Republic file photo The Inn at Irwin Gardens is a popular Columbus tourist attraction.
The Inn at Irwin Gardens has discontinued its first floor tours and public garden hours until further notice due to staffing issues.
Co-owner Jessica Stevens had the discontinuing news posted on social media recently, and followed with a brief statement Monday afternoon.
“Unfortunately, due to some recent staffing issues, we have had to step back a bit and hope to have the gardens open to the public in the future,” she said.
She is currently uncertain when that reopening will be on either issue.
The three-story, 13,000-square-foot bed-and-breakfast inn at 608 Fifth St. in downtown Columbus has changed very little in the last 100 years, including retaining all of its light fixtures, furniture, decorations, and most of the bathroom fixtures, according to the structure’s website at https://www.irwingardens.com.
The Edwardian-era home was built by Joseph Ireland Irwin in 1864. Daughter Linnie married Zachery T. Sweeney and their children were raised in the home. Those who grew up in the home included the late J. Irwin Miller, a longtime Cummins Engine Co. executive known nationally and beyond for his work in architecture, philanthropic and human rights circles.
In 1908, the family hired a teenage mechanic, Clessie Cummins, to work in their garage and serve as a chauffeur. He would eventually form Cummins.
The gardens were last closed to the public from 2008 to 2012, according to The Republic archives.
During that time, the sale of the house and subsequent restoration of deteriorating brick and limestone kept the gardens closed to the general public. In the summer of 2012, owners reopened the gardens.
The Italianate gardens, begun in 1910 and finished in 1913, are inspired by a garden excavated at Pompeii. A raised terrace links the house to the gardens.
On the terrace, one will find quotations inscribed on the roof beams, seven stained glass motifs in the library windows, each representing a day of the week and four impish faces carved in limestone representing the seasons of the year — spring, summer, fall and winter.
Erin Hawkins, the Columbus Area Visitors Center’s director of marketing, mentioned that the inn and gardens remain popular.
Visitors are always curious about the inn, particularly the gardens, because they can peek inside the gates while walking down Fifth Street,” Hawkins said. “The Stevens have been generous in sharing it with the public during the time they have owned the property.
“It is such a special place and is incredibly significant to our community’s history,” Hawkins said.
