Constructed in by Union Pacific promoter George Francis Train, the 120-room hotel cost $60,000 to build in 1867.

[2][3] The Cozzens House Hotel, which was called the "Aladdin's Castle of George Francis Train", was his response.

[4] That same day Train bought the lot across the street from the Herndon House and secured a builder for the facility.

[6] Train, whose financing operation called Credit Foncier owned the building, leased it to the Cozzens Hotel of West Point, New York, for $10,000 a year.

At this point the hotel was lit by gas, supplied with hot and cold water, freight and passenger elevators, and regarded as first-class.