Little Rock
The Empress of Little Rock
Saloon keeper James H. Hornibrook's 1888 mansion, which the Encyclopedia of Arkansas calls the state's best Queen Anne house; a B&B since 1994.
- Built
- 1888Completed 1888 for saloon keeper James H. Hornibrook at a reported $20,000, after about seven years of construction; opened as The Empress B&B in 1994.
- Style
- Queen Anne
- Architect
- Max Orlopp and Casper Kusener
- Type
- B&B
- Credentials
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The story
James H. Hornibrook, a Toronto-born saloon keeper, built the house, which EoA calls Arkansas’s best example of Queen Anne Victorian architecture, using Arkansas workers and materials. He died at his front gate in 1890, two years after completion. The house became the Arkansas Women’s College in 1897, later a nursing home (1948) and apartments, and was restored as The Empress in 1994. The Blair family sold it in 2019 to Antonio Figueroa and Keith Sandridge.
Good to know
- Pets welcome
- Address: 2120 South Louisiana Street, Little Rock, AR 72206
Sources (3)
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.