A few months back we cracked open the photo archives to give you a glimpse of what life was like here at the resort in the early 20th Century and even before. That was a popular blog — and we've got a TON more old photos where that came from — so we're sharing some more of these snapshots from our past.
West Baden Springs Hotel's circular veranda was finished in 1921, complete with plenty of wicker furniture for guests to relax in.
In the early days of French Lick Springs Hotel, the front desk (at left) in the lobby faced the hotel's front doors. At the rear of the photo where you see a fireplace (which is still there today), that is now the entrance to the corridor leading to the Promenade of Shops and the Event Center.
The photos above and below show the first hotel on the French Lick Springs Hotel property, circa 1850. These are some of the first photos that show us what the original hotel looked like when it was built in 1845 by William Bowles. In the middle right of the photo below, see the men standing on the platform by the white fence? That platform was to accommodate folks getting on and off their stagecoach and buggy.
The water wagon was always good for a photo op.
This photo is dated June 14, 1902, which is the unofficial opening of West Baden Springs Hotel. A publishing reported that owner "Lee W. Sinclair moved into his rooms in the new hotel" on June 14, though there was never any mention of an elaborate grand opening and word about the grand new hotel trickled out over the coming weeks and months. Though the interior was fully finished on this date, a few finishing touches were still being made to the exterior as the hotel was rebuilt in less than a year following a destructive fire.
A few good views of the Lithia Spring, or Fresh Water Spring, which sat adjacent to French Lick Springs Hotel.
Inside the office of Lee W. Sinclair, the former owner of West Baden Springs Hotel.
Guest rooms in French Lick Springs Hotel from the early 1900s.
The original Pluto Water Bottling Plant was built in 1896 and became French Lick's other major industry during that era. In 1919, it took 450 railroad cars to transport the mineral water which was on drugstore shelves nationwide with annual sales approaching $1.25 million.
Back in the day, the bathhouse was reserved for men only. The men's spa was located in the area of French Lick Springs Hotel where the fitness center is today.
A view of the expanded lobby and front desk area at French Lick Springs Hotel, circa 1901.
You could find dog shows here....
...And even tigers, as former French Lick Springs Hotel owner Thomas D. Taggart found a friend. Exotic animals made their home here, as the area was once the winter quarters for the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus and all their animals.
Going out for a drink once took on a whole other meaning. The young couple in this photo dated 1890 are taking the waters from the Lithia Spring. As you see the man holding in his right hand, guests had dipper sticks with glasses attached at the other end to dip the water directly from the springs.
Skeet shooting was a major draw, along with the lodge at the Skeet Club.
And isn't it wild to imagine the time when horseback was the fastest way from Point A to Point B at the hotels?
