Historic hotel's bowling pavilion to become wedding venue

FRENCH LICK, Ind. (AP) - A historic southern Indiana hotel's century-old bowling complex is set for a restoration that will turn it into a venue for weddings and special events.

Work will begin this fall on the West Baden Springs Hotel's former billiard and bowling pavilion. Crews will restore its original neoclassical style by using old photos and copying decorative details that survived decades of neglect and exposure.

The (Bedford) Times-Mail reports the 7,500-square-foot building should reopen in 2019 for weddings, banquets and other events in West Baden Springs, a town about 40 miles south of Bloomington.

Cook Group vice president Chuck Franz says the restored pavilion will become "the wedding destination of the Midwest."

The pavilion is on the grounds of the West Baden Springs Hotel, which reopened in 2007 following its own renovation.

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Information from: The Times-Mail, http://www.tmnews.com