%b%crEiffel Tower - Texas Style%b%c* and other Paris, TX Things to Do Tips

I was looking for a view of this from off in the distance, thinking I would see it long before I was upon it. Not quite.. despite the larger than life photos you see, it only stands 65 feet tall. The steel Stetson hat was added in 1998 and measures 4 1/2 feet high with a brim 10 feet wide. It was built in 1995 by the local iron worker's union and was once said to be the "Second Largest Eiffel Tower in the Second Largest Paris." That title was superceded in 1999 by a 540-foot copy in Las Vegas.

The tower is right next to the Love Civic Centre and is free to visit anytime.

Leave a Comment

Address: Cnr of Jefferson Rd & Collegiate Drive

This lovely fountain is a central point in the downtown plaza square. It was donated as a gift to the rebuilding of Paris after the Fire in 1916. Culbertson Fountain is in the Historic District on the Plaza downtown. It was a gift to culminate the rebuilding of Paris after the Fire of 1916.

Leave a Comment

Address: Downtown Square, Paris

This house was built in 1968 by a Confederate General, Sam Bell Maxey. Maxey served in the Mexican War and Civil War and was a two-term U.S. Senator. The family lived in the house for almost a century.

There are landscape grounds which have been restored along with the house and is now a State Historic Site.

There are guided tours Wed. - Fri. by appointment. Friday and Sunday, 1:00p.m. - 5:00p.m. Saturday, 10:00a.m. - 5:00p.m. A small admission is charged.

Leave a Comment

Address: 812 S. Church St., Paris

The house sits on .4 acre. On the side at the back is a smaller building called the Book House. The aim was to provide a historical interpretation of Sam Bell Maxey and his family and the period he lived in. The house and grounds is available for rent for weddings, receptions, and meetings.

Leave a Comment

Address: 812 S. Church St.

This mansion was built between 1908 and 1910 for Rufus Scott Sr who was a prominent businessman in Paris. A German born architect designed the house along with many of the towns civic and commercial buildings. The design is a combination of art nouveau and Dutch renaissance. Fortunately the house survived the Paris Fire in 1916 and has been entered into the National Register of Historic Places.

Leave a Comment

Address: 425 S. Church St, Paris

This is an old cemetery, operating since 1866 and has more than 40,000 people buried here including many early Texas patriots. There are some very decorative and unusual headstones and monuments scattered about.

Leave a Comment

Address: S Church at Jefferson Rd

One of the most known monuments in the cemetery is the Babcock monument which stands in the shadow of a big old. This is a 12 ft statue of "Jesus" with a Texas touch. "Jesus" is wearing his cowboy boots.

Leave a Comment

Address: Evergreen Cemetery, Paris

So you think this is a bunch of Tex'us Twaddle.... take a closer look. Those sure enough are boots.

"Babcock Monument".

Leave a Comment

Address: Evergreen Cemetary, Paris

The original courthouse was more elaborate than the current but was destroyed by fire in 1896. With marble and granite cleaned from the burned site, the new courthouse in Classical Revival and Romanesque style was built in 1917. The pink granite comes from the same quarry as that used in the State Capital.

Leave a Comment

Address: 119 N. Main St.

This church was built after the fire of Paris in the early 1920s. It is a three-story, steel frame structure which introduces both Mediterranean and Classic Revival architectural styles. There is a sanctuary housed under a 40-ft. high octagonal, rotunda dome. Throughout the church are some unique period features which include intricate decorative paintings and stencil work . The church was placed on the National Historic Register in 1983.

There are over 80 churches in the Paris area

Leave a Comment

Address: 322 Lamar Ave. Paris