Nora Roberts' Inn Rebounds After Fire
By Margaret Foster | Online Only | July 16, 2008
UPDATE: The Inn Boonsboro reopened in February 2008.
An 18th-century inn built in the small Maryland town of Boonsboro sat empty for years, until romance novelist Nora Roberts bought it in 2007.
With dreams of reopening the Boone Hotel and naming each room after a literary couple, longtime resident Roberts and her husband, Bruce Wilder, were more than halfway through a renovation when fire engulfed the building last winter.
The Feb. 22 blaze gutted the three-story structure and "devastated" the town of 3,000. "It was the biggest fire in Boonsboro history," says innkeeper Suzanne McErlain.
This month, however, restoration efforts are back on track, and workers are installing windows, ductwork, and plumbing lines. "They are moving along at a quick rate," says McErlain, adding that the inn could open as soon as December. "The fire just set us back, but it didn't hinder our progress much."
Last winter's fire, blamed on a leaking propane tank, damaged six other buildings in the historic downtown.
"The damage to the hotel, to other properties and other lives was a terrible blow to all. I consider it a miracle that no one was hurt, and the firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading further," Roberts said in an e-mail. "Every stone that's been repointed, every board hammered in place is, for me, a symbol of endurance."
Workers were able to salvage bricks from a collapsed part of the inn and reuse them in another area. The fire also uncovered a stone wall in the dining room that Roberts decided not to recover. "There's this beautiful archway now where the original stone has been exposed."
In a matter of months, the inn will open with six rooms designed to fit the style and period of fictional characters like Nick and Nora of The Thin Man series and Jane and Mr. Rochester of Jane Eyre.
"The Old Boone Hotel has been a presence on The Square in Boonsboro for more than 200 years, and sadly neglected in more recent times," Roberts said. "I wanted to bring this beautiful old building back, to restore it while respecting its architecture as much as possible. It sounds a little corny to say it spoke to me, but it did. I wanted to answer."
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Comments
Submitted by peggy at: November 12, 2008
I say Bravo! What a grand thing to do, you and your husband are wonderful people. Thanks again
Submitted by JWright at: July 31, 2008
How inspiring to see someone using money to further the rescue of our national architectural treasures. When so many spend their money on ephemera, to save our heritage is worthy of note. Thanks. If I had money, I'd buy buildings and save them too!
Submitted by eileenkny at: July 17, 2008
Ms Roberts, I love your books and I applaud your coming to the rescue of a piece of history. Our past must be preserved.