by Michele Kadison

One of the most stunning pieces of architecture in west, the Hotel de Paris Museum stands as a testimonial to Adolphe Francois Gerard, a wealthy Parisian who came to America looking for adventure in the early gold rush days. After enlisting in the Army, he deserted soon after, changed his name to Louis Dupuy, worked as a reporter for the Rocky Mountain News, and then became involved in the mining industry in and around Georgetown, Colorado. After receiving an injury from a mining explosion he bought the Delmonico Bakery with the remains of his inheritance, transforming it into the famous Hotel de Paris.

Nostalgic for his home, Dupuy created his fashionable hotel with beauty, style, and many amenities that were a rarity in the American west at that time. With modern indoor plumbing and heating, sinks with both cold and hot running water, electric lights, and luxurious furnishings, the Hotel de Paris was the place to be if you were Denver’s elite traveling to Georgetown. Eating off Limoges china, sipping imported French wines, and chatting with the knowledgeable and charming owner, Louis Dupuy’s hotel was considered high style, attracting wealthy patrons from far and wide.

The museum has retained all of the original trappings that made the Hotel de Paris so famous. Visit the dining room with its floors made of silver maple and black walnut, its iridescent green walls with frescoed borders, and an exquisite fountain in the center. Take a gander at the luxury bedrooms up stairs, the large kitchen with an open skylight over the stove, the basement wine cellar, and of course Dupuy’s private quarters with its library of books in the many languages that he was privileged to speak.

When Dupuy died of pneumonia, his French housekeeper, Sophie Gally, inherited the hotel. Only four months later, she too died. Both she and Louis Dupuy are buried next to each other in the Georgetown Cemetery where their site is marked by a pink granite obelisk that says “Two Good Friends” in French.

Visit this unique museum and you will feel not only a sense of early Colorado Rockies history, but also the presence of Louis Dupuy, one of Georgetown, Colorado’s truly notable personalities.

Address: 409 6th Street, Georgetown, CO 80444
Phone: 303-569-2311
Directions: Exit 228 ff I-70; turn right at stop sign to 6th St and then left. Museum is 3 blocks down on the right.
Admission: $4 adults, $3 seniors age 60+ and AAA members and National Trust members, $2 children, under 6 free
Hours: 10 am – 4:30 pm daily.
Handicapped access main floor only.

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