Bed-and-breakfasts Offer a Touch of Elegance in Columbia

By Patty Swyden Sullivan
This story was published in St. Louis Post-Dispatch Travel & Leisure on Sunday, October 20, 2002.

On the road Special To The Post-Dispatch

* Within the past decade, four of the city's venerable homes have been turned into B&Bs.

A visit to Columbia, Mo., could include a stay at a chain hotel along Interstate 70. But there are alternatives, and among them are four bed-and-breakfasts that are worth exploring.

Each is defined by its architecture, location, decor and the personality of its hosts. Visitors may choose to spend the night in a guest room at a home on the National Historic Registry, or in an inn that is host to dignitaries visiting the University of Missouri.

Whether your interests lie in the history of the home, amenities or ambience, you have several opportunities for a new perspective on Columbia.

Missouri Manor
1121 Ashland Road
1-573-499-4437

Tucked off a winding road near the Mizzou campus, Missouri Manor welcomes guests into a world of elegant surroundings that are quieter and a little less hurried. Gracious fountains outside the 1930 red-brick home and lush perennial gardens urge visitors to sit and linger.

Inside, an elegant cherry staircase, Laura Ashley fabrics and wall coverings and beautifully appointed rooms create an atmosphere of refined living. An English oak table that graced the Governor's Mansion in Jefferson City in the early 1900s adorns the main floor.

In the 1990s, plans were made to raze the property. Lyria Bartlett, an event/wedding planner, and her husband, Ron, a lawyer, bought the home to prevent its destruction, and then began its restoration, adhering to the original 1930s blueprints.

The University of Missouri accommodates its visiting dignitaries at the Missouri Manor, confident of the kid-glove treatment they will receive there.

Taylor House
716 West Broadway
1-573-256-5567
www.taylor-house.com

Beginning in 1999, Deborah and Robert Tucker restored a historic house and, in the process, preserved the memory of one of Columbia's prominent families. The Taylor House was built in 1909 for John N. Taylor, a self-made businessman and civic leader.

During the two-year renovation, the ceiling was removed in the room that belonged to Taylor's son, Tom. Tom's love letters fell through the opening, showering the Tuckers with revelations of Tom's personal history and love life. You can read the restored letters in Tom's Letter Room.

The Taylor House is on the Columbia Historic Preservation Registry, State Registry and the National Historic Registry. The Tuckers are passionate about protecting its historic features.

One of the cherished characteristics of the home is the original limestone front porch and porte-cochere. Robert Tucker rescued the cut limestone from destruction during some rehab work that the previous owner was doing. When Tucker explained to him that they were destroying irreplaceable stonework, the owner ceased the demolition.

Part of the allure of the Taylor House is the community support for its resurrection. At an open house to celebrate the completed renovation, more than 500 townspeople dropped in to share memories.

There is a fascinating story about the lovely old piano that graces the home's living room. The Tuckers' accountant asked them if they would be interested in buying an antique piano from her for the Taylor House. After it was delivered, Robert worked late into the night cleaning it. Rubbing lemon oil on an inside panel, he discovered gold-leaf engraving that read "Manufactured for John N. Taylor." The piano had come home.

The Taylor House refurbishing will be featured on the Home and Garden Channel, HGTV, on "If These Walls Could Talk" in March.

The Gathering Place
606 College Avenue
1-573-815-0606
www.gatheringplacebb.com

Driving down College Avenue in Columbia, your eyes are drawn to a stately white house with four two-story columns and a sprawling front porch. The Gathering Place is owned and operated by Shirley and Ross Duff and Kristin and Jim Steelman.

Ross Duff is a longtime Columbia OB/GYN who also maintains a clinic, Tender Lambs Birthing Center, in Haiti. During the Duffs' quarterly visits to the clinic, the Steelmans serve as the inn's hosts.

Another uncommon feature of the Gathering Place is extra-large bathrooms in each guest room. Some are equipped with Jacuzzis; all are spacious and well-lighted. The dining space is also generously proportioned. There is a long table for group seating and several other tables for more intimate seating.

The Colonial-style home was built in 1905. In the 1930s it housed several fraternities and one sorority. When the Duffs purchased it in 1994, Sigma Tau Gamma had a year left on its lease. When its lease was up, the Duffs began a total renovation.

Antique walnut, cherry and tiger-maple furniture adds to the turn-of-the-century feel. Beds in three of the guest rooms are handmade. High-quality, original artwork is displayed throughout the home.

Celebrity guests have been known to stay at the Gathering Place. When Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia visited, he was accompanied by a U.S. marshal, who slept in an adjoining room while three other marshals stood watch outside the home. The heightened security added unforeseen drama for the other guests.

One of the inn's more laid-back guests was NBC's Tom Brokaw. He was attending a black-tie affair at the School of Journalism as an honored guest and speaker. Shirley Duff grins as she describes how dashing he looked in his neatly pressed tuxedo and his favorite black cowboy boots.

University Avenue Bed and Breakfast
1315 University Avenue
1-800-499-1920
www.universityavenuebnb.com

Eight years ago, Willa Adelstein, a 22-year clinical specialist in neurosurgery at the university's Medical Center, and her two partners, also nurses, opened Columbia's first B&B. They chose a 1920s-era house in the historic East Campus neighborhood, where brick-paved streets border refurbished homes and beautiful lawns.

The decor at University Avenue Bed and Breakfast is comfortable, filled with antiques and decorated in homage to the innkeepers' previous careers. Stuffed bears in nursing uniforms, antique medical paraphernalia, and Norman Rockwell's "Doctor's Office" lend a whimsical air to the house.

A knowing smile accompanies the realization that the potpourri containers strategically placed in every room are actually antique bed pans.

If you go...

Rates: Missouri Manor, $100 to $175; the Taylor House, $125 to $145; the Gathering Place, $85 to $145; University Avenue, $80 to $90.

More information: Columbia Convention & Visitors Bureau, 1-800-652-0987, www.visitcolumbiamo.com.

On the road: Missouri
Published in Travel & Leisure on Sunday, October 20, 2002.