The Empress of Little Rock in Little Rock

A Gothic Queen Anne mansion where Gilded Age grandeur, ghost stories, and modern luxury share the same staircase.

Built in 1888 by businessman James H. Hornibrook, this towering Victorian mansion rises above Little Rock’s historic Quapaw Quarter like something from a storybook. With its steep gables, ornate woodwork, and dramatic turret, the house is widely considered one of the finest examples of Gothic Queen Anne architecture in Arkansas.

The mansion was designed during the height of the Gilded Age, when wealthy families competed to build homes that reflected both prosperity and taste. Hornibrook spared little expense. The house featured elaborate carved wood interiors, stained glass, and rooms designed to impress visitors arriving by carriage along the tree lined streets of what was then Little Rock’s most fashionable neighborhood.

Over the decades the property lived many lives. It served as a private residence for prominent families before eventually being transformed into a bed and breakfast in the 1990s. Today the mansion operates as a boutique historic hotel, welcoming travelers who want more than a generic room. They want to stay inside a piece of Arkansas history.

Visitors wandering the halls will find period details everywhere. Towering ceilings, antique furnishings, carved banisters, and fireplaces that once warmed the city’s social elite. Each guest suite occupies a different corner of the mansion or carriage house, many named for figures connected to the property’s history.

But history is not the only reason people talk about the house.

The Empress has developed a reputation for the unexplained. Staff and guests have reported strange sounds, flickering lights, and the sense that the mansion’s original residents may not have entirely moved on. Whether someone believes the stories or not, the atmosphere of the house, especially at night, makes it easy to imagine a few lingering spirits still keeping watch over the grand old rooms.

Today the Empress remains both a preserved landmark and a living hotel. Guests can spend the night in a Gilded Age mansion, stroll through the surrounding historic district, or simply sit on the porch and watch the neighborhood where Little Rock’s nineteenth century elite once built their homes.

History loves company.