Frenchman Louis Dupuy came to Georgetown in 1870 to seek his fortune in silver mining, but after a mine accident ended those plans, he opened the first phase of the extraordinary Hotel de Paris. Completed in 1890, the hotel featured steam heat, hot and cold running water in each room, the finest carpets, gas lights, black walnut woodwork, and many works of art. This jewel in the mountains represented successful American entrepreneurship in the late 19th century. After Dupuy’s death in 1900, the building continued as a hotel or boarding house until the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Colorado purchased it in 1954. The Dames have done extensive restoration and operate the Hotel de Paris Museum with a substantial collection of artifacts from Louis Dupuy’s era.