It is now part of the French Lick Resort, which includes two hotels, a golf course, a casino, a spa, and some pools. Today, the hotel still resembles the charm and glamor of its early 20th century beginnings, albeit with some conveniences. Thus, the popular vegetable drink was born. In 1917 the hotel's chef, Louis Perrin, ran out of oranges to make freshly squeezed orange juice for breakfast, so he used some tomatoes instead. Water from the sulfur springs were bottled at a factory across the street and were sold at the hotel as "Pluto Water." French Lick Springs Hotel is also, according to legend, where tomato juice was invented. The hotel rooms weren't the only source of income for the hotel's owners. The rich and famous came to the hotel, including two presidents: Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Ronald Regan. After a railroad spur was set on the hotel grounds, wealthy guests from Chicago could come to the hotel with ease, and business boomed. The inside was made with faux marble and Italian mosaics, while the exterior of the building was of a Renaissance style. When the hotel opened it was a wonder of Gilded Age interior design. The town of French Lick was already a hot tourist town due to the perceived healing properties of the local sulfur springs. The hotel was built in 1901 on the site of a previous hotel that had been destroyed in a fire in the 1890s.
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