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  • West Baden Springs Resort

    • From: rdon47630
    • Description:

      Sometimes you come across something that just defies vocalization. In instances such as this only pictures will convey the absolute beauty of the moment. Such was the day we came upon West Baden Springs..Carlsbad of America. What history and monumental architectural beauty. First of all I would like to give you a little history of this awesome place.



      The West Baden Springs Hotel is a historic landmark hotel in the town of West Baden Springs in Orange County, Indiana, USA known for its vast domed atrium. It is currently part of the French Lick Resort Casino complex. Prior to the completion of the Assembly Hall at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1963, the building had the largest free-spanning dome in the United States and was the largest in the world from 1902 to 1913. It was listed on the National Register Of Historic Places in 1974, became a National Historic Landmark in 1987 and is a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

      In 1778, George Rogers Clark is thought to have discovered the area's mineral springs and salt licks. The region's reputation as a mineral springs resort area began with the building of the first French Lick Springs Hotel in 1832.In 1852, John Lane built a hotel on a site near the town of Mile Lick that he named the Mile Lick Inn. The town was renamed West Baden in 1855, so Lane changed the hotel name to the West Baden Inn. In 1887, the Monon railroad built an extension to take guests to the springs and the hotel. By the late 1800's, seven railroads brought guests from all over the country to the Springs Valley[2] for relaxation and the alleged curative powers of the mineral water.

      A group that included Lee Wiley Sinclair from Salem, Indiana acquired controlling interest in the hotel in 1888. Sinclair soon became sole owner and transformed it into a sophisticated resort, including an opera house, a casino and a two-deck, covered, one-third-mile oval bicycle and pony track. A lighted baseball diamond in the center of the track became the spring training grounds for several major league teams including the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates. Fire destroyed the entire hotel building in less than two hours in June, 1901; however, no guests were injured. Owner Lee Sinclair declared that the new hotel would be fireproof and would have the world's largest dome. Most professionals in the architectural community considered it impossible, but unknown West Virginia architect Harrison Albright completed the new West Baden Springs Hotel on time. The new structure opened in September 1902 and if the advertisements and artcles about the new hotel were true, the facility deserved being called the Eighth Wonder of the World. It was claimed that the resort's mineral baths and drinking waters could cure everything from sterility to senility. The hotel's amenities included two golf courses, billiards, bowling, baseball, swimming, horseback riding, bicycling and hiking on scenic trails, movies and nightly theatre. On-site personal services included a stock brokerage, banking and a barbershop. Birds flew freely in the 200-foot-diameter atrium, and an enormous fireplace burned 14-foot logs to take the chill off on cool evenings


      Notable guests

      Paul Dresser is rumored to have composed Indiana's state song "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" at the hotel. Boxers John L. Sullivan and James J. Corbett trained there. Al Cpone was a frequent guest as was Diamond Jim Brady. Politicans included Mayor "Big Bill" Thompson of Chicago and New York Governor Alfred E. Smith. Professional baseball teams even held their spring training at the resort

      A massive renovation effort was begun in 1913, but Sinclair died in 1916. His daughter and her husband took over the hotel's operation and restoration. Overextended by the refurbishment, Lillian Sinclair sold the property to Ed Ballard for $1 million in 1923. Ballard, who began his career as a bowling alley worker in the hotel, made a fortune by operating a flourishing, albeit illegal gambling business in the Springs Valley. Ballard also owned several nationally recognized touring circuses. The rise of the automobile and resorts in Florida drew business away from the West Baden Springs Hotel, but Ballard aggressively promoted the hotel to conventioneers and trade exhibitions. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 spelled the end of the hotel. As word of the plummeting market spread, people gathered in the brokerage firm's offices at the hotel, which emptied of guests almost overnight. Ballard closed the hotel in June 1932 and sold it to the Jesuits for one dollar in 1934

      The Jesuits removed many of the building's elegant appointments when they transformed the hotel into a seminary. The four Moorish towers were dismantled when they fell into disrepair. Known as West Baden College, the seminary operated until June, 1964 when declining enrollment forced the Jesuits to close the facility. In 1966, the Jesuits sold the property to a Michigan couple who in turn donated it to Norwood Institute, a private college, which operated a business management school on the property until 1983 Vacant after 1983, the building slipped into extreme decay, resulting in the collapse of a good portion of the west wall in 1991. In 1992, the National Trust for Historic Preservation listed the hotel as one of America's most endangered places. Bill Cook, a Bloomington, Indiana, entrepreneur and billionaire, financed a partial restoration of the property by the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana which assumed ownership in 1996. It was marketed nationally for almost ten years without a buyer and over 400,000 visitors toured the hotel. In 2006, title was transferred to a subsidiary of Bill Cook's Cook Group to become a part of the French Lick Resort Casion development. In May 2007, the building began hosting guests as a hotel in 246 luxury rooms for the first time since 1932.       (Source Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Baden_Springs_Hotel)

      There are 30 Jesuit graves in a small cemetary located adjacent to the hote still under the ownership and maintained by the Jesuite Order. The racehorse Peter the Great, owned by Ed Ballard and sired 600 offspring is also buried on the grounds.

      The resort once boasted a large covered multilevel track. The lower level was for exercising the horses and ponies, while the middle level was a bike and walking track. The upper level hosted a view of the full size baseball field located in the center of the track. This structure was destroyed in 1927 and was never rebuilt. It stood near and connected to the pavilion which is the only part of the structure left.

      I hope you enjoy this photographic tour as much as we did seeing it ourselves. This would be a great destination spot with plenty of things to do on site as well as in the immediate area.


      THE HOTEL

      .






      THE GARDENS


      THE CHAPEL




      THE PAVILION





      THE REAR OF THE HOTEL


    • Blog post
    • 2 months ago
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  • From Boston to the D.R., Red S

    • From: sstadtherr
    • Description:
    • 4 months ago
    • Views: 41
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  • Hiking Laguna Quilotoa to the

    • From: nadavena
    • Description:

      Riding the Bus to The Black Sheep Inn, and the Hike from Laguna QuilotoaQuilotoa Crater Lake.png

      I travelled to Ecuador to visit my daughter, Sarah, while she was in the Peace Corps. For the short twelve days I was there we were able to visit three of the four geographical regions of Ecuador: the coast, the Andes, and the Amazon. This entry recounts our adventure while in the Andes.

      18 September, Chugchilan, Black Sheep Inn

      To describe the journey from Quito to here in Chugchilan, neither my words nor photos can suffice.

      Only yesterday, and a world away, on the beach in Muisne, America again cooked us a fantatastic breakfast of eggs with sauteed red onions, sliced avocados with grated cheese and sweet fried plantains. Excellent. We then walked to Sarah's apartment to finish packing her things. When we were done she hired a tricyclo (the preferred mode of travel in Muisne, as there are no cars) to haul her bags to the dock and ferry. Ali and I walked. On the way I stopped at la tienda to pay Sarah's account. We then took the ferry to the mainland and waited for Byron and America to drive us to el aeropuerto.

      When they arrived Byron noticed that someone had let the air out of one of his tires! I began to think we wouldn't make it to the airport, but Byron soon repaired it and we were on our way. We arrived with time to spare, said our thanks and good-byes and boarded the plane. Except, while going through security I realized I had forgotten to check my Swiss Army knife, and they pulled me aside and made me fill out a dangerous weapons form, and told me I could pick the knife up in Quito. Yeah, right, I thought, I'll never see that knife again. But, lo and behold, after we got our luggage in Quito, we were able to retrieve the knife. Yay! In the states I would have been interrogated, put on some watched persons list, missed my flight, and never have gotten the knife back.

      Soon after we arrived in Quito it began to lightly rain. We went up to our room at the hostal on the top floor, and the roof was leaking on to the bed. Sarah said she would sleep there, but I insisted we change rooms, which we did. So, in our new room Sarah went to take a hot shower, but that was impossible with cold water. She called the front desk and they said they would fix it. Next morning we did, indeed, have a hot shower.

      After we unpacked we went to an Argentenian steak house. I had filet mignon (twice as big as normal in the USA), Sarah had a bowl of chile, and we shared a bottle of wine. Magnifico! (I have not eaten so well while in Ecuador since I don't know when.) We then crossed the street to Papyanet where I called home. We then returned to the hostal and packed for the trip to the Black Sheep Inn.

      19 September, Black Sheep Inn

      Sunrise View From Room.pngSunrise. I'm sitting at the desk in our room, and it looks like the sun is going to rise directly in front of our window. Sarah is still asleep.

      Yesterday in Quito, we awoke, had our hot showers, went to breakfast at the Magic Bean, and then took a taxi to Terminal Terrestre to catch the bus to Latacunga. The bus was nearly empty when we left, but made dozens of stops and detours, and I feared we would never make our connection in time, but we did. We had 30 minutes in Latacunga to walk 2 blocks in the rain to catch the bus to Chugchilan.

      The trip to Chugchilan by bus is long, but scenic. The bus climbed high into the Andes and the paramor where the indigenas live. Llamas, sheep, cattle, and donkeys are abundant, along with the women in their traditional hats and colorful ponchos. At every bus stop they get on the bus to sell exotic (to me) foods, especially varieties of corn and fruits. Finally, the bus reached the small town of Zumbahua, and turned down a dirt road towards Chugchilan. Most people in the USA would never take their car down such a road, mush less a bus. But they do in Ecuador; you can take a bus anywhere. It's fabulous!

      We arrived in Chugchilan about 4:00 p.m., and walked the half kilometer to the Black Sheep Inn, but it was the walk up the driveway that took our breath away, literally. It's 10,000 feet high, you know. Inside, Michelle, the co-owner, welcomed us and offered us a delicious cheese plate and cookies. Also there were 4 German girls who were in the hostal next door to us in Musne! The same ones that woke me up my first night there at 1:00 a.m. with their loud party. (This ia a story I neglected to write about earlier. It would take too long.)  Sebastian showed us to our room, another breathtaking climb above the main lodge. But it was worth it. Our view is heavenly.

      A little while later we were invited to watch a group of children from the area perform severalAndean Dancers dances accompanied with traditional Andean music, dressed in brightly colored costumes. The children privided an entertaining and relaxing way to end a long day.

      After a beautiful sunset we stumbled  back down to the lodge in the dark for another delicious vegetarian meal (I haven't had a bad one in Ecuador yet), and sat around and talked with all the other travellers. Later, we sat around a fire outside our room with our neighbors, Robin, Paula, and Harlan, and sang a few silly songs. I guess I finally went to sleep around 11:00, and with the wood stove, it was warm and cozy in our room.

      The Hike from Laguna Quilotoa, with Dogs

      Sarah and I caught a ride to Laguna Quilotoa with Robin, Paula, and Harlan. Thay had hired a driver to take them back to Quito. I offered to pay them $10 if they would drive us to Quilotoa. They took me up on my offer. WOO-HOO! I am forever grateful. This saved us from having to awaken at 4:00 a.m. to catch the 5:00 bus to Quilotoa. Now we could wake up at a normal time, eat breakfast, and leave around 10:30.

      We arrived at Quilotoa around 11:15. The village sits surprisingly close to the crater rim. You walk a short distance and  the crater and lake abruptly and stunningly appear. Caribbean nearly describes the various shades of blue and turquoise of the lake, but still they seem to be unique colors. It's also several hundred feet from the rim down to the lake. And you can hike the whole rim, but we chose to hike about a quarter of the way around and down a "trail" back to Chugchilan. It was extremely windy. Actually, there is no one trail, but several. Some going inside the rim, others out. Routefinding is a guessing game. It took us about an hour to find the trail down the outside of the crater to Guayama, the village on the way to Chugchilan.

      Gkids.pngNear the base of the crater we heard a chainsaw. Some of the locals were cutting down pine trees and creating perfectly shaped planks or boards. A little further down the trail we came upon four children who asked us in Spanish if we would like to take a photo of them for $1.00. Sarah obliged. I was particularly impressed with one of the boy's hot pink Chicago White Sox baseball cap.

      Soon we approached the first houses on the trail, and I heard dogs barking. I remembered in our trail guide the Black Sheep Inn provided for us that it might be a good idea to carry a stick to fend off "aggressive" dogs. So I found one. And good thing, too, beacuse as we passed the house two dogs came running and barking at us. And kept running and barking at us, displaying their plentiful, big teeth. At least that's what I saw. I turned towards them and began walking backwards, with Sarah behind me, pointing the stick in the dogs faces. I was ready to use it but the lead dog backed off, and we were safe. Temporarily. We soon reached Guayama, where there were a couple more aggressive dogs, but as soon as you passed their territory they would retreat.

      I should mention the many indigenas we passed along the way, again dressed in their colorful, traditional clothing, all working on various projects, including improving the trail, both men and women.There was something very communal and cooperative about it. It was comforting to me to see.

      After a while, we reached Toachi Canyon, which we had to cross to reach Chugchilan. Where the trail began its descent into the canyon was a work party of indigenas, improving the trail, plus a large group of German tourists. Sarah hurried me to begin hiking down the trail before the Germans started, but some beat us to it. (There were German women peeing behind some trees, in full view of some locals' house, who were outside the house laughing as they watched the Germans crouch.)

      Soon we had passed all the Germans who had started down the trail before us, and werehalandslide.png making good time when we came upon a landslide. I thought it must have just happened because sand and an occasional rock continued to fall from above, and the trail was wiped out. There was deep sand where the trial had been. Sarah wanted to cross anyway, but I told her no. I feared everything giving way just as she was trying to pass.

      Soon a German reached us and said it was time for "el guia" to do his job. When his Ecaudorian guide arrived, I gave him my dog stick, and he started across the slide area. A couple of times falling rocks nearly hit him as he poked with the stick into the sand that reached his boot tops. He helped one German across, then Sarah decided to go, then me. We left them there with my stick (big mistake) because the guide had 19 more people to help cross.

      We finally made it to the canyon bottom, crossed a stream and climbed the bank on the other side to have lunch under some eucalyptus trees. We were tired, hungry, and Sarah was a little cranky. I made fun of her because of it. I'd forgotten how she can be like that at times. She was funny.

      After eating and resting, we were refreshed and began the final climb to Chugchilan. Shortly after we started hiking, we smelled a dead animal, and Sarah soon came upon the source: a horse. Fortunately, we realized we were headed in the wrong direction and avoided having to go around the corpse.

      The trail went straight up, and we came to a house with another aggressive dog. We saw a boy coming down the trail and waited for him to pass the house. Sarah then asked him in Spanish if the dog would bite, and he said yes. He then asked us if we had any food, so Sarah gave him some popcorn leftover from lunch.

      We had no choice but to pass the house, but by the time we reached it the dog had disappeared. Perhaps the owner had brought him inside.

      The trail continued up. And up, and up. And straight up. Apparently the indigenas never heard of switchbacks, which I think explains their longevity: they have the strongest hearts in  the world. I slowly made it up, though, step by step. Sarah would have left me in the dust, literally, if she hadn't waited for me from time to time.

      School must have been let out by now, becuase soon small groups of girls began coming down the trail, all dressed in their hats, colorful skirts, kneehigh socks, and loafers, sucking on lollipops or popsicles. Some were more outgoing than others, but thay all seemed to be happy-go-lucky in their little "utopia" in the Andes.

      s at black sheep.pngFinally, we reached Chugchilan and the Black Sheep Inn about 4:15. Not bad time, but Sarah probably would have made it an hour earlier if she hadn't had to wait for her old man so often. We got back to the room, took hot showers, and went back down to the main lodge to have a Pilsener, the national beer of Ecuador. Andres, the co-owner, asked if we wanted to play volleyball, but I was physically unable.

      At 6:00, I went back up to the room to watch the sunset, then back down at 7:00 for dinner and visiting with the other guests, which was down to 6, compared to the previous night's 19. Three Brits and three  Americans. We ate and drank wine until it was time for bed and a 3:00 a.m. wake up call!

    • Blog post
    • 1 year ago
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  • ruggerchik

    • Points:250
    • Views: 93
    • Since: 1 year ago

  • Mom and Me

    • From: Ragazza
    • Description:
    • 1 year ago
    • Views: 201
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  • Northeast Baseball Tour June 2

    • From: dwatterson
    • Description:

      Dave and Bryan's Tour of 10 Northeast Baseball Parks. June 16th to June 27th 2008.

      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Washington Nationals
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • NY Yankees
      • Boston Red Sox
      • NY Mets
      • Cleveland Indians
      • Chicago Cubs

    • Blog post
    • 1 year ago
    • Views: 348
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