Of all the incredible history around French Lick Resort, one factoid seems to always stand out. No matter how many times you hear it, it always boggles the mind.
West Baden Spring Hotel was built in one year. Yes, one
*year*, singular. Less than a year, actually — closer to about 11 months. Just try to wrap your mind around that the next time you're under the dome, gazing up, trying to fathom how this architectural marvel was built in practically the snap of a finger prior to this age of modern construction.
(Some of us have home upgrade projects that have been lingering longer than a year, but that's another story.)
Check out the timeline of photos and follow the rapid progress of West Baden Springs Hotel, from the ground up.
November 1, 1901. Construction begins in October, just months after the devastating June fire that destroyed the original hotel.
Another November 1 photo from a different vantage point.
November 18, 1901. Construction is coming along quickly on the first floor. In the lower left of the photo, the Lady of the Lourdes Catholic Church is going up at the same time on the hillside next to the hotel grounds. Church construction was temporarily halted to accommodate the building of the hotel.
November 27, 1901. In the center of the atrium, a temporary structure is added to house construction machinery.
December 23, 1901. Three floors of the six-story hotel are up, and the fourth is underway.
Another December 23 photo. Work didn't cease for snowfall — or holidays. It was reported that, on Thanksgiving Day 1901, 516 men were working on site, and 20 teams of mules and horses were used to transport materials from a railroad spur to the grounds. The spur was created specifically for convenient transport of materials to the new hotel.
December 31, 1901. As the information on the photo states, 500 men were working on the hotel on this date. Laborers worked 10-hour days and 6-day weeks.
January 15, 1902. Already, the sixth and final floor of rooms is taking shape.
January 17, 1902. A view from the other side of the hotel (where the front brick drive runs today).
April 6, 1902. The Moorish-style towers are up, and now comes the tricky part: the dome. The first dome trusses are erected.
April 23, 1902. All of the dome trusses have been added, but work is not yet complete on the dome structure as the tower supporting the atrium hub has not yet been removed.
A close-up view of one of the trusses supporting the world's largest free-span dome at the time.
April 30, 1902. An interior view of the hotel and the temporary tower that supported the atrium hub.
May 2, 1902. The tower has been removed, proving that the design of dome architect Oliver Westcott was sound. Westcott, an engineer who specialized in steel bridges, was tasked with designing a dome that many thought could not be built. As legend goes, hotel architect Harrison Albright stood on top of the atrium hub of the dome when the support tower was removed, as a way to show his faith in the design and construction of the dome — and that Albright slept under the dome for the following week after to show it was safe, as some asserted the dome would collapse.
April 25, 1902. Save for the final touches on the dome, the exterior of the hotel is, incredibly, near completion. On June 14, 1902, a year to the day after fire wiped out the original hotel, owner Lee Sinclair welcomed a couple personal friends for breakfast as the first unofficial guests in the new hotel. After a few additional months to complete the structure and furnish the interior, the hotel welcomed its first guests in September 1902. One of the first newspaper reports of the new West Baden Springs Hotel touted it as the "Eighth Wonder of the World" because of its grandiose beauty and style — although that superlative could also fit the speed by which this historic gem was built.
