We’re in spring cleaning season. And as we’re going through
our photo archives trying to tidy things up, we stumbled upon some historic
photos that are too good not to share. Take a look….
We're not sure what kind of show or competition this might have been, but this woman certainly had an audience at the old outdoor pool at the ivy-covered West Baden Springs Hotel. Note the wooden diving board, which is something most of us today have never seen or jumped off.
This pool in this photo used to be an indoor pool. But when the natatorium that housed it was torn down, it became an outdoor pool.
Not only were trains the main mode of transportation to the resort in the early days, but they also pulled up almost right to the hotel front doors to let guests off. The railroad came into the Springs Valley area in 1887, and at one time, as many as 14 passenger trains per day stopped at French Lick and West Baden. This photo was taken in the early 1950s.
The old barbershop at French Lick Springs Hotel
— complete with spittoons for guests to use (behind the base of the columns).
Even rocking on the veranda reading the newspaper was once a more formal venture with the full suit, hat and pipe.
The first country club building was built in 1921 but burned down in 1939 before a new one was built two years later at what is now The Donald Ross Course at French Lick.
The setup inside the former Hoosier Ballroom at French Lick Springs Hotel. It looks quite a bit different these days, as the hotel pool is here instead.
Back before the days of free Wi-Fi, passing some down time looked quite a bit different.
You could scarcely find any prime shore space in the sun in 1965 when the iconic domed pool at French Lick Springs Hotel opened. The dome walls could slide shut in the winter for indoor swimming and open back up for the warm-weather months.
Back in the day, there was also an ice skating rink adjacent to the domed pool as these guests took a spin around the ice in 1965.
The resort's former golf shop is still standing today, as it's now the KidsFest Lodge.
The entrance to the movie theater that was once inside West Baden Springs Hotel; this picture was taken from the atrium. See the soldiers that are on each side of the entrance? They were carved from limestone and were displayed at one of the main entrances of the original hotel. When that original hotel burned down in 1901, the limestone soldiers somehow weren't damaged. They were recovered and brought inside to be displayed inside the new hotel when it was rebuilt on the same site.
Also note the horn next to the podium in the middle. It was used to call out the time for the next show to the guests in the atrium. (And, presumably, echo mightily in that huge atrium.)
French Lick Springs Hotel's version of the movie theater. This was located at the very end of the building's lower level in what is now The Grand Colonnade Restaurant.
Inside the old Billiard and Bowling Pavilion on the West Baden Springs Hotel grounds. This building hasn't been functional for years, but
it's currently being renovated into an upscale new facility for wedding receptions and special events.
The old bowling alley at French Lick Springs Hotel.
A "Town Night" in the West Baden Springs Hotel atrium when the Jesuits invited the local townspeople for music and special shows. After the hotel closed to guests in 1934 and the Jesuits subsequently moved into the building to operate their seminary there, some of the locals weren't keen on the idea of the Jesuits being there. So the Jesuits invited the public in on occasion, as a way of building some goodwill toward them and their cause.
True story: There was once a golf course located directly adjacent to West Baden Springs Hotel, and the tee box for the first hole was actually located on the hotel's porch.
They may seem like cozy quarters today, but these were pretty plush accommodations in the very early 20th Century when West Baden Springs Hotel opened.
