It was built for John E. Higgins, who was a local rancher, legislator and oil business investor, and his wife Josephine Amoretti Higgins.

[2] The Hotel Higgins is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame building with a U-shaped plan.

Two major blocks face the street with deep hipped roofs, connected by a hipped block of the same height set back from the street and fronted by a one-story entrance porch.

The side elevations feature small shed dormers that are almost as wide as the hip ridge.

[2] The Hotel Higgins was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 25, 1983.