If you EVER have a chance to visit southern Indiana, make sure you find the time to go to West Baden Springs Resort in West Baden, Indiana. It's only 1 mile from French Lick! And you can say you've been to what is dubbed as the "8th Wonder of the World". I haven't seen the first 7, but the 8th one is BREATHTAKING!!!! I promise you, it will be worth the trip!!! This place has a rich history that just amazes me. A quick timeline/history...originally built in 1902 (and built in less than 1 year!!!) after a previous hotel on the site was destroyed by fire...It was claimed that the mineral baths and drinking water could cure most anything. As word spread of the plummeting stock market in 1929, people gathered in the on-site stock brokerage firm and watched the hotel virtually empty overnight. The stock market crash spelled the end of the hotel and it closed it's doors in 1932. It was sold to the Jesuits for $1 in 1934 and was turned into a seminary, which operated until 1964. In 1966 the Jesuit's sold the property to a Michigan couple who donated it to a private college which operated a business management school until 1983. I first became interested in this when my parents took me there my senior year of high school (1986). My Dad heard that someone had purchased the hotel and was in the process of restoring it, so he took us to see it. Even though the place was a total mess, you just had this "feeling" when you walked into the dome that it was something special. A few years later, the owner filed bankrupty so it sat empty for several years. In 1991, Bill Cook, a Bloomington, Indiana, entreprenuer financed a partial restoration. In 2006, ownership was transferred to a subsidiary of Cook Group and was reopened in 2007. The first picture is the brick drive entrance. I forgot to take a picture of the arches you drive through at the entrance! DUH! It's quite majestic! This was the largest dome in North America from 1902 until 1963 when Assembly Hall at the University of Illinois/Urbana-Champaign was built.
When I walked into it on Tuesday, I just couldn't believe how BEAUTIFUL it was. Oh.My.Goodness!!! These pictures don't do it justice, seriously. You just can't believe it!
We spent about an hour walking around the shops, etc. inside the hotel. I found this beautifully decorated dining room. I'm not sure if there was an event planned for the evening or if it always looks like this. It's hard to tell in the picture, but the linens were navy blue and gold and just looked divine!
I also found this chair and ottoman in one of the little shops inside the hotel. Again, the picture doesn't do this justice..the colors were absolutely vibrant and the detail was amazing.
I've got several pictures from outside in the "gardens" that I will share in the next couple of days. If you enjoyed the pics of the inside, just you wait until you see what's outside! Talk about gorgeous!!!
Thanks for letting me gush about my new favorite place in the world!!
Hugs&Smiles!
Kim
