Hotel de Paris (Georgetown, Colorado) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Hotel de Paris
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Hotel De Paris Georgetown
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 Location in Colorado
Location in the United States
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| Location | 409 6th St., Georgetown, Colorado |
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| Area | 9.9 acres (4.0 ha) |
| Built | 1889 |
| NRHP reference No. | 70000154 |
| Added to NRHP | April 28, 1970 |
The Hotel de Paris is a famous historic hotel and museum in Georgetown, Colorado. It is located on 6th Street, right across from the Georgetown Town Hall. A French immigrant named Louis Dupuy first opened the hotel in 1875. It quickly became known for its fancy style and amazing French food. This was during the time when Georgetown was a busy mining town.
Today, the Hotel de Paris is a popular place for tourists to visit. It has been kept in great condition, with over 5,000 items from the Victorian era inside. About 90% of these items were there when Louis Dupuy owned the hotel. In 1954, a group called the Colorado chapter of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America bought the hotel. They have been running it as a museum ever since.
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Who Was Louis Dupuy?
The Hotel de Paris was created by Louis Dupuy. He was born in France in 1844, and his real name was Adolphe François Gerard. When he was young, he studied to become a priest for a short time. Then, he went to cooking school.
Dupuy moved to the United States in 1866. He worked as a writer in New York City for a bit. Later, he joined the US Army and was sent to Cheyenne, Wyoming. After a short time, he left the army and changed his name to Louis Dupuy. He walked all the way to Denver, Colorado. There, he started working as a reporter for the Rocky Mountain News in 1868.
His job as a reporter brought him to Georgetown. At that time, Georgetown was a very busy mining town. Dupuy decided to become a miner himself. However, he was hurt in a mine accident near Silver Plume in 1873. After his injury, the people in Georgetown helped him. They raised money so he could rent a bakery and two small buildings. He then turned these into the Hotel de Paris.
Hotel History
The Hotel de Paris first opened its doors on October 9, 1875. Dupuy designed it to look like a French inn from his hometown. Staying there cost $4.00 a night, which was a lot of money back then! When the Colorado Central Railroad arrived in 1877, it helped Georgetown grow even more. This also helped Dupuy's hotel business.
By 1881, Dupuy bought more land next to the hotel. He built an addition with four more hotel rooms. He also added an outdoor laundry area. Dupuy made sure the hotel had the newest features. It had gaslights, which were later changed to electric lights in 1893. It also had radiant heating and sinks with hot and cold running water in every room.
Dupuy was not just the hotel owner; he was also the chef. He used his cooking skills to offer very fancy French meals to his guests. The hotel also had a wine cellar filled with fine wines and other drinks.
Hotel Expansion and Features
Dupuy made several big additions to the hotel in 1878, 1882, and 1889. These changes made it the large 7,000-square-foot building you see today. After the last addition, Dupuy covered the outside with a special plaster called stucco. He had it painted to look like fancy stone blocks. This made the hotel look more put-together.
He also built a bigger kitchen and made the restaurant larger. The dining room became the most impressive part of the hotel. It had beautiful floors made of silver maple and black walnut wood. The dishes were fine Haviland China imported from France.
Dupuy spoke four languages: French, English, German, and Latin. He had a study filled with over 2,500 books in these languages. Guests could borrow these books. All these books are still kept in the museum today. Dupuy also set up three special areas in the hotel. Traveling salespeople could use these areas to show their products to local people.
Some famous guests who stayed at the Hotel de Paris included the railroad investor Jay Gould, photographer William Henry Jackson, and English explorer Isabella Bird.
Later Years and Museum Opening
The hotel was most successful in the early 1890s. However, tough economic times in 1893 caused the value of silver to drop. Georgetown's economy relied on silver mining, so the town struggled.
In January 1892, a fire damaged the hotel slightly. The McClellan Opera House, two buildings away, caught fire and was destroyed. In October 1900, Louis Dupuy passed away. The hotel then went to his housekeeper, Sophie Gally, who also passed away soon after.
In 1903, Sarah Burkholder bought the hotel. She later turned it into a boarding house with her daughter, Hazel McAdams. Even after Dupuy was gone, people still praised the hotel. The local newspaper called it "famous the world over" for its great food and comfortable rooms. The Burkholder family owned the hotel until 1954. After business slowed down, they sold it to the Colonial Dames of America.
The Hotel de Paris Museum
The museum opened in 1954. It offers guided tours in many languages. In 1970, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it is a very important historic site. In 2007, it was named a site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
In 2014, the museum celebrated its 60th anniversary. To mark this special day, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper declared May 24 "Hotel de Paris Day" in Colorado.
