We were delighted to take a close-to-home field trip today with some of our friends. Here's a glimpse of our day.
First stop:
Lunch at Denny's in French Lick
No pictures. Sorry
Second stop:
West Baden Springs Hotel
**The following has been copied and pasted from Wikipedia. Further information (very interesting information, I might add) can be found also at Wikipedia.**
The West Baden Springs Hotel is a historic landmark hotel in the town of West Baden Springs in Orange County, Indiana, United States, known for its vast domed atrium. It is currently part of the French Lick Resort. Prior to the completion of the Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1955, 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,[3] and is a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. The West Baden Springs Hotel is recognized as one of the Historic Hotels of America by the National Trust of Historic Preservation.
The atrium under the dome
Looking up at the dome
Fleece missed out on the field trip, but we did take a friend of hers along. She enjoyed this nice little resting spot under the dome.
Huge fireplace
"Teddy" poses by the menu of Sinclair's - a restaurant that is slightly higher priced than where we had lunch.
In case you couldn't see the prices on the picture above...
A door with original glass
Need your shoes shined?
Hot AND cold water
And a toilet
Open ALL year
Imagine!
Third stop:
French Lick Resort Casino...
We didn't make it to the casino part this time around. ;) But here are a few of the parts we did see.
Only one shot outside
The entrance
One of the many amazing chandeliers
And the paintings on the ceiling
A model of the West Baden Springs Hotel
Restaurant
Another chandelier
These things are huge!
Looking up from below
Fourth stop:
The Rise of Lost River
Though not all the passengers in our vehicle were entirely enthused about this stop, we decided that it would be "just wrong" to not stop at a National Historic Site! So, here it is.
Final stop:
Home
Thanks for a good day to all who were involved! And sorry, Fleece. I'll take you along next time.
Our oldest’s goal is to play her cello in the middle of the dome. Did you clap when you were standing there (in the very middle) to hear the accoustics?
ReplyDeleteHaven't seen the West Baden Springs Hotel for years. The last time I was there, they were in the middle of renovating the entire thing. So, I was very glad to see these pix! One of my favorite IN places!!
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely an attraction worth seeing. I didn't clap in the middle of the dome. Didn't even think of it. I did wish like everything that I could get my hands on the lovely grand piano that was in there. It was covered up. :(
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