There’s something in the water: The Baker Hotel rises again
The Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells was once one of the most opulent hotels in the South. Now, stripped to its bones, the building still shows signs of its former elegance like a former beauty queen who defies the ravages of age.
A cavernous room with windows provided a view of the town and surrounding hills. Construction debris was piled along one wall and a fine layer of white dust covered the concrete floor that was once covered with wood flooring. In one corner, a yellow tent is where they sandblast layers of old paint off metal fixtures.
A consortium of investors paid $2.2 million for the building, but will spend upward of $100 million on the restoration when it’s all said and done, he added. The tri-tower building only cost $1.2 million to build in 1929 . By the turn of the century, Mineral Wells was a full-blown resort town with hotels, bathhouses, and spas. In 1922, local investors attracted the attention of Texas hotel magnate T.B. Baker, who already owned several grand hotels. The new Baker Hotel was going to be his most magnificent property.
Business at the Baker got a bump when Camp Wolters opened just east of town and became the largest infantry placement during World War II. After the war, business began a steady decline. In the 1940s, modern antibiotics had replaced “taking the waters” on most doctors’ prescription pads. The basement is full of fixtures collected from throughout the building. Plaster medallions that used horsehair as a binder survived and will be used as molds for new decorations. Remarkably, the lobby’s chandeliers survived. When it reopens, the new Baker Hotel will have many of the flourishes of the original.Over the years, so many groups have tried to bring the hotel back to life that locals started saying the Baker Hotel would reopen when pigs fly.
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