Baker Hotel (Mineral Wells, Texas) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Baker Hotel
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The Baker Hotel in 2019.
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 Baker Hotel
Location in Texas
Baker Hotel
Location in the United States
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| Location | 201 E. Hubbard St., Mineral Wells, Texas |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1929 |
| Built by | Inge & Burger, Inc. |
| Architect | Wyatt C. Hedrick |
| Architectural style | Chicago School Mission Revival Spanish Colonial Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 82004518 |
| Added to NRHP | June 23, 1982 |
The Baker Hotel is a very old hotel in Mineral Wells, Texas. It has been closed for a long time. In 1982, the Baker Hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it is an important historical building.
Contents
The Baker Hotel: A Look Back
How the Baker Hotel Started
The story of the Baker Hotel began in 1922. People in Mineral Wells wanted to build a big hotel. They wanted it to be owned by local people. This was because the town's mineral water was becoming very famous. Many visitors came to try the special water.
They asked Theodore Brasher Baker for help. He was a famous hotel designer. He had built other grand hotels like the Baker Hotel in Dallas and the Hotel Texas in Fort Worth.
Designing a Grand Hotel
The hotel's architect, Wyatt C. Hedrick, got his ideas from the Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs, Arkansas. That hotel was also known for its water and baths.
Building the Baker Hotel started in 1926. But it stopped when Mr. Baker visited California. He saw a hotel with a swimming pool there. He decided the new Baker Hotel needed one too!
So, an Olympic-sized pool was added to the front. It was filled with the town's special mineral waters. This was the first swimming pool ever built at a hotel in Texas.
A Tall and Fancy Building
Construction began again the next year. The hotel was very grand and fancy. It was described as a "Spanish Colonial Revival, Commercial Highrise."
The building was 14 stories tall. It had 450 guest rooms. There were also two ballrooms, a beauty shop, a bowling alley, and a gym. The outdoor swimming pool was a big hit.
The hotel was finished three years later. It cost $1.2 million, which was a huge amount of money in 1929. This giant building quickly became the most important part of the city's skyline.
The 1930s: A Popular Spa Spot
The Baker Hotel opened on November 9, 1929. A big party was held two weeks later. The hotel had amazing features. It had a system that sent ice water to all 450 rooms. Lights and fans turned on and off automatically when guests entered or left their rooms. There was even a special closet where guests could leave laundry for staff to pick up without entering the room.
By the 1940s, the hotel had air conditioning. This made it even more popular for big meetings. It could host 2,500 people. This was amazing because Mineral Wells only had about 6,000 residents in 1929.
Even though it opened right after the stock market crash of 1929, the Baker Hotel did very well. Mineral Wells was known as a top health spa. Many famous people stayed at the Baker. These included Glenn Miller, Lawrence Welk, Clark Gable, Judy Garland, and future U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. Even The Three Stooges visited! Some local stories say that Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow might have stayed there too.
The 1940s: War Brings Good Times
T.B. Baker had money problems in the early 1930s. He gave control of the hotel to his nephew, Earl Baker. Even with these problems, the Baker Hotel kept doing well.
But as the 1930s ended, Mineral Wells's fame as a health spa faded. New medicines like antibiotics meant people didn't need the mineral waters as much.
Then, the Fort Wolters military base opened nearby in October 1940. This brought a new boom for the hotel. Fort Wolters was a huge training base during World War II. The Baker Hotel became very popular. Many soldiers and their families stayed there. The town's population grew to about 30,000 during the war.
The 1950s-1970s: Closing Down
After World War II ended in 1945, Fort Wolters closed. Business at the hotel slowed down. The base reopened in 1951 as a helicopter base, which helped a little. The Baker Hotel also hosted the Texas Republican Party conventions in 1952 and 1955. The Texas Democratic Party held their convention there in 1954.
But overall, business kept going down. Earl Baker decided to close the hotel when he turned 70. He closed it on April 30, 1963. This ended 30 years of service.
A group of local investors tried to reopen the hotel in 1965. But this didn't last long. Earl Baker passed away in 1967. In 1972, the Baker Hotel closed its doors for the very last time. Since then, the building has been empty. It has been damaged by weather and people breaking in.
Plans for a New Future
In August 2010, plans were announced to buy and reopen the Baker Hotel. The idea was to spend $54 million to fix it up. The plan is to make the 400-plus rooms into 155 larger, nicer rooms. The third floor will still be a fancy mineral spa. The renovation is expected to take about two years once it starts.
In 2014, the people of Mineral Wells voted to help fund the project. They agreed to use some city sales tax money. This would provide up to $4 million for the $56 million project.
As of February 2019, the plans were still on hold. But on June 20, 2019, it was announced that new investors had bought the Baker. They had found all the money needed for the restoration. The $65 million renovation plan has begun. The hotel is expected to open in 2022.
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