2018-016 Amending Ordinances Creating Historical Overlay Districts to Incorporate Design Standards for the Historic Districts

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ASL w2h .. . . ...... IT 17 SANBORN MAP SHOWING DEVELOPMENT AROUND PLAZA IN 1926 district. Gothic Revival, Italianate, and Second Empire style buildlin,gs were visible throughout the rebuilding of the downtown, commercial district. Further influencing the rebuilding were the ideas brought by professionals and new residents who came from the Midwest. Paris once again showed strength, both architecturally and economically. All this ended on March 21, 1916, when an extensive fire destroyed most of the downtown commercial district and a portion of several residential neighborhoods. The next period in the development of the Paris Commercial Historic District took place from 1916 to, 1924. Reconstruction after the fire of 1916 was rapid. Most of the city was rebuilt within five years. A vast majority of the buildings standing today were built during this time. The architecture was based on popular 20th century commercial architectural styles. The styles include: Prairie School, Classical Revival, Richardsonian Romanesque, Italian Renaissance, and Gothic Revival. The new commercial buildings had brick fire wallls and other features reflecting the latest safety precautions of the time. Prior to the fire, in 1914,W. H. Dunn, a landscape architect, made multiple recommendations for the future growth of Paris. After the fire, two of the recommendations were followed. The first was the relocation of the public market two blocks south of the square. The second recommendation was to convert the central plaza from an open space to a formal space. The final stage of development for the Commercial Hiistoric District began in the mid -192,6s and continues today. Since the end of the last period of Design Standards for the City of Paris, Texas 37