Balsam Mountain Inn
The Balsam Mountain Inn is an historic wooden Neo-Classical and Victorian hotel located at 68 Seven Springs Drive in Balsam, North Carolina, United States. In July, 1982, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Balsam Mountain Inn | |
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| Location | 68 Seven Springs Drive, Balsam, North Carolina |
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| Coordinates | 35°25′31″N 83°5′14″W |
| Area | 26 acres (11 ha) |
| Built | 1905-1908 |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 82003475[1] |
| Added to NRHP | July 15, 1982 |
Construction of the inn began in 1905 and was completed in 1908. The Inn began as a railroad resort hotel, one of many in the area. Now, the Balsam Mountain Inn is the last one standing in Balsam.[2]
The inn was bought in 1990 by Merrily Teasley, an experienced innkeeper from Tennessee. She restored the Inn, with the historic preservation certified by the U.S. Department of Interior.[3] She even built an addition that serves as a dining porch that won the Gertrude S. Carraway Award of Merit from Preservation North Carolina in 1995.[4] In 2011, Merrily returned to manage the inn.[5]
On December 1, 2017, the Balsam Mountain Inn was purchased by Marzena B. Wyszynska, an international hotelier and entrepreneur most recently from the Raleigh area. Wyszynska purchased the inn from Merrily Teasley, whose 1990 restoration rescued one of the few remaining structures of its type in the region, and will continue to operate the business as an inn, arts space and events center.[6]
Current use
The building still serves as a hotel and restaurant. It was renovated and restored in 1990. It is one of the few remaining grand Southern Railway Resort Hotels. Grand Old Lady Hotel has 50 rooms. The inn's amenities include: a full-service restaurant serving breakfast to its in house guests, a full bar, a 2,000-volume library, two meeting rooms, card/puzzle room, sitting parlor, hiking trails, gift shop and two 100-foot porches that are perfect for rocking and relaxing.<ref>[http://www.grandoldladyhotel.com
References
- "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- Douglas Swaim; Jim Sumner & Maggie Whitesides (December 1981). "Balsam Mountain Inn" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 2015-01-01.
- Mercer, Marcia and Gordon. "Tracking a Legend: Balsam Mountain Inn and Lost Mineral Springs". The Moutaineer. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
- Preservation Award Winners, 1954-2006. "Preservation North Carolina". Archived from the original on 2011-11-08. Retrieved 2011-10-15.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- Balsam Mountain Inn. "In the News". Retrieved 15 October 2011.
- "Raleigh hotelier purchases Balsam Mountain Inn". Smokey Mountain News. Scott McLeod. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
