Est. 1929 · NRHP Listed · Spanish Colonial Revival Architecture · First Air-Conditioned Hotel in Texas · Mineral Springs Resort Era
The Baker Hotel at 200 East Hubbard Street opened in 1929 as a $1.2 million resort hotel built by T.B. Baker. The 14-story Spanish Colonial Revival highrise was constructed around Mineral Wells' famed mineral water, then a national health-tourism draw, and included 450 guest rooms, two ballrooms, a beauty shop, a bowling alley, a gymnasium, and an outdoor Olympic-sized swimming pool. The Baker was the first air-conditioned hotel in Texas.
Opening within days of the October 1929 stock market crash did not prevent the Baker's first decade from being commercially successful. Documented celebrity guests from the 1930s and 1940s include Glenn Miller, Lawrence Welk, Clark Gable, Judy Garland, future president Lyndon B. Johnson, and The Three Stooges. The hotel's fortunes followed the broader decline of American mineral-spring resort tourism after World War II.
The Baker closed for the last time in 1972 and stood vacant for nearly five decades. In 2019, developers announced a $65 million restoration project — billed as the largest restoration of an NRHP-listed site in Texas history. The renovation, ongoing as of 2026, will reduce the room count from 450 to 157 and add roughly 20,000 square feet of meeting and event space along with a spa centered on the mineral water. Recent reporting has covered structural stabilization, roof work (delayed by storm damage), asbestos abatement, plaster repairs, window restoration, and electrical preparation.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker_Hotel_(Mineral_Wells,_Texas)
- https://www.texasmonthly.com/travel/baker-hotel-mineral-wells-restoration/
- https://thebakerhotelandspa.com/history/
- https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/inside-the-massive-restoration-of-the-historic-baker-hotel/2641703/
Apparitions in corridorsScent of lavender perfumeCold spotsFigures near elevatorsEquipment interference
The Baker's long vacancy from 1972 onward turned the building into one of Texas' most-investigated abandoned hotels. Pre-restoration ghost-tour operators and paranormal television teams documented two recurring traditions.
The first involves an unnamed service worker said to have died in an elevator-shaft accident in the basement. Local tradition holds that two men working in the laundry rooms were surprised by a supervisor; one escaped in the elevator while the second was caught and fatally injured. Visitors have reported seeing his figure near the basement elevator at night.
The second tradition centers on a figure known as the Lavender Lady, often identified in local lore as a woman who had a relationship with T.B. Baker. According to long-running ghost-tour narration, she took her own life on the seventh floor; the scent of lavender perfume reported by visitors and staff is the most-cited phenomenon tied to her. Other commonly documented reports include cold spots in the upper-floor corridors, equipment-interference incidents during paranormal investigations, and figures captured in still photography.
With the restoration underway, on-site access is restricted; the Baker's folklore is being preserved in published accounts and in the planning for the future Baker Hotel and Spa.
Notable Entities
The Lavender LadyBasement elevator figure
Media Appearances
- Ghost Adventures: Crazy Town (2012)
