With all that’s been happening, it’s easy to forget that French Lick Springs Hotel is still in the midst of a milestone birthday year. Let’s give this old beauty her time in the spotlight.
As
the hotel blows out 175 candles on the birthday cake in 2020, there might be
some factoids from the hotel’s history you never knew. Here’s 9 pieces of
lesser-known trivia about the hotel (which, by the way, has been reopened for
a few weeks and is welcoming guests back).
We start with an appropriate nugget of trivia for these times.
The hotel kept its doors open 100+ years ago during a pandemic era, as this advertisement touts all the activities to maintain physical well-being — and, of course, the Pluto mineral water which could supposedly heal anything and everything.
“And
you may realize to the full what a haven the French Lick Springs Hotel is for
those who wish to resist the Spanish Influenza and for those recovering from an
attack of this terrible disease.”
From the time of the first hotel property in 1845, French Lick Springs Hotel was only open seasonally, during what they termed the “watering season” of spring to early/mid fall. (Pause for a moment and imagine the hotel without air conditioning on a July day like today. The first air conditioning at the hotel didn’t arrive until 1955.)
French
Lick Springs Hotel opened year-round starting in 1888 when a new management
group took over. Other hotel additions around this time included a dining room,
ice house and cold storage room — along with electricity for lighting,
following Edison’s patent for the incandescent light.
#3: Famous for some unconventional juices.
You may have known that tomato juice was first served at French
Lick Springs Hotel in 1917. But did you know that kraut juice was also
extremely popular with guests during that era? Bottoms up!
If you’re not a fan of pickled cabbage
water, this one might suit you a little more: Guests used to go crazy for the
hotel’s pastries, which were baked over wood fires right here at the hotel’s bakery.
Along with the bakery, the hotel used
to have practically everything it needed right here on property. A dairy barn
supplied fresh milk and dairy products to the hotel. Gardens and chicken houses
supplied more fresh food. The hotel had its own bowling alley and barbershop (pictured above). Plus a broker’s office, beauty salon, photographer, physicians, and shops that sold clothing, gifts and
jewelry. It was really its own little self-contained little community, right
down to flowers from the greenhouse that were placed in rooms to welcome guests.
During hotel owner Thomas Taggart’s major
improvements to the hotel in 1903, a casino, bowling alley and billiard hall
were added to the property, along with tennis, croquet, baseball and golf. The
hotel was also home to one of the largest dancing pavilions in the country, enclosed
in glass and surrounded by galleries.
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The exterior of the billiard house and bowling alleys. |
#5: Taggart was a heavy hitter in
politics.
Owner Thomas Taggart on the front steps
of French Lick Springs Hotel
Taggart was the man responsible for
building French Lick Springs Hotel into a first-class resort. But he wasn’t
just a savvy hotelier. His investments branched out into the copper, gas and
oil industries, and his big claim to fame was in politics.
He was a three-term mayor of
Indianapolis from 1895-1901, and was chairman of the Democratic National Committee
from 1904-08. As chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party, he helped Grover Cleveland
defeat Hoosier native Benjamin Harrison in the 1892 presidential election, as Cleveland
defeated Harrison in his home state (and even his home county and home
precinct) thanks to Taggart’s behind-the-scenes diligence.
#6: The hotel literally powered the town
of French Lick
Taggart also endeared himself to the
citizens of French Lick, thanks to upgrades to the town that were made possible
by Taggart’s hotel.
Taggart also built a power plant on
hotel grounds to power his facility, and he decided to sell electricity to the
town after they passed an ordinance allowing him to do so. He paid for the
installation of poles, wiring and facilities within the town, and even the maintenance
was included and provided by the hotel. A new water supply also came to the
townspeople thanks to the hotel’s presence.
#7: Morning coffee? Nah. Pluto water to start your day.
The Pluto mineral water was such a
rage at the hotel in the early 1900s that guests even started their day with
it. In the mornings, it was common sight to see bellboys scurrying up and down
the hotel’s corridors carrying jugs of hot and cold Pluto water to place
outside guests’ doors. Guests would place the orders the night before, and have
Pluto water waiting for them in the morning.
#8: Every meal had a swanky soundtrack.
In the hotel’s early days, meals were
included with the room rate — and dining was a big deal. It was a time to dress
up. To see and be seen. And the hotel orchestra played at every meal. Some
couples stayed and danced to the live music, while other guests played cards,
checkers or chess. Music in the lobby lasted until 10 p.m. every evening except
Sundays.
Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie headlined the French Lick Jazz Festival in the summers of 1958 and '59.
#9: The hotel hosted one of the country’s biggest jazz festivals.
Believe it or not, French Lick was
one of the pioneers of the modern music festival.
Before Coachella and Lollapalooza (and even before Woodstock), French Lick hosted the first major jazz festival in the Midwest for two summers in 1958 and ‘59. Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and other jazz greats all took their turn on stage in front of 14,000 music fans who flocked to French Lick for the outdoor show.