Hotel Longview This information was found in the vertical files of the Genealogy Department of the Longview Library in the form of a newspaper clipping with no date.     Gregg Hotel - 1939 In 1929, the growth of Longview prompted the residents to begin a program which resulted in the construction of Hotel Longview. A planning board was organized in that year and members included Dr. V.R. Hurst, L.D. Kelly, L.A. Sessums, J.G. Pegues and Oliver Daniel. Dr. Hurst and Mr. Daniel took the lead in the project with Neal Sodoll of Shreveport as the architect and with Ashton Glaud as the contractor. The first hotel, named the Gregg Hotel, was opened in Feb. of 1930 and had 64 rooms for the public. The cost to build the structure was $128,000. The hotel was leased and operated by the Louisiana Hotel Company for a time, and during the oil boom was sold to Trippet and Meadows of Shreveport, La. The Longview Hotel Company took over the operation of the hotel for about a year and then sold it to the Hilton Hotel chain. In 1935 this chain added a new wing which added another 64 rooms and nearly doubled the size of the hotel. From 1925 to 1954 the hotel changed hands several times. In June of 1954 Earl Hollandsworth and L.L. Travis, both Longview oil operators, purchased the hotel. Between 1954 & 1956 a remodeling program was instituted and every room in the hotel was redecorated with new furnishings and new carpet. Several beautiful new suites were added and the lobby was completely revamped as was the coffee shop. The Tropical Room was added at this time. Hotel Longview provided free inside parking facilities for its guests. Construction proceeds on a $1 million expansion program centered around a swimming pool surrounded by cabanas and suites. UPDATE: Per Dr. Norman Black of Longview: The need for a hotel in downtown Longview was apparent when oil was discovered.  An internationally known ophthalmologist, Dr. V. R. Hurst, approached Conrad Hilton in the 1930s an asked if he, Hilton, would consider building a hotel in Longview.  Hilton was reluctant to do so until Dr. Hurst told him the good doctor would finance it himself (probably with other Longview businessmen).  Hilton was amazed and excited at this windfall-like prospect and took Hurst up on it.  An so it was.  Later, local oilman, Earl Hollandsworth and his "silent partner", Lee Travis, bought the hotel and re-named it.  Hollandsworth constructed a parking garage across the alley.  Then, Hollandsworth affiliated the hotel with the Downtowner Corporation (I think that's the name) and re-named it the Downtowner Hotel.. The Downtowner people insisted on adding several feet to make an enclosed dining area on the south side, very close to the street on the east end. They also constructed a swimming pool on the second floor of the east extension (N. Green St.).  Later, Hollandsworth gave all his hotels away, this one to LeTourneau College for use as a dormitory for men.  The college finally abandoned the hotel and moved the tenants to their campus.  It stood vacant for years with no prospective buyers.  Dr. Alvin O. Austin, President of LeTourneau University had the hotel demolished and suggested a plan for a park-like area, later to be known as Heritage Plaza.  I did not included precise dates for these events:  that would be a mammoth task for me, but the events are chronologically correct.