Gibson House (Cincinnati)

The Gibson House was a well known and well regarded hotel, the precursor of the Hotel Gibson. The Gibson House was located on Main St. between 4th & 5th (south of Fountain Square) until the 1970s.

The Gibson House was opened about February 1849 and reported to be at Walnut Steet between Fourth and Fifth Street, on the west side of the street, in Cincinnati, OH. The first proprietors were J.K. and D.V. Bennett [ "The Fort Wayne Times", Thursday March 1, 1849, page 2, column 7] . It was considered the "best house in the city" ["The Fort Wayne Times", Thursday April 25, 1850, page 2, column 5 ] ["The Zanesville Courier", Saturday, November 2, 1850, page 2, column 2 ] within a year.

The hotel was financed by Peter Gibson, a Scottish immigrant who was born October 20th, 1802 and emigrated to America in 1831.

Many wall decorations and frescoes were painted by the artist William A. Thien, who lived in Cincinnati for a time [ Artists in Ohio, 1787-1900: A Biographical Dictionary] .

During the first season of professional baseball, on several occasions the fans would meet the Cincinnati Red Stockings baseball team and escort them to the Gibson House where celebrations and banquests were held. ["Dubuque Daily Herald", Friday, July 2, 1869, page 1, column 3] .

The House was often used to greet VIPs who visited Cincinnati such as Rutherford B. Hayes who visited Cincinnati September 15, 1877 ["The Dubuque Herald", Sunday September 16, 1877. ]

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