Visible for miles around, this thirteen-story structure still dominates the one- and two-story townscape of Mineral Wells. The hotel, of reinforced concrete construction with yellow brick walls, is composed of a central block anchoring symmetrical wings. The plan efficiently provided good views and ventilation. The hotel rises from a two-story base with an arcade around the entire building and monumental entrances. The top-floor ballroom and terraces are set back from the mass below and crowned with an arched and domed tower. At the request of his client, Dallas-based hotel operator T. B. Baker, Hedrick’s design was based on the then-new Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Spanish Renaissance–styled details ornament the hotel, including balconies and arched window frames. The hotel had a steam generator system to provide electricity should city service fall short.
In contrast to the many hotels that Hedrick and other Texan architects designed in the 1920s to accommodate rail travelers, the Baker catered to upper-income vacationers in town to take the waters. Although the hotel opened three weeks after the stock market crash of October 1929, its business remained strong for three decades, hosting such entertainers as Marlene Dietrich, Will Rogers, and the Three Stooges performing for local cattlemen, army personnel, and visitors. The Baker included three dancing areas, a gymnasium, a bowling alley, a bar serving mineral water, an outdoor pool, and, nearby, a 117-acre golf course. The hotel closed in 1972. After sitting vacant and vandalized, the Baker is now the focus of efforts by the City of Mineral Wells and the Baker Hotel Development Partners to revive it as an upscale hotel and spa.