Not many people who read this newsletter have had the pleasure of visiting this grand old 471-room hotel. A hundred years ago gambling, and mineral springs-baths turned French Lick into a recreational spa for wealthy travelers, Hollywood stars, politicians and presidents. Many of these guests arrived in their plush Pullman Cars and I have seen as many as twenty of these cars on the hotel sidings. President Roosevelt was a guest here at least once, maybe more. I have seen many famous people who stayed here. This is a front entrance view of the hotel. The little building on the left was once a taxi stand for the hotel. My dad worked out of it off and on for several years.
Four Major League Baseball teams came to the hotel for spring training including the Chicago Cubs and White Sox teams. Some say there were as many as seventeen casinos’ that catered to the wealthy guests. The locals were not permitted inside these establishments, they were strictly for the millionaires. Many local boys became dealers though and in those days a dealer in the casinos’ made top dollar. In 1949 the governor of Indiana (under great pressure) abolished all gambling in the state although it appears that it will reappear soon because the state has granted a riverboat license which will legalize gambling in the Valley. This is the home of “Pluto Water” and it is still available for drinking purposes or baths. The slogan for the water was “when nature won’t, Pluto will.”
The Luxurious French Lick Springs Hotel