French Lick Springs Hotel and former Indy Mayor Taggart

There's a significant connection between a lavish resort hotel in southern Indiana and an Irish immigrant who became the mayor of Indianapolis as well as a powerful political boss in the early 1900s. There's also a connection to a major amphitheater that was dedicated at Riverside Park in the summer of 2021 in honor of the colorful former mayor, who was known as the "father of the Indianapolis park system". The French Lick Springs Hotel wasn't always lavish. In the 1840s, a modest hotel was built on the property in Orange County that's long been touted for its mineral springs that are said to have healing qualities. It took colorful Thomas Taggart (1856-1929), who bought the French Lick hotel after his three terms as Indianapolis mayor, to make it a showplace known for its spas, gambling, gardens, gourmet dining and distinguished guests. By then, Taggart, a Democrat, was a nationally known political boss. He eventually bought a summer home for his family on Cape Cod at Hyannis Port, where their next-door neighbors were the famous Kennedy family.