West Baden Springs Hotel (West Baden Springs, Indiana)

 hotel, resort, spa resort, NRHP - National Register of Historic Places, draw only border, 1901_construction, building/structure that has been renovated/restored/reconstructed, U.S. National Historic Landmark

8538 West Baden Avenue
West Baden Springs, IN 47469
(888) 936-9360
(812) 936-9300
www.frenchlick.com/hotels/westbaden

Historic early-20th Century resort hotel which reopened in 2007, following a lengthy and extensive restoration. The massive domed resort was built in 1902 but closed in 1932 due to the Great Depression. It was sold to the Jesuits and served as a seminary until 1964. The Jesuits then sold it, and it served as the Northwood Institute, a private college, from 1966 to 1983. When that venture ended, the hotel was vacated and began to decay. It was in serious danger of collapsing and was listed by the National Trust as one of America's Most Endangered Places until local developer Bill Cook began an extensive restoration in 1996 in anticipation of the adjacent French Lick Springs Hotel's reopening as a casino.

Looking like a fairy-tale castle, the West Baden Springs Hotel draws nationwide interest. In the early 1990s, the interest was concern over the long-vacant and collapsing condition of the southern Indiana landmark. In 1996, Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana intervened by purchasing the 1902 National Historic Landmark. We recruited Bill and Gayle Cook, Indiana industrialists and preservationists, to help rescue the property. They funded and managed a $34 million stabilization and partial renovation, returning the exteriors of all the buildings to pristine condition and restoring the vast domed atrium, lobby and dining room to gilded glory.

In 2005, the Cooks bought the historic French Lick Springs Resort, also built in 1902, and joined forces with Lauth Property Group to create a casino on the property. The PGA-championship Hill Course designed by Donald Ross was also restored to its original design.

In July 2007, for the first time since 1932, West Baden Springs offered overnight accommodations—this time in 240 luxury guestrooms. On the hill above West Baden Springs, famed designer Pete Dye created a new 18-hole golf course. Mt. Airie, the former Taggart mansion, will become the clubhouse for the new course.