Cisco Historic District

Cisco's historic district covers the commercial core along Conrad Hilton Avenue and the residential blocks to the west, about 275 buildings in all, of which roughly 200 contribute to its character. Most date from the mid-1890s to 1934, and many show the influence of bungalow styles, giving a largely intact picture of 1920s west Texas vernacular architecture. Modest one-story frame houses dominate the residential area, while brick and stone are common downtown. Brick streets laid in the early 1920s remain in good condition. Cisco was founded in 1881 where two railroads met, and rail-shipped lumber and quarried stone shaped its buildings. A tornado in 1893 destroyed much of the town, and surviving Victorian houses such as the Kean House, with its Eastlake detailing, recall the community's early years. Colonial Revival houses on Avenue I, including the John Ward House, are among the town's most ambitious homes. The Mobley Hotel, built in 1916, later became the first Hilton hotel.