In 1912, recognizing the need for an additional hotel in Paris, A.A. Lesueur Jr., R.L. Murphy, W.R. Wood, W.A. Bell and J.S. Patrick incorporated the Gibraltar Hotel Insurance Company. Their goal was to create “the finest hotel this side of Dallas” and a home for their business. Under president B.P. Bailey, land was purchased from Frank and Elizabeth Long for $10,000 on January 27, 1914. The building, completed in 1915, was designed by Griffith, Barglebaugh & Co. of Dallas, Paris and Wichita Falls, with most of the architectural work overseen by Paris-based C.G. Curtis. They designed a six-story, 80-room hotel in the style of architect Louis Sullivan. The red brick exterior is embellished with cast stone detail and decorative brackets on top floors. It held a dining room, business store, ladies’ parlor, barber shop and rentable event space. The interior featured Corinthian columns, mahogany woodwork, elaborate crown molding and a black and white octagonal tile floor. Although the Gibraltar was heavily damaged by the 1916 Paris fire, its kitchen served meals to the community for 10 days after the conflagration. In the 1920s, a seventh floor was added and a hotel annex and red ball bus terminal was built directly north of the original building. In 1923, the Gibraltar Hotel Company assumed control of the site. In 1926, Samuel B. Perkins purchased the hotel. In the 1940s and 1950s, the Gibraltar hosted numerous celebrities, politicians and soldiers. 1960s dances called “blasts,” held in the main ballroom, were fondly remembered by local youth. After the death of Perkins in 1948, the hotel went through several owners before closing in the early 1980s. RECORDED TEXAS HISTORIC LANDMARK – 2023