Homestead Hotel, also known as the West Baden Springs Hotel, is a historic

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

building located at West Baden Springs,

Orange County, Indiana Orange County is located in Southern Indiana, Southern Indiana in the United States. As of 2020, its population was 19,867. The county seat is Paoli, Indiana, Paoli. The County (United States), county has four municipal corporation, incorporate ...

. It was built in 1913, and is a three-story, L-shaped,

Classical Revival Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassic ...

style brick building. It consists of a 22-bay main block connected to a two-story rear wing by a one-story

solarium Solarium may refer to: * A sunroom, a room built largely of glass to afford exposure to the sun * A terrace (building) or flat housetop * The '' Solarium Augusti'', a monumental meridian line (or perhaps a sundial) erected in Rome by Emperor Aug ...

with a -story cubicle

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings; * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

. ''Note:'' This includes and Accompanying photographs.

History

The Homestead was built in 1913 as a hotel with shops on the first floor and hotel rooms on the upper floors. It was one of over two dozen hotels, inns, and rooming houses that came into existence in the early 20th century near Orange County. Prior to its opening, and other similar hotels around it, the high rates at both the French Lick Springs Hotel and the

West Baden Springs Hotel The West Baden Springs Hotel, formerly the West Baden Inn, is part of the French Lick Resort and is a national historic landmark hotel in West Baden Springs, Indiana, West Baden Springs, Orange County, Indiana, Orange County, Indiana. It has a d ...

had made the area only accessible to the wealthy. The hotel was purchased by the future owner of the West Baden Springs Hotel, Ed Ballard, in 1919 for $1. In 1934, the hotel was bought by Ballard's cousins and renamed to the West Baden Springs Hotel. During this time, the main entrance was redesigned to include a revolving door and Art Deco canopy. Until 1976, the building functioned as a hotel until it was bought by

Northwood University Northwood University (NU) is a private university focused on business education with its main campus in Midland, Michigan, United States. Opened in 1959, more than 33,000 people have graduated from the institution. History Northwood Universit ...

and converted into a dormitory. The hotel was purchased again in 1984 by Eugene McDonald, who intended to return the building to its original function as a hotel. However, his effort was unsuccessful and the property was turned over to the county. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1998. In 2001, the Homestead Hotel underwent a successful restoration effort and was converted into senior housing.

References

Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Neoclassical architecture in Indiana Hotel buildings completed in 1913 Buildings and structures in Orange County, Indiana National Register of Historic Places in Orange County, Indiana {{OrangeCountyIN-NRHP-stub