If you ever get a chance to visit Mineral Wells, the one thing you will
be sure to see is the Baker Hotel. It is certainly the first thing I look
for on my trips there. She stands proud, a grand lady of yesteryear. And
her presence draws you to her, still lovely as you imagine days gone by
with dapper gentlemen and ladies dressed for an evening in the Brazos
Room.
The Baker
Hotel was built by T.B. Baker to be a spa and resort destination for
the rich and famous. Even when it opened in November of 1929, her 14
stories and 450 rooms boasted the most modern of conveniences including
air conditioning and an Olympic sized pool. One of the main attractions
were the spas and the mineral waters which were thought to have curative
powers for a host of ailments. The Baker was lavishly decorated with
beautiful chandeliers, fine rugs, silk and velvet draperies, luxurious
couches as well as painted alcoves and ornate tile work. She was truly
a grand hotel in every sense of the word.
Earl M.
Baker, nephew to T.B. closed the doors to the Baker on April 30, 1963.
But because the hotel was designed and built by a structural engineer,
the building is still sound after many years of neglect.
There
are many who believe she is still occupied by the ghosts of years past.
Indeed, there have been numerous reports of opening and closing windows,
unexplained lights, the whiff of perfume from a mistress rumored to
have jumped from the 7th floor, voices such as a childlike "hi"
and the smell of cigar smoke. Perhaps these visitors are drawn, as we
are, to her past glory.
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