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Building History

Constructed for textile manufacturer and hotelier Lee Wiley Sinclair (1836-1916), the West Baden Springs Hotel #2 opened for guests 09/15/1902. Sinclair's first hotel had been destroyed by a kitchen fire on 06/14/1901, a plague for hotels during the 19th and early 20th centuries. To prevent future conflagrations, Albright built a new hotel structure of steel, glass and reinforced concrete. Reinforced concrete was, in 1901, a relatively new medium pioneered by Ernest Leslie Ransome and others during the late 19th century mostly for utilitarian structures at first, later spreading to office buildings and even residences.

The West Baden Hotel #2 had 700 rooms oriented around a huge central atrium capped by a titanic, steel-and-glass dome, making it a very large resort hotel. Resort hotels had become popular by the late 19th century, (such as the Hotel Del Monte #1 [1880] and Hotel del Coronado [1888]), and their scale increased to meet the demands of incresingly affluent, middle-class tourists. Sinclair wanted his hotel to be oriented around a huge atrium, whose long span deterred many architects from accepting the job. As noted on the West Baden Springs Hotel website: "Albright was brought to the attention of Sinclair by a mutual acquaintance, former Congressman and Secretary of the Navy Nathan Goff Jr. Goff was an old friend of Sinclair’s and a frequent visitor to the original West Baden Springs Hotel. Goff became familiar with Albright’s work after he commissioned him to build the Waldo Hotel in Clarksburg, WV. Sinclair approached several leading architects with his dream and all of them rejected the project, calling it impractical. After taking Goff’s advice, Sinclair met with Albright to present his grand vision. Impressed with Sinclair’s vision, Albright drafted up plans and specifications for the building that would become the largest free-span dome in the world. The West Baden Springs Hotel held the distinction of the world’s largest free-span dome until 1913 and the American distinction until 1955." (See French Lick Hotel.com, "West Baden Springs Hotel Architect Harrison Albright," accessed 08/29/2024.) The hotel's domed span measured 195 feet in diameter and 100 feet in height, an enormous distance for the time.

Harrison Albright, however, had gained experience with large-scale construction while working in West Virginia, such as the Charleston Capitol Annex that had a three-story dome. The dome's engineering was devised by a Chicago bridge engineer, Oliver J. Westcott, for whom 200-feet was not a particularly long span. Albright worked with the Columbus, IN, general contractors, Caldwell and Drake on the hotel's construction.

Construction began on 10/15/1901 and was required to take only 200 days to complete without financial penalties accruing to architect and contractor. Sinclair capped the construction cost at $414,000, with a $100 penalty for each day over 200 days. The hotel commenced checking in guests on 09/15/1902. (See Jadecat.com, "Lee Wiley Sinclair and West Baden Springs Hotel Timeline." accessed 08/29/2024.)

Drawings and diagrams of this building were displayed by Albright for the California State Board of Architectural Examiners by Albright when he went for licensing soon after his arrival in the state, 03/28/1905.

The hotel went bankrupt during the Depression. Thereafter, it accommodated a Jesuit seminary, West Baden College between 1932 and 1964. Thereafter, a

Building Notes

After Lee Sinclair's death in 1916, he lay in state under his hotel's dome with 1,500 guests attended the funeral service. (See Jadecat.com, "Lee Wiley Sinclair and West Baden Springs Hotel Timeline." accessed 08/29/2024.)

Alteration

The West Baden Springs Hotel #2 was renovated in 1916-1917.

The hotel was restored by the Cook Group in 1996-1998 at a cost of $30 million; the restoration work was completed by 10/1998.