Ready for a new avenue to explore the rich heritage of French
Lick Resort and the surrounding communities?
This is history on wheels, and it starts next week and runs
all throughout October. Reserve a seat on one our Trolley Tours offered every
Monday and Tuesday, and learn about a couple dozen historical points of
interest. You may have already taken one of the historical walking tours at
West Baden or French Lick Springs Hotel, and the Trolley Tours are different on
a few fronts — for one, you can sit back and relax on our trolley bus, and also
these tours venture out into French Lick and West Baden Springs to explore some
of those towns you may not be aware of.
Here’s a sneak peek of a few things you’ll see:
Larry Bird Boulevard
Get a glimpse of the high school stomping grounds where
French Lick’s most famous native used to dominate basketball games. The tour
will take you past the high school gym and the Larry Bird bust. Later in your
stay, you can visit the 33 Brick Street restaurant in town (named for the No.
33 jersey Bird wore) where you can actually try on a jacket and a pair of shoes
that Larry himself once wore.
Former underground
casinos
In the first half of the 20th Century, you could
count on two hands the number of illegal casinos that operated in the towns of
French Lick and West Baden Springs. Some are still standing, including one with
a “money drop” chute from the main level to the basement to stash the cash at a
moment’s notice.
Last remaining circus
barn from the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus
We’re pretty lucky to have so many of our historic
structures still standing. One is the last remaining link to the famed
Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus, which made it winter home here as circus owner Ed
Ballard also owned West Baden Springs Hotel.
One of the barns that housed the circus animals still stands
today just off the main highway. So does the mansion where Ballard lived, which
will also be pointed out on the Trolley Tour.
Notable residential
areas
Take a spin through some of the town’s residential areas,
with their unique architecture, narrow streets and impossibly steep hills that’ll
make you wonder if you’re still in Indiana. You’ll see the neighborhood formerly
known as “Millionaire Row” and an old apartment building originally built to
house the dealers that were hired to work in the casinos.
Sinclair Street and Joe Louis Bridge
Today, it’s a vast field dotted with a few trees. It’s fun to imagine how different it was a few generations ago.
Near the end of the Trolley Tour you’ll pass down Sinclair Street, and just a few paces off the road used to sit a double-story horse and pony track. Contained within the track was a baseball field, used by the local West Baden Sprudels semipro team comprised of hotel employees. The field also got plenty of used by Major League teams like the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates, who used to stop here to play spring training games.
In this area you also pass over the Joe Louis Bridge, named
to honor the boxer who trained in West Baden all throughout the era when he was
the world heavyweight champion from 1936-1949. Louis used to stay at the Waddy
Hotel, which also stood in this vicinity.
If you reach the end of the tour and you’re hankering for
more history, you’re in luck — you’ll have the option to be dropped off at the
French Lick West Baden Museum, which is full of other sights and exhibits about
the area and the resort’s colorful past.