were 6,319 people, 2,622 households, and 1,599 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,579.8 inhabitants per square mile (610.0/km ). There were 2,932 housing units at an average density of 733.0 per square mile (283.0/km ). The racial makeup of the city
1444-491: The "Salem Heritage" mural. This 17-foot by 80-foot mural in Salem features portraits of six women who have made significant and historical contributions to the city. The women are Granny Lusk, Lula Desse Rudder, Bradie Shrum, Sarah Parke Morrison, Terry Hall, and Emma Christy-Baker. Each woman was born or lived in Salem. Granny Lusk's family arrived in Washington County in 1817 and she informally practiced medicine in
1520-479: The $ 35 million already invested. Restoration of the hotel resumed in the summer of 2006. The French Lick Springs Hotel and French Lick Resort Casino opened together on November 3, 2006. A gala event on June 23, 2007, marked the reopening of the West Baden Springs Hotel, seventy-five years after it closed. The West Baden hotel's reconfigured space contained 243 rooms and suites, fewer than half of
1596-530: The Boat in the Moat). In 2008, the moat was filled in and the casino boat was converted into the state's first land-based casino. The casino features more than 1,300 slot machines , and table games including blackjack , craps , roulette , and poker derivatives. The site was originally known as the French Lick Springs Hotel , a grand resort that was a mineral spring health spa. The hotel catered to guests seeking
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#17327722278241672-502: The Century (1999), a documentary produced by Eugene Brancolini for WTIU Public Television. It chronicled the rise, demise, and restoration of the hotel. Using historical documents, photos, and archival footage, Brancolini's documentary explained how the property regained and even surpassed its former luxury. HLFI West Baden unsuccessfully marketed the property nationally for more than five years before realizing that casino gaming would be
1748-568: The Donald Ross Society. Pete Dye , a renowned golf course designer from Indiana, designed the resort's third course. The 18-hole Pete Dye Golf Course at French Lick opened in June 2009, and hosted the PGA Professional National Championship in June 2010. Mount Airie, Thomas Taggart 's 1928 Colonial-style home, was purchased and transformed into a clubhouse and pro shop that overlooks much of
1824-636: The Jesuits established a cemetery for the seminary's priests that received thirty-nine interments. When the Jesuits sold the facility, they retained ownership of the cemetery land, which the Catholic church in French Lick agreed to maintain. On November 2, 1966, the Jesuits sold the property to Macauley and Helen Dow Whiting, who donated it to Northwood Institute , a private, coeducational college founded in Midland , Michigan . The former hotel/Jesuit seminary
1900-545: The Sprudel Water brand name. (A gnome named Sprudel was also a part of its logo.) French Lick sold Pluto Water using a red devil as a part of its trademark. In 1888 an investment group called Sinclair and Rhodes, which included Lee Wiley Sinclair from Salem, Indiana , and E. B. Rhodes, acquired the West Baden hotel and 667 acres (270 hectares) of land for $ 23,000. Although the hotel was destroyed by fire in 1891, it
1976-501: The World . Hotel amenities included a gambling casino and live theater performance every night, as well as opera, concerts, movies, bowling, and billiards. Palm trees grew in the huge atrium, where birds had free range and guests relaxed on overstuffed furniture grouped in clusters under the 200-foot (61 m) dome. The massive fireplace in the atrium could accommodate logs as long as 14 feet (4.3 m). Outdoors, guests had their choice of
2052-504: The adjacent town of West Baden Springs , 1 mile (1.6 km) from the French Lick Springs Hotel, is also part of the casino resort complex. The present-day West Baden hotel was built in 1902 (122 years ago) to replace an earlier hotel. The new hotel became known for the 200-foot (61 m) dome covering its atrium . It held the title of the largest free-spanning dome in the world from 1902 to 1913, and remained
2128-412: The advertised healing properties of the town's sulfur springs , three of which were on the hotel's property. William A. Bowles built and opened the first hotel on his property around 1845. Subsequent owners enlarged the original hotel, but it burned in 1897. Rebuilt and expanded on an even grander scale, especially under the ownership of Thomas Taggart , a former mayor of Indianapolis and chairman of
2204-485: The area are corn and soybeans. Homes in the area are of a variety of styles, with a portion of residential homes having Victorian architectural design. According to the 2010 census, Salem has a total area of 4.018 square miles (10.41 km ), of which 4 square miles (10.36 km ) (or 99.55%) is land and 0.018 square miles (0.05 km ) (or 0.45%) is water. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers, and generally mild to cool winters. According to
2280-641: The building while it was in bankruptcy. Visitors continued to tour the structure until 1989, when it was declared unsafe, and closed. During the winter of 1991, ice built up on the roof and in drainpipes, leading to the partial collapse of an exterior wall. In 1992 the National Trust for Historic Preservation listed the hotel as one of America's most endangered places and the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana matched an anonymous $ 70,000 donation to pay for work to stabilize
2356-597: The championship course was located about 2 miles (3.2 km) from the French Lick hotel. The course hosted the PGA Championship tournament in 1924 , which Walter Hagen won. It also hosted the LPGA Championship tournament in 1959 and 1960 , and the Midwest Amateur from the 1930s through the 1950s. In 2006–07, the course was restored to its original specifications in cooperation with
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2432-516: The city was 46.5% male and 53.5% female and 22.3% Non-binary. Every September, Salem celebrates "Old Settler's Day" at the John Hay Center . Set in a village of authentic log structures, the festival features historical re-enactments, as well as local arts and crafts. Friday Night on the Square is the official kick-off to Old Settlers' Day weekend. The town square is barricaded from cars and
2508-512: The city. On July 5, 1988, 13 homemade bombs placed inside brown grocery bags were discovered near bridges and buildings around the town containing sticks of dynamite . However, due to faulty blasting caps, none of the bombs exploded. Had the explosives gone off, it would have severed the town from outside aid. Two men, John Hubbard and Jerry Conrad, were convicted on all counts in September and October 1989. Prosecutors allege that Hubbard had
2584-406: The community. Lula Desse Rudder was the first woman in the state of Indiana to be licensed as a pharmacist. Bradie Shrum was an elementary school teacher in Salem after whom Salem's elementary school is named. Sarah Parke Morrison was born in Salem in 1833 and was the first woman student at Indiana University, the first woman to graduate from the institution, and later the first woman to be a member of
2660-553: The course. This site hosted the Senior PGA Championship in 2015 . Salem, Indiana Salem is a city in and the county seat of Washington Township , Washington County , in the U.S. state of Indiana . The population was 6,319 at the 2010 census . Salem was laid out and platted in 1814. It was named for Salem, North Carolina , the hometown of one of the city founders. The Salem post office has been in operation since 1816. In June 1863,
2736-479: The exterior after they fell into disrepair. Truckloads of stone were dumped into the mineral spring pools, then capped with concrete and turned into shrines for the saints. The seminary operated for thirty years, but was closed following the 1963–64 school year due to low enrollment and escalating maintenance costs. The Jesuits sold the property in 1966 and returned to the Chicago area. During their time at West Baden
2812-549: The faculty. Terry Hall, who coached women athletes at both the high school and college level, is the "winningest coach in University of Kentucky basketball history." Emma Christy-Baker was born in 1865, "the great-granddaughter of freed slaves." She was one of the first women, and the first African American person, the Indianapolis Police Department hired. Salem is also home to Salem Speedway . It
2888-474: The first anniversary of the fire, a 500-man crew worked six days a week in ten-hour shifts for 270 days at a total cost of $ 414,000. The new hotel opened on September 15, 1902, to rave reviews. Its formal dedication took place on April 16, 1903, with Indiana governor Winfield T. Durbin and U.S. Senator Charles W. Fairbanks delivering speeches at the event. Advertisements called it the Eighth Wonder of
2964-419: The funding and held an option on the hotel, but was unsuccessful in its efforts to pass "Boat on a Moat" legislation in 1995 to extend riverboat gambling to a proposed man-made lake adjacent to the hotel. When Grand Casinos walked away from their option, MIP tried to sell the property for $ 800,000, but a year passed with no interest. In July 1996 MIP accepted a purchase offer of $ 250,000 from HLFI West Baden, Inc.,
3040-751: The grant in February 1904, broke ground in August 1904 and opened in July 1905. Still in use today, the Carnegie Library in Salem is one of just one hundred in the state of Indiana still being used for its original purpose. Located in the center of Salem's town square, the Washington County Courthouse is generally known as Salem's most famous and recognizable landmark. The courthouse has historical place markers surrounding it, and at
3116-455: The hands of the Rexfords. Charles Rexford opposed any major enhancements, but Lillian ignored his wishes and began a major restoration of the hotel in a Greco-Roman architectural style. Between 1917 and 1919, Italian artisans installed a mosaic terrazzo tile floor composed of two million one-inch squares of marble in the atrium. The atrium fireplace was refaced with glazed ceramic tiles from
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3192-403: The hotel had more than 700 rooms, but most sources report the total was around 500. The main building contained six floors. The ground floor held the lobby, hotel management offices, the dining area, shops and meeting rooms; saunas and mineral baths were located on the top floor; guest rooms, built in two concentric circles around the atrium, were located on the second through fifth floors. Rooms on
3268-488: The hotel included Chicago 's mayor, "Big Bill" Thompson , and New York 's governor, Al Smith . General John J. Pershing , writer George Ade , and entertainer Eva Tanguay were also guests. Professional baseball teams that included the Chicago Cubs , Cincinnati Reds , Philadelphia Phillies , Pittsburgh Pirates , St. Louis Browns and St. Louis Cardinals held spring training in the region. Minor renovations to
3344-508: The hotel on its list of "Top U.S. Hotels, Resorts & Spas." The National Trust for Historic Preservation has included the hotel in its Historic Hotels of America program. The American Society of Civil Engineers designated the hotel as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark . In the 1900s and 1910s the African-American employees of the West Baden Springs Hotel played on an early Negro league baseball team called
3420-567: The hotel's improvements, began his career as a bowling alley worker in the hotel, but made a fortune by operating an illegal gambling business in the area. Ballard also owned several nationally recognized touring circuses, including the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus . Between 1918 and 1919, while the hotel was being refurbished, it served as a U.S. Army hospital for wounded soldiers returning from World War I . Lillian Rexford and Lieutenant Charles Cooper fell in love during his stay at
3496-558: The hotel's name to the West Baden Inn. By the 1860s it was known as the West Baden Springs Hotel. The property was managed by Lane and Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Wilkins, with the assistance of W. F. Osborn, until 1883, when it was sold to a group of investors who made additional improvements. In 1887 the Monon Railroad built an extension of its line to transport guests to the hotels and springs at French Lick and West Baden, where
3572-567: The hotel-hospital. The Rexfords divorced in 1922, and Lillian sold the property to Ballard for $ 1 million in 1923. Half the money repaid the debt owed to Ballard; Lillian kept the remainder. Business at the hotel boomed in the 1920s; however, as ownership of automobiles increased and tourism destinations in Florida and the western United States became more popular, West Baden declined despite Ballard's efforts to attract more guests with trade shows and conventions. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 began
3648-605: The inner ring offered a view of the atrium, while forty rooms on floors four and six had balconies overlooking the atrium. The hotel rooms were small by modern standards. Most had one or two twin beds and lacked a private bathroom. Over the years the West Baden hotel attracted many notable guests. Beginning in the late 1880s, when southern Indiana became a favorite destination of the wealthy, the famous, infamous, and near-famous came to relax, play golf, gamble, enjoy fine dining, and be entertained. As Chris Bundy, author of West Baden Springs: Legacy of Dreams , explained, "These hotels were
3724-693: The key to their success. HLFI joined the Cook Group, Boykin Lodging (owner of the French Lick Springs Hotel ), and Orange County citizens to lobby the Indiana legislature to allow casino gambling in the area. The coalition members spent so much time in Indianapolis lobbying for their cause that they became known as "The Orange Shirts", in reference to the color of their T-shirts bearing the slogan, "Save French Lick and West Baden Springs". Legislation
3800-594: The large, brick railroad depot, along with all the train cars on the track and the railroad bridges on each side of the town. Morgan demanded taxes from the two flour mills that belonged to DePauw and Knight, and from the Allen Wollen Mill. Morgan's men looted stores and took about $ 500 from the area before departing about 3 p.m. Of the brief action at Salem, Col. Basil W. Duke , Morgan's second-in-command and brother-in-law, later said: "They did not pillage with any sort of method or reason; it seemed to be
3876-420: The largest dome in the United States until the completion of the Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina , in 1955. The hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, and became a National Historic Landmark in 1987. It is also designated as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark . In 2008 readers of Condé Nast Traveler ranked the West Baden Springs Hotel twenty-first on its list of
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#17327722278243952-519: The main structure. Tie rods were installed, the roof was patched, drainage was improved on roof parapets, and the structure around the partially collapsed wall was secured. HLFI also created promotional materials to help find a buyer and promoted the establishment of a local zoning and redevelopment commission. Minnesota Investment Partners purchased the property in May 1994 for $ 500,000 from the bankruptcy receiver. Grand Casinos, Inc., an MIP investor, provided
4028-456: The people of Salem meet to enjoy the festivities which include food booths, commercial booths and sometimes even scavenger hunts. The downtown area is on the National Register of Historic Places , as are several local buildings. The Carnegie Library in Salem was one of nearly 2,000 libraries built in the United States including 164 in Indiana in the early 20th century with funds donated by steel conglomerate Andrew Carnegie . Salem received
4104-556: The potential for increased business at the lease's end, and Lane would make a potential profit from his investment. Part of Bowles' land included the mineral springs known as Mile Lick, 1 mile (1.6 km) north of French Lick. Much of the property surrounding the Mile Lick springs was marshy, subject to yearly flooding, and unsuitable to farming, but Lane envisioned it as a business area that would surpass French Lick. In 1851 he purchased 770 acres (310 hectares) from Bowles. Lane assembled
4180-663: The present-day site of the West Baden Springs Hotel as they traveled along the Buffalo Trace in southern Indiana . Native Americans also used the area as hunting grounds. Following the arrival of French traders and settlers in the vicinity, the site became known as French Lick. When George Rogers Clark passed through southern Indiana in 1778, he camped less than a mile from the salt licks and mineral springs in Orange County that became known as French Lick and West Baden Springs . The presence of salt deposits enticed
4256-406: The property began in 1913, but a fire on February 11, 1917, destroyed the hotel's bottling plant, opera house, bowling alley and hospital, forcing their replacement. Several years prior to the fires, hotel owner Lee Sinclair's health began to fail and his daughter, Lillian, and her husband, Charles Rexford, took over the hotel's operation. When Sinclair died in 1916, management of the hotel was left in
4332-536: The school closed, H. Eugene MacDonald, a former Springs Valley resident, purchased the property in October 1983. MacDonald, who had owned other hotels, wanted to operate the property as a hotel, but lacked the financial resources for the restoration work. He executed a sale-and-leaseback deal with Marlin Properties, a Los Angeles historical renovation developer, for $ 1.5 million, but a $ 250,000 payment from Marlin
4408-487: The southeastern corner of the grounds, there is a memorial to veterans killed in action during conflicts dating back to the Revolutionary War . The birthplace of John Hay has been a National Historic Site since 1971 and is located in Salem. The building was originally used as a school house and was built in 1824. It has been restored and furnished in the 1840 period. In 2021, Rafael Blanco (artist) debuted
4484-423: The state government to consider mining large quantities of salt for early pioneers to use in preserving meat, but when it was determined that the saline content was insufficient to support large-scale salt mining, the property was offered for sale around 1832. William A. Bowles , a local physician, purchased the land that included the mineral springs and built a small inn. Constructed around 1840–45, it developed into
4560-604: The top resorts on the United States mainland. The casino complex includes three golf courses: the Valley Course, the Hill Course, and the Pete Dye Golf Course at French Lick. Beginning in the early twentieth century, when golf was gaining popularity, the French Lick hotel began to expand its modest golf facilities. Valley Course, the resort's first golf course, is adjacent to the hotel and casino. It
4636-447: The total in the original structure. The hotel's natatorium was rebuilt using historic photographs as a guide. The total cost of the complete restoration of the West Baden Springs Hotel totaled almost $ 100 million. Indiana Landmarks holds a perpetual preservation easement on the West Baden Springs Hotel that requires prior approval to make any changes to the hotel's exterior or grounds, even if ownership changes. The West Baden Springs Hotel
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#17327722278244712-488: The two sites competed to offer the best service, entertainment, food and mineral water. By the late 1800s, guests arrived from across the country on seven separate railroads for relaxation and the alleged curative powers of the mineral water. The area's mineral water and baths were alleged to cure more than fifty ailments. Sidewalks led from the hotel to seven numbered springs, all of which were covered by open wooden shelters. West Baden marketed water from its onsite springs under
4788-411: Was 97.5% White , 0.4% African American , 0.3% Native American , 0.6% Asian , 0.3% from other races , and 0.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.0% of the population. There were 2,622 households, of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.2% were married couples living together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.4% had
4864-531: Was Alexander White. The minister of the Salem Methodist Episcopal church married Alexander White and his wife Eliza Jane Demars on May 5, 1830. White ran a hotel in Salem. He was murdered in Salem in 1867. The killers were not punished, although one of them, Harvey Zink, was tried for the crime. Salem is primarily an agricultural community, surrounded by typical Indiana forests and farmland and small bodies of water. The primary crops grown in
4940-478: Was awarded the gambling license during the summer of 2005 and stepped up the planning and permitting process for the casino. Construction of the French Lick Resort Casino and renovation of the French Lick Springs Hotel occurred simultaneously in the fall of 2005. In the spring of 2006, HLFI West Baden deeded the West Baden Springs Hotel to the Cook Group for a token amount in appreciation for
5016-513: Was completed in early 1999 at a cost of $ 30 million—two-and-a-half times their initial commitment. In addition to the exteriors of the hotel and outbuildings, the garden was recreated, and the interior atrium, lobby, dining room and adjoining rooms were also completely restored. Over the next five years, the Cook Group spent another $ 5 million for maintenance. The reconstruction project was featured in West Baden Springs: Save of
5092-452: Was enlarged to an 18-hole course on 120 acres (49 hectares) around 1907. The larger course design, attributed to Tom Bendelow , featured a combination of wooded hills and flat turf. It has been altered and reduced to a 9-hole course as a result of the casino construction. Donald Ross and his associates designed the 18-hole Hill Course, the resort's second golf course, around 1917. Completed in 1920 on approximately 300 acres (120 hectares),
5168-508: Was finally approved in 2003 and the required local referendum easily passed. The Trump Organization was initially granted the gambling license by the Indiana Gaming Commission, but Trump's subsequent bankruptcy caused the selection process to begin again. The Cook family decided to form a new company, Blue Sky, LLC, and submitted its application, before purchasing the French Lick Springs Hotel from Boykin Lodging. Blue Sky
5244-500: Was held there in 1979. Unusual for a town of this size is a large children's playground, "Riley's Place" at DePauw Park. Named after Riley Jean Tomlinson, a local toddler who accidentally drowned in a swimming pool, the park was built in 2001 and contains two- and three- story wooden castles and other structures for children's play (along with swings, slides, and similar playground equipment). Southern Indiana Transit System provides deviated fixed-route and demand-response bus service in
5320-515: Was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and named a National Historic Landmark in 1987. In 2008 Condé Nast magazine ranked the hotel twenty-first on its list of the "Top 75 Mainland U.S. Resorts." In 2009 the American Automobile Association recognized the hotel as one of the top ten historic hotels in the United States. and awarded it a four- diamond rating. A Zagat Survey in 2009 included
5396-466: Was operated as a satellite campus of Northwood's business management school from 1968 to 1983. By its third year at West Baden Springs, the school's enrollment exceeded 400 students. Basketball legend Larry Bird , who was born in West Baden, held basketball clinics and staged games in the atrium. He briefly attended Northwood, after leaving Indiana University , before resuming his studies and collegiate basketball career at Indiana State University . After
5472-416: Was outraged, decided to build a new, circular-shaped hotel that would be fireproof and have a large dome. His goal was to open the new hotel within a year. Most building professionals rejected the idea of a 200-foot (61 m) dome, but Harrison Albright an architect from West Virginia , designed the building. Oliver Westcott, a bridge engineer, designed the dome's trusses. To complete the structure before
5548-456: Was rebuilt, and over the next several years Sinclair bought his partners' interest in the hotel and became its sole owner. Sinclair turned the facility into an elaborate resort. Advertised as the Carlsbad of America, the cosmopolitan resort included a casino, an opera house, and a covered, two-deck, one-third-mile oval bicycle and pony track. A lighted baseball diamond in the center of the track
5624-444: Was returned for nonsufficient funds in 1985. Before MacDonald could begin foreclosure proceedings, Marlin declared bankruptcy and the hotel's ownership was tied up in litigation for nearly a decade. The Jesuits and Northwood's owners maintained the building's structure, leaving it in reasonably good shape when MacDonald purchased it in 1983. The property was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987, but Marlin failed to preserve
5700-401: Was the largest dome in the world . Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, the hotel became a National Historic Landmark in 1987. It is a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark and one of the hotels in the National Trust for Historic Preservation 's Historic Hotels of America program. Roaming bear and herds of deer and buffalo once visited the salt lick near
5776-520: Was used as the spring training grounds for several major league teams including the Cincinnati Reds , Chicago Cubs , and Pittsburgh Pirates , among others. The hotel caught fire on June 14, 1901, but no guests were injured. Sinclair invited Thomas Taggart , the new owner of the French Lick Springs Hotel, to buy the West Baden property, but Taggart rebuffed the offer, boasting that he would expand his facility to handle more guests. Sinclair, who
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