French Lick Resort set to open 109-year-old bowling, pool pavilion after years-long restoration

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The 109-year-old Billiard and Bowling Pavilion at French Lick Resort will reopen Tuesday after undergoing a years-long restoration project.

The building opened on Christmas Day 1917, but after the hotel closed in the early 1930s, much of the wooden bowling alley warped. It was replaced by concrete by the Jesuits who inhabited the hotel for a time in the mid-20th century, and the Northwood Institute used it as a student center during its ownership of West Baden.

The last building on the resort's property to be restored, the pavilion will now feature six bowling alleys, pool tables and a pizzeria.

"To bring back another building that had not been in service for almost a century is a real treat we're excited to offer our guests," Chuck Franz, CEO of French Lick Resort, said in a news release Monday. "And, we're bringing it back pretty close to what it was like 100 years ago with six lanes for bowling and the billiard tables in the front section of the building. Just like the restoration of the West Baden Springs Hotel dome, we relied on historical pictures to bring it back to the life that it had more than a century ago. We wanted to keep it as historically accurate as possible."

The restoration also aimed to closely mimic the light fixtures that hang from the ceiling inside and the limestone Tuscan columns separating the bowling alley from the billiard area.

"When our nighttime events close over at West Baden Springs Hotel, guests can venture over to the Billiard and Bowling Pavilion and continue their evening later into the night," Franz said. "... We've tailored the exterior of the Billiard and Bowling Pavilion for group activities, so that on beautiful fall, spring or summer days, guests can move outdoors and enjoy great views of the hotel and gardens."

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