What Happened To The Mineral Wells Baker Hotel Restoration?

Almost 2 years ago, October 15, 2010, to be precise, I blogged about news I read in the soon to be gone Fort Worth Star-Telegram regarding the restoration of the Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells.

Way back near the end of the last century I saw the Baker Hotel for the first time. As I drove into Mineral Wells I was very surprised to see a giant structure looming over the town. And then more surprised to see the structure up close, realizing it was a Ghost Hotel.

Over the years I've been contacted multiple times regarding the Baker Hotel. This was due to the fact that years ago my webpage about the Baker Hotel was the only info about the hotel on the Internet.

That is no longer the case. There are now 6 webpages about the Baker Hotel that Google higher than mine. The #1 Baker Hotel webpage is now Wikipedia's Baker Hotel article.

The Baker Hotel has its own official website. Which Googles in the #2 position.

I've been curious as to the status of the Baker Hotel restoration. The Star-Telegram article of almost 2 years ago led one to think that the restoration plan was solid. Back then the restoration was supposedly underway, with someone named Jeff Trigger behind it, with a $52 million budget being spent to modernize the hotel rooms and return the Baker Hotel's famous features to their original splendor, including the swimming pools.

Well.

Yesterday, someone asked me, via a blog comment on the October 15, 2010 blogging, if I could help him get in contact with Jeff Trigger, because he'd been told that Jeff Trigger was the person to talk to regarding restoring the Baker Hotel.

Below is the referenced comment....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Ballad Of The Baker: Is The Baker Hotel In Mineral Wells Really Being Restored?":

I am a investor that is willing to build the hotel to original state that is to the exacting amount of tile on the wall well what I'm doing here is trying to contact the owner of the grand old lady for purchase. I got as far as entering the old lady with escort of fire marshal and officers for a inspection of the premises and back ground info to me up to a name of a man but i need to contact this JEF T. would anyone know where i can even get any info asap because my goal is to have her finished by the end of 2013 you can contact me at nickolyash@yahoo.com 

Anyone out there have any answers for Mr. Nickolyash?

Ballad Of The Baker: Is The Baker Hotel In Mineral Wells Really Being Restored?

It has been at least 10 years since I first saw the Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells. Soon after I saw the Baker Hotel I made a webpage about it.

At that point in time there was no other webpage devoted to the Baker Hotel, near as I could tell.  So, for years, my webpage about the Baker Hotel Googled in the #1 spot.

That is no longer the case. There is a lot of Baker Hotel info on the Internet in 2010, including a sort of Official Baker Hotel website.

During the years when my webpage about the Baker Hotel Googled #1, causing people to think I was somehow associated with it, I have lost count of the number of emails I've gotten asking me questions about buying the hotel, who owns it, what I'm asking for it. And the weirdest one, asking me to pick someone up, flying in from Los Angeles, at D/FW Airport, and transport them to Mineral Wells to the Baker Hotel.

Over the decades that the Baker Hotel has sat idle, in ever failing health, there have been many rumors about plans to restore it to its former glory.

It appears that this is finally going to happen. And is actually underway, due to the renovation efforts of someone named Jeff Trigger.

Trigger allegedly has a $52 million budget, which he will spend to re-do and modernize the hotel rooms, restore the grand lobby to its heyday splendor, restore the Baker Hotel's outdoor swimming pool and mineral bath. With an indoor floor dedicated to what made Mineral Wells famous. Its mineral water.

The Baker Hotel renovation project is far enough along that a movie is being made of the effort, called The Ballad of the Baker. The Ballad of the Baker even has a website. That is a snapshot from the website in the picture above. You can go to the website and view videos of the movie trailer and the Baker Hotel renovation.

I feel like taking a short roadtrip out to Mineral Wells and verifying this project is actually underway. I've been burned by this type news before. Like being told, quite earnestly, that the New Isis Theater Eyesore in the Fort Worth Stockyards is being renovated. Years later the New Isis is a worse eyesore than ever.

I hope the new Baker Hotel is able to make a go of it. Will the mineral springs still be able to attract visitors? There really is not a lot going on in Mineral Wells, tourist hotspot-wise, that would seem to draw people, besides the novelty of the restored hotel. Maybe this will turn Mineral Wells into a tourist town, with shops and galleries and good restaurants.

The Baker Hotel In Mineral Wells May Be Brought Back To Life

In the picture you are in Mineral Wells on top of a Palo Pinto Mountain, looking at the Baker Hotel.

I really think the Palo Pinto Mountains should be more accurately named the Palo Pinto Hills.

A few months after my Exile in Texas began I was out and about exploring the territory and was surprised to come upon a little town named Mineral Wells that had a gigantic abandoned hotel sitting in its downtown zone.

A year or two after first seeing it I made a webpage about the Baker Hotel on my Eyes on Texas website.

Over the years I've received several emails from people interested in buying and restoring the Baker Hotel. Asking if I knew who to contact. One or two were befuddled into thinking I was directly involved with the Baker Hotel. I remember one person was flying in from Los Angeles and asked if I could meet them and take them to the Baker Hotel.

Well, the Baker Hotel has been in the local news the past few days due to a fresh effort to restore the Baker Hotel (and Mineral Wells) to its former glory. Apparently $54 million has to be found. Officials in Mineral Wells and a development team are trying to put all the puzzle pieces together to turn the former 450 room hotel into a 4 star resort of 155 rooms, with the top floor ballroom restored and a spa with the waters that made Mineral Wells famous.

This is not the first time I've read that the long neglected Baker Hotel was going to get fixed.

Three years ago I wrote the following on my website about efforts to restore the hotel...

"After over 3 decades of floundering in an ever increasing state of decay, with numerous attempts by many to find some way to develop the Baker Hotel for a modern use, the city of Mineral Wells has, as of November, 2007, taken an active role in trying to restore the hotel to its former glory. The city has created a tax increment finance district hoping to entice potential developers to re-vitalize the Baker. The city has a 14 month agreement with the hotel's current owner to aggressively market the building to developers. The city will be doing feasibility and building examinations for the next 2 months. We can save them some trouble, the structure is sound, but it desperately needs a new roof."

I hope it all works out, this time, and the Baker Hotel is restored. And I hope the restoration stays true to the Baker Hotel's art deco style.

Feeling HOT AT 107 Thinking About Drinking Some Texas Crazy Water

102 with a HEAT INDEX of 107, coming up on 4 this HOT afternoon in Texas.

I've lost track of how many days in a row we've gone over 100 during this HEAT WAVE. Is it 11? 12? Is there any end in sight?

Yesterday Betty Jo Bouvier told me she thought I should do nothing of the exercise sort yesterday, just lay around and watch TV. I don't even like to do that if I'm sick.

Today I am not sick, but I have not left my abode. I do not remember the last time I had not left my abode by this point in the day.

I did leave, virtually, for a short while to go to Mineral Wells to see about some Crazy Water. A couple weeks ago the aforementioned Betty Jo Bouvier was inquiring about Crazy Water, wondering if its salubrious claims had validity. I know I can say for certain I have never seen a single crazy person in Mineral Wells, which really is not statistically significant evidence that drinking the Mineral Wells water calms down craziness.

I have been hearing from Elsie Hotpepper sporadically. She does not seem to have regular Internet service, as evidenced by cryptic emails sent via the EH Blackberry device.

I heard from Linda Ann today. LA's in Seattle. She is flying in to Austin soon. I told LA if she needs a place to stay she is welcome to the sleeper couch in the attic. The last time LA stayed overnight was decades ago, when I was in college.

The Continuing Mystery Of The Grotto At Lovers Retreat

On Wednesday I blogged about the Mystery of the Grottos at Lovers Retreat in Mineral Wells.

With the mystery being where is this intriguing looking grotto and does it still exist or is it under the water of Mineral Wells Lake?

Yesterday the mystery was at least partially solved by my newest Facebook Friend, Sherry B.

Sherry B commented the following...

"How interesting! I was looking for it too. I live in Weatherford and run a website about all the attractions & events in Parker & Palo Pinto, so this is something I've wanted to find. I did some research today and turns out; the location is 4 miles outside of the town of Palo Pinto. It is now private and is no longer accessible to visitors. The main clue to the exact location says that the property is located just to the North of where the highway crosses Eagle Creek. Too bad it's not public anymore. I would LOVE to explore it!"

Sherry B pointed me towards several interesting photos of the Grotto at Lovers Retreat. One is a current day look at the scene in the above old postcard.

Another of the Sherry B photos is another old postcard of Lovers Retreat.

On the postcard it says, "New Suspension Bridge at Lover's Retreat near Mineral Wells, Texas. The South's Greatest Health Resort."

Note the use of an apostrophe before the 's' in Lovers. In the previous blogging about Lovers Retreat we learned that one of the versions of the reason for the name was it was named after a guy, last name of Lovers, with no apostrophe needed before the 's', but with one maybe needed after the 's'. Maybe Lovers Retreat is like Devils Tower and Pikes Peak, where the apostrophe indicating a possessive noun is discarded. The apostrophe controversy just adds to the mystery.

The other apostrophe version has the grotto named after a pair of Indian lovers, which would make the name Lover's Retreat.

The final picture is the modern day look at the now old New Suspension Bridge. If this used to be the South's Greatest Health Resort, why is it not accessible to today's public who want to be healthy?

I think Sherry B and I should sneak on to this private property and check out the Grotto at Lovers Retreat. If anyone sees us we can hide in one of the caves. That works out well about half the time.

The Legends Of The Grottos On Lovers' Retreat In Mineral Wells Texas

This morning Betty Jo Bouvier, the Wild Woman of Woolley, asked me what I knew about Crazy Water. I was surprised that somehow Betty Jo had heard about the special water that comes from Mineral Wells.

Back on November 28, 2009 I blogged about Crazy Water after I heard from the Famous Mineral Water Company via a Twitter Tweet from @lovecrazywater.

Betty Jo, asking about Crazy Water, put me in mind of Mineral Wells and an old postcard I'd found titled "The Grottoes on Lovers' Retreat, Mineral Wells, Texas."

I assumed that the Lovers' Retreat Grotto must have existed prior to the building of Mineral Wells Dam, which created Mineral Wells Lake, and was now under water. My assumption was wrong.

I do not know where, in Mineral Wells, Lovers' Retreat is located. Here's a blurb I found about this grotto, "Lovers' Retreat has long been one of the most picturesque locations in the county (Palo Pinto) and has been a favorite recreation spot since people have lived in the area. The huge rocks that jut from the earth and numerous ledges and naturally occurring caves contribute to the scenery of the place."

I could find no photos of Lovers' Retreat, which has me thinking my initial assumption may have been correct. Where Mineral Wells Lake and Mineral Wells State Park now exist, there are steep cliffs in an area called Penitentiary Hollow. I imagine the gorge, that the dam dammed, had steep cliffs.

There are two versions of why the Grottos on Lovers' Retreat are so-named.

One version has an early Palo Pinto settler, last name of Lovers, being chased by Indians. Lovers hid in one of the grotto's caves til the Indians gave up looking for him. When Lovers got back to civilization and told his tale, ever after, the grotto had Lovers' name attached to it.

The other version is an Indian legend with 2 versions and it involves actual lovers. The father of an Indian maiden insisted she marry the son of another tribe's chief. But, she was in love with a brave from her own tribe. The day before she was to be married, the maiden eloped with her brave. Her dad then sent out a pack of warriors to catch the pair. They hid out in one of the grotto's caves. When the warriors reached the caves a Medicine Man warned that the caves were haunted by evil spirits. So, they left. The Indian maiden and her brave emerged from the cave and lived in the grotto area for years, eventually joining another tribe and living happily ever after.

In the second version the warrior search party found the hiding lovers, killed the brave. And then, as they were dragging the maiden back to her dad, she broke free and jumped to her death off a 40 foot cliff.

Anyone out there know where the Grottos at Lovers' Retreat are located in Mineral Wells? I think I can eliminate the Baker Hotel as a possible location.

The Fort Worth Stockyards New Isis Theater Travesty & The Baker Hotel In Mineral Wells Travesty

That is the New Isis Theater on Main Street in the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District.

I was appalled at this Isis Eyesore the first time I saw it, over a decade ago. I wondered then why the city code people did not make the owner fix it up. As in put windows in the boarded over windows. And a few other cosmetic fixes.

This was to be one of my early lessons in how things operate different in Texas than what I was used to.

Years passed, I started my Eyes on Texas website. On that website there is a page, long neglected, that I called Texas Tacky, basically chronicling examples of things I came across, in Texas, that seemed tacky to me.

On June 7, 2007 I got an email from Robert Adams telling me the New Isis Theater was currently being renovated, with the renovation to be completed in 14-16 months. You can go to the Texas Tacky link and read Robert's email. It's an amusing one, due to the seat info about Big Texans.

This morning I got email from Lauren regarding the New Isis Theater.

Lauren said...

"Wanting info on the Isis theater? Any new info? That email was in 2007....just in case "Robert" lost track of time, it's 2010....few months my a$$... "

It has been a few months since I last eye-witnessed the fact that the New Isis is an even bigger eyesore than when I first lay my sore eyes on it, over 10 years ago.

I wonder how many raids the Fort Worth Gestapo Stormtroopers have made on the New Isis Theater? Yes, I know, it is not nearly as bad a bad thing in public view as Steve Doeung's Protest Art that has earned him 3 citations from the FW Gestapo, with fines attached.

And in another email about another eyesore, a really cool looking eyesore, that is not in Fort Worth, that being the Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells. When I first saw the Baker Hotel it was one of the strangest things I'd ever come across. This enormous building in this small, sort of run-down town.

It was not as easy to find info on the Internet a decade ago, as it is now. I don't know if Google had yet been invented. For a long time my webpage about the Baker Hotel Googled #1 because there was so little info about it. Now you can find a lot of Baker Hotel info on the Internet.

The Baker Hotel came to my attention this morning due to an email from Connie. I'll copy the email below in case anyone other there has a suggestion for Connie.

To Whom It May Concern:

I have several old pictures of the Baker Hotel and several pieces of China that has the Baker Hotel Logo on it. I don't really know who to contact about these items. Could someone help me? And if you are interested in the items, please contact me.

Thank you,

Connie Harrington
Phone # 918-422-5406

Getting Sane From Crazy Water From A Famous Mineral Water Company In Mineral Wells Texas

During the decade since I quit being a Yankee and started being a Texan I've seen some crazy things. One of the craziest I found my first year here while roaming around the countryside that surrounds the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex.

I headed towards a town called Mineral Wells, because I wanted to check out Mineral Wells State Park. I had heard good things. I was not disappointed. Penitentiary Hollow, in the state park, was particularly a good thing.

After climbing around Penitentiary Hollow I headed into the town of Mineral Wells. A few minutes later I was to see a giant structure come in to view. It was huge. Seemed totally out of place for a little town.

Soon I found myself walking all around what I learned was the long abandoned, rumored to be haunted, Baker Hotel.

On a subsequent visit, after having learned the Baker Hotel's impressive history, I was let inside the ground floor. Much had been removed, but signs of opulence remained.

The Baker Hotel came into existence due to the item that gives the town its name. Mineral Wells. People came from all over for the mineral waters of Mineral Wells. So many people claimed to have so many ailments cured by the waters, at times there would be thousands of people in town, taking the cure.

Some took to calling the mineral water "Crazy Water" due to the consumption of said water being thought to have cured a crazy lady of her craziness.

By the late 1950s, or maybe early 1960s, the FDA came down hard on the selling of Crazy Water and its cure claims. And then it was found that the water had lithium in it. Lithium is used by the medical profession as one of the drugs to help control the behavior of, well, crazy people.

I believe for a time, due to the lithium content, the FDA would not allow the sale of Crazy Water.

But, I found out yesterday you can still get Crazy Water (with lithium) from Mineral Wells. Thanks to my new information source, Twitter, I learned from "lovecrazywater" that Famous Mineral Water Company is bottling and selling Crazy Water.

You can haul your own container to Mineral Wells and get it filled with Crazy Water. Or order a 12 pack from the Famous Mineral Water Company online store. Or, I think, they deliver. I assume within a limited area. Just looked, the website says "Water Delivery to Home or Office."

I've no idea how that works. Delivering to home and office, I mean. Maybe it's home and offices in the D/FW zone. Or maybe just Mineral Wells.

I'm thinking there are plenty of crazy offices that might benefit from having Crazy Water calming the more difficult cubicle dwellers.

I'd head to Mineral Wells tomorrow to get me some Crazy Water. Lord knows I need it. But I don't know if they are open on Sunday.

Tandy Hill Fissures Barnett Shale Earthquakes & Related Cowboy Stadium Dangers

Yesterday I read that the Dallas Cowboys, well Jerry Jones, somehow got Barnett Shale gas drilling banned for some area around the new stadium. The reason being that the stadium is very heavy and drilling under it might wreak havoc.

Different type concerns were unable to stop Chesapeake Energy from drilling off Carter Avenue at the west end of the Tandy Hills Natural Area.

Today, around noon, I did my regular Thursday inspection of the Tandy Hills. I noticed large earthquake-like fissures have appeared. Is the ground rumbling under the Tandy Hills?

I expected to overheat hiking Tandy today, but did not. This morning I pretty much overheated soon after getting out of the pool. I got up later than usual, so the sun had done its light up the place thing by the time I hit the water. I swam particularly hard, I guess, because when I got out and dried off I was quickly wet again, due to that sweating thing.

Before I moved to Texas I hated sweating, rarely did so. I've adjusted. Here, it is like living in a healthy natural sauna.

That is what a Level Orange Air Pollution Alert looks like today in Fort Worth from high atop the summit of Mount Tandy, looking west at an un-zoomed view of beautiful downtown Fort Worth's stunning skyline.

Hiking the Tandy Hills, today, there was a breeze. That helps. And it was only 90. It has not managed to get to 100 yet today, at a bit past 3 in the afternoon, the temperature is maintaining at 99.

Big Ed in Tex went along on the Tandy Hike today. That always makes matters difficult. Big Ed in Tex is a bit on the plus-size side. So, he does not move as fast as me. Consequently he falls behind. Eventually I got a call telling me he was lost. Again. This type aggravation really does not help with my nature enjoyment.

I heard from Connie in Tacoma today. She wants to be my new BFF. I've had dinner with her mother, at Anthony's Homeport at Point Defiance, but I've never had dinner with Connie. Connie is not a Toxic Tacoma Person. She does not drink the water.

It took a long time for anyone to figure out why the crazy water in Mineral Wells, Texas made crazy people less so. I don't know if anyone is trying to figure out, yet, why their tapwater makes some people in Tacoma Toxic. It's perplexing.

Mineral Wells Baker Hotel May Be Saved

In my first year in Texas, when it was still all new to me and I was still enjoying going out and about and exploring my new world, I came upon the town of Mineral Wells, about 40 miles west of Fort Worth.

Before driving into Mineral Wells I went to Mineral Wells State Park and discovered my first scenic thing in Texas, that being Penitentiary Hollow. Penitentiary Hollow is a maze of cliffs and caves where a lot of rock climbing takes place.

After I was done exploring the state park I drove into Mineral Wells. Ahead of me I saw this giant, totally out of place, building. When I got back to a computer I quickly learned it was the infamous Baker Hotel. A resort hotel that sprang up in the 1920s which attracted all sorts of celebrities, drawn to the supposed curative powers of what was called Crazy Water.

Years later, in the 60s, it was discovered that Crazy Water's curative powers came from the naturally occurring lithium present in the water. The government shut it down. The Baker Hotel gradually died.

Over the years there have been attempts to restore the Baker Hotel. Always with good intentions. But it always falls apart. The latest attempt was announced yesterday. It seems like this attempt might be viable. The plan is to remodel the Baker Hotel into a mixed use building with various levels of senior type housing and elderly care.

I'm guessing that once the renovation plan is costed out the people interested will decide it's not viable. I hope not, though.