Some good news: The main entrance to West Baden Springs Hotel reopened today, following a construction project to make bridge upgrades on the brick road that leads to the hotel.
That means you’re now free to enter under the double-arch
entranceway that reads “West Baden Springs • Carlsbad of America.” You might
have seen that before and wondered. Carlsbad
of America. Where did that come from?
Here’s the backstory behind it.
“Carlsbad of America” appeared at West Baden when the famed
arches were built in 1914, and the phrase alludes to the European spa
tradition. The original Carlsbad is actually a spa town in the Czech Republic
called Karlovy Vary, which was founded in the 1300s by Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV. During an expedition, Charles IV discovered thermal springs that he
believed possessed healing properties, and he founded a spa there. The location
was named “Carlsbad” in German, aka “Charles’ Bath.”
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In the early 1900s, the name Carlsbad evoked a sense of prestige. It had name recognition globally, the way Rome or Paris or London are the vacation hotspots for American travelers today. People knew Carlsbad. And that’s why Lee Sinclair, the owner of West Baden Springs Hotel, wanted to promote his hotel using a slice of that Carlsbad influence. Folks were flocking to West Baden Springs Hotel for weeks at a time to take the mineral waters that were touted to have curative powers, just like they were overseas at the hot springs of Carlsbad.
And when the old West Baden Springs Hotel was lost to a fire
in 1901, Sinclair latched on to that Old World, European influence when it came
time to rebuild his hotel. He drew from what he saw and experienced a few years
earlier, when Sinclair and his family spent three months in 1898-99 visiting
domed structures in a European tour that included stops in Germany, Italy, France,
Switzerland, England and Scotland.
A local newspaper article detailed Sinclair’s travel plans
before he left:
“He will visit all the
noted resorts on the continent, and will carefully note their conduct that the
American Carlsbad, West Baden, may have the benefit of his personal
observations in the way of further improvements on his return home.”
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| West Baden Springs Hotel's arched entryway has had several different complexions over the years, including the period between the 1930s and 1970s when the hotel housed a Jesuit seminary (West Baden College) and then Northwood Institute. |
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Soon after, Sinclair was tasked with starting from scratch after the fire. But it allowed him to fulfill his vision for a domed hotel. For more than a half-century it was the world’s largest dome and regarded as “The Eighth Wonder of the World.”
Yet all along, the “Carlsbad of America” distinction
remained on the archway as a nod to West Baden Springs Hotel’s roots.