Fort Worth
A new documentary tells the untold story of a bellhop who worked at the famous Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells.
“Bellhop at the Baker Hotel” follows Z.A. Calhoun, a bellhop who worked at the hotel during its heyday in the 1930s. The 26-minute film is available to watch for free on YouTube.
The documentary comes from Calhoun’s grandson, Blake Calhoun, and has been three decades in the making.
Here’s what to know.
🎬 In case you missed it:
New documentary out on Baker Hotel
Z.A. first sat down for an interview with Blake back in 1997, around 25 years after the hotel closed.
The idea was to make a documentary about the historic building, and Z.A.’s experience when the hotel was in full swing. However, as Blake puts it, life took him in other directions, and the taped interview sat on a shelf for more than two decades.
“Then in 2020 I rediscovered them while converting my old tape library to digital, and I realized the real story wasn’t just about the hotel – it was about my grandfather’s experiences there and the remarkable life he built afterward in Mineral Wells,” Blake wrote in a news release.
Z.A. worked at the Baker as teenager until he left to attend Texas A&M University.
After college, he returned to Mineral Wells and operated a furniture and carpet company for more than 40 years. He was also a volunteer firefighter and served as president of the local Kiwanis Club chapter.
Z.A. died in 2005. He was 87.
More on the Baker Hotel
The Baker Hotel opened in 1929.
It didn’t take long for the hotel to become a national destination for health and wellness, due in part to the increasing popularity of the town’s mineral water. Notable celebrities like Judy Garland, Clark Gable, Roy Rogers and the Three Stooges stayed at the hotel, as did former President Lyndon B. Johnson (before he took office).
After decades of prosperity, the hotel closed in 1972 and sat empty for years.
In 2019, Southlake-based developers Laird Fairchild and Chad Patton announced they had purchased the Baker and planned to embark on a $65 million renovation. The initial goal was to reopen by 2022.
As of 2026, renovations remain ongoing with an expected reopening in 2028.
This story was originally published July 25, 2026 at 12:00 PM.
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Brayden Garcia is the entertainment reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he mainly writes about how the film and TV industry impacts North Texas, from Taylor Sheridan shows to the Fort Worth Film Commission and everything in between.