The Gibson Inn

The Gibson Inn was built in 1907 at the peak of Apalachicola's reign as a center for lumber and shipping. Originally called the Franklin Hotel, the Gibson was constructed by James Fulton Buck. It was a classic three story Victorian structure with wrap around porches on the first and second floors. Because of the nice amenities and native heart pine and black cypress in the construction of the hotel, it became one of the most luxurious hotels in the panhandle. At the time, the hotel was the only one between Jacksonville and Pensacola to be heated entirely by steam., As the area's economy began to decline, the hotel changed owners several times until being sold to the Gibson sisters, Annie and Mary Ella "Sunshine," in 1923. After purchasing the hotel, they changed the name to the Gibson Inn. The Gibsons owned the hotel until 1942 when the Army began using it as an officers' club and billets., After World War II, the hotel changed owners several more times, being used not only as a hotel, but also as a boarding house, saloon, and spot for shops to lease. The hotel's once Victorian elegance was slowly being forgotten until 1983 when Neil Koun, Michael Koun, and Mike Merlo discovered it. They spared no expense restoring the dilapidated structure using timber from the banks of the Apalachicola River and performing chemical analysis on paint chips to determine the correct colors to paint the hotel. The Gibson Inn was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 and was reopened that year after a tedious rehabilitation that cost over two million dollars., The photo above was taken in 1918 (State Archives of Florida). To learn more, visit www.DowntownApalachicola.com.