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50 Lincoln Bed and Breakfast You know a bed-and-breakfast has promise when the innkeeper’s directions include “Turn right in the alley beside Mona Lisa.” Sure enough, there she was, far larger than life, smiling sideways on a building behind the 50 Lincoln in Columbus, Ohio’s Short North District. Columbus has rightfully earned a reputation as a somewhat hip spot in the Midwest. It’s carved itself into districts – the Short North, the Brewery District, the Arena District, the German Village, the Discovery District, Victorian Village and Olde Towne East – in an attempt to cultivate some character and interest. The Short North, a strip between downtown Columbus and Ohio State University, is long on style. High Street as it runs past the North Market and the giant convention center toward campus is sprinkled liberally with vintage clothing and furniture stores, coffee shops, ethnic and classic restaurants and art galleries. Gleaming new loft buildings stand in contrast with dusty lots and crumbling storefronts, pockmarks that lend character to the freshly scrubbed face the area has put on. Convention here is turned as sideways as our Mona Lisa. Young couples stroll hand-in-hand past hungry art students selling portraits and old men talking to themselves. Families in khaki shorts brush shoulders with pierced and tattooed crowds in tight and tattered clothing. No one seems to mind – the diversity is part of the appeal. The 50 Lincoln sits in the heart of it all. The historic home is just a minute’s walk from the corner of High and Lincoln, but a world away from the mix of shining new and retro grunge. Stereos fade and crickets chirp under the trees that form a canopy over the street. The historic red-brick mansion is surrounded by painstakingly tended flowerbeds accented with new landscape lights and benches. Inside, the décor is a little bit Victorian, a little bit Asian, a few antiques, a tiny bit country and a lot of elegant appeal. This space, along with the exterior, has been the first task for the new owners, Sandy and Don Davis. The 50 Lincoln of old reflected more the hodge-podge outside, each room decorated in the style of a different artist. An old Web site still lingering in cyberspace confuses guests, who ask for the Ansel Adams or the Van Gogh room when they call. Since buying the property a year ago, however, Sandy has been busy with her eraser, trying to unify and beautify in a style she likes to term Comfortable. She and Don have added crown molding, hardwood floors, crystal chandeliers and new furniture downstairs, as well as renovated the kitchen. Outside, they had the brick chemically cleaned, added 28 storm windows and hired someone to devote her life to the lovely flowers. The guest rooms are next on their list. “We still have to do some changing around as far as where we are going to live,” Sandy says. Currently she and Don reside next to Harrison House, the bed-and-breakfast in Victorian Village they have owned for 10 years. Since the longtime 50 Lincoln manager left two months ago, however, they’ve made plans to convert three downstairs guest rooms into their apartment and convert the second-floor apartment into two guest rooms, for an end total of seven guest rooms between the three floors.
“We’ve done quite a bit, and we have so much more to do,” Sandy says. Her goal? “I want it to be pretty, and I want it to be comfortable,” she says. “When people walk in, I want them to think, ‘This is so fresh and nice,’ ” The Davises are adding amenities such as wireless Internet access for their business guests, but they want to keep things simple for their weekend visitors, too. In the middle of the Short North and just blocks from the convention center, they are perfectly situated for both. “This is a tourist’s dream,” Sandy says. “You can park your car and never move it.” As we did. We arrived Saturday afternoon just before most of the shops and galleries closed (I forgot about the time difference), but just early enough to see some amazing art and some unbelievably well-preserved clothing a la June Cleaver and Carol Brady. Hungry after our long drive, we were a little disappointed to find the 50 Lincoln utterly devoid of the snacks other B&Bs like to brag about, so we grabbed coffee and tea at one of the funky sandwich boutiques that seem to appear every 500 feet. After changing for dinner, we strolled toward downtown to an Asian restaurant on the corner across from the convention center. Liu Pon Xi is a huge open room buzzing with energy. Fish swim under glass in the floor, and giant lights made of fabric or paper glow with a rainbow of colors. We chose to sit among the palms on the outdoor patio for its prime people-watching real estate. There’s so much to watch that we only moved to a patio at the other end of the block after dinner. MoJoe’s serves drinks, Cup O’ Joe serves coffee, and together they make a killer espresso martini perfect for sipping as the world walks by the joint café and club. For the first time ever, we were the first to breakfast the next morning, the skylight far more effective in rousing us than any alarm clock. Sandy and her daughter, Christy Demetry, were ready: cut fruit and fresh muffins waited on the buffet, and scrambled eggs and bacon soon followed. It was a simple meal by B&B bragging standards, but perfectly prepared. We left the Short North for other districts that morning armed with advice from Sandy, as friendly and helpfully candid as one can wish for in an innkeeper. We passed another building mural, this depicting the sour-faced farmer with pitchfork and farmhouse. He seems quite unperturbed by the fact that his wife is standing on her head beside him. But then, this is Short North, where nothing is ordinary, yet no one bats an eye. When late is great Schedule your visit for the first Saturday of the month, when the Short North stays up late for Gallery Hop. Musicians and street vendors line High Street, and shops are open until 10 p.m. It’s such a hit that the Short North hosts Gallery Hop year-round. “It’s always packed, no matter what the weather,” innkeeper Sandy Davis says. 50 Lincoln Bed and Breakfast 50 East Lincoln St. Columbus, Ohio 43215 1-800-827-4203 www.columbus-bed-breakfast.com All rooms are $119 a night plus tax. Check in is after 2 p.m.; check out is before 11 a.m. Liu Pon Xi 600 N. High St. 1-614-437-8168 MoJoe Lounge 600 N. High St. 1-614-225-1563 |
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