French Lick Resort Reopens Feature We Haven’t Seen In Over 90 Years
French Lick Resort Brings Back Billiard And Bowling Pavilion
The Billiard and Bowling Pavilion at French Lick Resort originally opened on Christmas Day of 1917. In the early 1930's, following the Great Depression, West Baden Springs Hotel closed its doors, along with that of the Pavilion. This was the only remaining building on the resort that hadn't seen renovations until now. While renovations have been years in the making, this historic piece of yesteryear is now refurbished and reopened to the public! The Pavilion now boasts six lanes for bowling, pool tables, Sprudel's Pizzeria, and Prohibition-era cocktails.
Behind The Scenes Of This Nostalgic Renovation
Renovating a building as historic as the Pavilion isn't easy and takes incredible detail to maintain the nostalgia of the 1930s. Therefore, this project has been years in the making, starting with the addition of a flood control system. The lighting fixtures hanging over the bowling lanes are as close to original as modern times could suffice. A couple of noteworthy fixtures of the pavilion are the original, limestone Tuscan columns separating the billiards from the bowling section. Chuck Franz, CEO of French Lick Resort, said this about the renovations and reopening:
“To bring back another building that had not been in service for almost a century is a real treat we’re excited to offer our guests. And, we’re bringing it back pretty close to what it was like 100 years ago, with six lanes for bowling and the billiard tables in the front section of the building. Just like the restoration of the West Baden Springs Hotel dome, we relied on historical pictures to bring it back to the life that it had more than a century ago. We wanted to keep it as historically accurate as possible.”
Check out these pictures from the original Pavilion:
Bowling and Billiards Pavilion Reopens at French Lick
Gallery Credit: Lori Mae
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