Lake Lawn Resort
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Lake Lawn Resort is a resort in Delavan, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shores on Delavan Lake. From Chicago, Lake Lawn Resort is about a 90 minute drive. From Milwaukee, it's almost a 60 minute drive. Lake Lawn has its own private airport. The resort is located off Highway 50 (Geneva Street), near Interstate 43. The resort started a renovation project on July 25, 2005.
[edit] History
The north shore of Delavan Lake, where Lake Lawn Resort resides, was occupied by Indians as early as 1000 B.C. The resort's construction unearthed many artifacts from these tribes that are currently on display throughout the resort. The predecessor of the current structure, the original hotel was built there in 1878 as a place for members of The Mabie Circus to stay. The circus was eventually bought by Barnum and Bailey and the hotel was sold. Under the management of Barnum and Bailey it became a retreat for the employees of Commonwealth Edison, People's Light and Coke Company, and the Public Service Company of Northern Illinois. At one point, one of Barnum and Bailey's stage elephants died. Baffled as to what to do, the circus owners ordered that the elephant be pushed out onto the middle of the lake (conveniently the lake was frozen for the winter). Come springtime and thaw, the semi-preserved elephant's corpse would sink under the water once the ice was sufficiently thin. The hotel was opened to the public in 1936. In the 50's and 60's the hotel was expanded, and an indoor pool, a health club, a convention center and a restaurant were added. The resort continued to expand by adding more guest rooms, a golf course, and an outdoor pool. The resort underwent many ownership changes between 1990 and 2005. During this time the name of the hotel changed from being Lake Lawn Lodge to Lake Lawn Resort for business reasons. Each change brought upon a round of renovations to public areas, guest rooms or the golf course.
[edit] Today
The hotel currently features nearly 300 guest rooms, two restaurants, a golf course, spa, driving range, airport, marina, two pools, and a health club. Major renovations were completed in 2006 on all of the guest rooms located in the main lodge, as well as on the spa and indoor pool area.
