Developers of Historic Baker Hotel Reveal $65M Restoration Plans
The Baker Hotel closed in 1972, restoration is expected to take three years
By Katy Blakey ••
In its prime, Mineral Wells’ Baker Hotel was the place to see and be seen. On Thursday, a $65 million restoration project will begin to bring this piece of Texas history back to life.
What to Know
Known as the 'Grand Old Lady of Mineral Wells,' the Baker Hotel originally opened in 1929, just days after the stock market crashed.
Developed by T.B. Baker for a reported $1.2 million, the first air-conditioned hotel in Texas boasted an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
The Baker Hotel was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
In its prime, The Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells was the place to see and be seen.
Celebrities like Judy Garland and Clark Gable, dignitaries like President Lyndon B. Johnson and everyday Texans were drawn to the luxury resort and its healing waters.
But after closing in 1972, the hotel began a slow decline, reminding Mineral Wells of its past and what it could still be again.
Now, developers say the time for talk is over and on Thursday, a $65 million restoration project will begin to bring this piece of Texas history back to life.
Exteriors of The Baker Hotel in downtown Mineral Wells.
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California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation via AP
The lobby of The Baker Hotel.
Looking up at the second floor from the lobby.
Looking down at the lobby from the second floor.
MCALLEN POLICE
Graffiti on the doors of the elevators.
The reception desk in the lobby.
The spa on the second floor of The Baker Hotel, on the right is one of the "electric box" touted for its health benefits.
The hallway leading into the spa.
Another view of the spa.
The men's side of the spa, painted blue.
One of the guest rooms.
A courtyard.
Rumor has it Bonnie and Clyde stayed here, in the future it will be the Bonnie & Clyde suite.
A bathroom.
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The entrance to T.B. Baker's suite.
T.B. Baker's suite at The Baker Hotel.
This is the secret compartment where T.B. Baker hid his liquor during Prohibition.
Looking at Mineral Wells from an upper floor of The Baker Hotel.
An ornate fireplace in the T.B. Baker's suite. (The graffiti was on the fireplace before Katy Blakey visited for this story.)
A staircase shows the "bones" of the hotel that's still standing after it was built in 1920s.
One of the developers looks down into the stairwell -- in the future, there will be a railing.
Coming into 'The Cloud Room' on the 14th floor.
'The Cloud Room' occupies the top floor of the hotel and will be renovated and restored as the grand ballroom.
Orange County District Attorney's Office
'The Cloud Room' features a wrap around walkway, a patio sits on the other side of the stage seen at the end of the room. It too will be refurbished to its former glory.
Another view of 'The Cloud Room.'
Connecticut State Police
AL ROJO VIVO
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Looking down from the top floor to the Olympic-size swimming pool and adjoining fountain.
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A spiral staircase leads to a bell tower that has no bell, there has never been a bell.
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The view from the bell-less bell tower.
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Inside the bell tower.
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Pamphlets touting the benefits of the spa litter the floor.
Like so many, developer Laird Fairchild, was drawn to the Baker Hotel from the moment he saw it.
"I drove by this magnificent building and fell in love it," said Fairchild.
But unlike others who have dreamed what the Baker could become, Fairchild had access to capital, know-how and patience to tackle what he says will be one of the biggest private restoration projects in Texas history.
Together with the city of Mineral Wells and seven other owners and developers, it has taken Fairchild more than 10 years of financing and bureaucratic red tape to begin a restoration project of this size.
"I don't know if it's anything other than just a deep passion we all had," said Fairchild. "But it's really the citizens of this town. They fell in love with this idea of supporting this group and they saw our passion and we saw their passion."
In 2014, Mineral Wells voters approved reallocating a portion of the city's sales tax to the project and Governor Greg Abbott designated the project and downtown Mineral Wells as an 'Opportunity Zone' that provides tax incentives.
The plan is to open the restored Baker Hotel & Spa in the fall of 2022.
The Baker Hotel Archives
The Baker Hotel Archives
Photo shows construction of the Baker Hotel.
The Baker Hotel Archives
Rendering of the Baker Hotel's lobby.
The Baker Hotel Archives
Rendering of a guest room at the Baker Hotel.
The Baker Hotel Archives
Mineral Wells Index's Baker Hotel opening edition, November 29, 1929.
The Baker Hotel Archives
T.B. Baker (1929) ~50 yrs old
The Baker Hotel Archives
A brick road leading into Mineral Wells, the Baker Hotel can be seen on the horizon to the left of the road.
Baker Hotel Archives
1920s Mineral Wells, Texas
The Baker Hotel Archives
Shown here is a panoramic View of Mineral Wells, Texas gaken from Welcome Mountain with the The Baker Hotel center.
The Baker Hotel Archives
This picture, showing Baker Hotel and the First Methodist Church, was taken approximately in 1938.
The Baker Hotel Archives
Will Rogers, humorist, actor, and columnist who "Never met a man I didn't like," visits Mineral Wells. Rogers (second from left--with light-colored suit--in the featured group of four) and Mayor Charlton Brown (third from left, next to Rogers) are recorded for posterity with other, as yet unidentified, local citizens and visitors on the front steps of the Baker Hotel. They appear under a banner that reads "Welcome to Mineral Wells - Where America Drinks Its Way to Health."
The Baker Hotel Archives
Shown here is the main entrance to the Baker Hotel, which went directly into the hotel lobby. The hotel had twelve stories, of which all rooms were outside ones. They were reached by an elevator with the Baker Crest on it. The building was steam-heated, and hollow-tile partitions made each room quiet. There were no exterior fire escapes--just fire-proof stairwells. Note individuals on the veranda that are standing as well as sitting in deck chairs. Cars are parked on East Hubbard Street.
The Baker Hotel Archives
An aerial view of Mineral Wells, Texas, taken by A. F. Weaver on April 29, 1967 looks North on Oak Avenue. Identifiable in the picture are the Baker Hotel to the middle right of the picture, The Crazy Hotel in the middle left, the old Post Office (now the Ladies Club) one block north of The Baker, and the Nazareth Hospital (one block left of The Crazy Hotel).
The Baker Hotel Archives
Photo of the Baker Hotel's dining room.
The Baker Hotel Archives
Shown here is a panoramic View of Mineral Wells, Texas gaken from Welcome Mountain with the The Baker Hotel center.
The Baker Hotel Archives
Another dining room at the Baker Hotel.
The Baker Hotel Archives
There were approximately 450 guest rooms in The Baker Hotel. However, most of them are small by today’s standards. This was the Baker Suite.
The Baker Hotel Archives
A postcard sent to Ruby in Ohio by Herb, a guest at The Baker hotel.
The Baker Hotel Archives
Earl Maynard Baker, the nephew of hotel tycoon T.B. Baker, ran two of the Baker hotels for most of his adult life. A website dedicated to The Life & Times of The Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells reports the woman in cheetah fur has been identified as Mr. Baker’s wife, Gladys.
The Baker Hotel Archives
The Baker Hotel postcard
The Baker Hotel Archives
Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow met in 1930 and reportedly stayed at The Baker Hotel. They began a two-year crime spree in 1932, robbing and killing their way across Texas and a handful of states to the north.
The Baker Hotel Archives
A guest room at The Baker Hotel.
The Baker Hotel Archives
Judy Garland mails a letter at the Mineral Wells Post Office (1943)
The Baker Hotel Archives
This photograph presents a mystery. Ten ladies, dressed in 1920's-style fashion, stand on the steps of The Baker Hotel, holding bouquets of chrysanthemums; one lady has roses; a basket of flowers with a tulle ribbon stands in foreground.
The Baker Hotel Archives
The spa at The Baker Hotel advertised the "electric cabinet" for weight loss, steam rooms and a salt rub.
The Baker Hotel Archives
In the 1940’s, the general public denounced the magic of mineral water and moved on to other dubious health fads. Doctors also began prescribing the sun as a remedy for countless ailments, and the Baker was on the forefront of this trend.
The Baker Hotel Archives
This photograph shows a guest room in The Baker Hotel, when it was operating. Note the corner sofa, shag carpet, round coffee-table. Please note also the smoking stand at one end of the sofa--an amenity not encountered in modern hotel rooms. The decor suggests the late 1950's or the early 1960's. It is said that the door of the room had an apparatus in it that automatically turned off the lights and the fan when the key was turned in it. The method used has not yet [2016] been fathomed.
The Baker Hotel Archives
The Baker Hotel vintage art deco travel tourist luggage label.
The Baker Hotel Archives
A vintage postcard of The Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells.
The Baker Hotel Archives
1929 postcard shows The Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells.
The Baker Hotel Archives
Panoramic photograph of Mineral Wells shows The Baker Hotel.
The Baker Hotel Archives
Postcard depicting an aerial view of Mineral Wells, Texas.
The Baker Hotel Archives
A drawing of The Baker Hotel.
The Baker Hotel Archives
A vintage postcard shows the swimming pool at The Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells circa 1950.
"It's going to look very similar to the day it opened its doors in 1929," said Fairchild.
What comes next is a nine to 12 month demolition and abatement process as the hotel is transformed from its original 450 guest rooms to 157 rooms and suites with a special focus on what originally drew guests to the Baker -- the waters of Mineral Wells.
A spa will return, though it will be updated and enlarged to consume the entire second floor, and without the "colonic irrigation" room the hotel once boasted.
Guests will even be able to stay in the rooms where local legend has it Bonnie & Clyde once hid from the law and the suite where original owner T. B. Baker installed a secret door to hide liquor during Prohibition.
Developer Laird Fairchild explains the legend of Texas criminals Bonnie and Clyde staying at the Baker Hotel.
Laird is most excited about restoring what's known as the "Cloud Room."
At 14 stories high, the top floor ballroom once played host to big bands, dances and state political conventions and has a view that stretches for miles across Palo Pinto County.
The hope is it again becomes an attraction for corporate events and weddings.
There will be a restaurant, lounge, coffee shop, the restored pool and a museum area on-site dedicated to the Baker's 90-year history.
Developer Laird Fairchild describes the valet doors on each of the 450 guest rooms and their use inside of The Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells.
"There is a story here," said Fairchild. "You can feel how important this project is to the citizens of this community and really to Texas history."
The principal owners and developers along with representatives of the City of Mineral Wells will gather on the steps of the Baker Hotel Thursday to celebrate the beginning of the restoration project.
