Today, 1.1 million guests visit French Lick Resort annually to experience this “save of the century.” Why a career with French Lick Resort The Cooks wanted their preservation work to result in living, breathing historic places that would be around for centuries to come.
Soon the Cook family, devoted preservationists who themselves led the restoration of many Indiana buildings, joined the cause and committed more than $600 million dollars to not only save West Baden Springs Hotel but also French Lick Springs Hotel. Seeing West Baden Springs Hotel in a state of ruin devastated the group, whose mission is saving such cherished properties. As with any great comeback story, it all started with people who refused to give up – local volunteers and the folks at Indiana Landmarks.
By the mid-1990s, French Lick Spring Hotel, although still in operation, was a mere shell of its former glory and the abandoned West Baden Springs Hotel was literally crumbling to the ground.
