The Inn at Irwin Gardens

The Inn at Irwin Gardens offers guests a rare opportunity to experience early 20th century luxury and culture while enjoying contemporary amenities. This magnificent home exemplifies the best in human craftsmanship while the gardens display a taste of the beauty of God's creation. This exclusive bed and breakfast-style Inn is in the heart of downtown Columbus, Indiana, a city renowned for its character and modern architecture. Plan your next get away at this wonderfully preserved mansion, one of the most elegant and historic in the Midwest. Imagine a romantic weekend, a beautiful wedding, a family reunion or even a business conference at this exquisite two-acre retreat. Come experience the grandeur of The Inn at Irwin Gardens.

The Irwin Home and Gardens property at 608 5th Street is a magnificent property by any measure. It boasts a grand home built in 1864 and updated in 1910. The luxurious Gardens are modeled after those exhumed from the remains of ancient Pompeii. The property is situated in the heart of downtown Columbus and boasts such illustrious neighbors as the I.M. Pei designed Columbus Library, the First Christian Church of Eliel Saarinen, Columbus Signature Academy and St. Peters Lutheran Church both of Gunnar Birkerts.

The home and gardens are reminiscent of mid 19th and early 20th centuries, a place apart from the mundane, where guests can appreciate the designer's attention to detail and intense devotion to botanical beauty.

Today, The Inn at Irwin Gardens welcomes guests in the gracious tradition of fine Hoosier hospitality. Guests have the rare opportunity to experience elite accommodations of the early 20th century while enjoying contemporary amenities. Visitors enter the mansion through a grand foyer with quarter-sawn English white oak paneling and ornate staircase that rises to the second and third floor guest rooms. The beautifully detailed coffered oak beam and floral plaster relief ceilings rival those in European estates.

The home's design includes many details that have deliberate symbolism honoring the Creator, his creation, and great men that have gone before us. Seven library windows that overlook the Gardens have small stained glass designs in the transoms. Each figure represents a day of the week beginning with Sunday in the north window. A sun stands for Sunday. A moon represents Monday. Tuesday is depicted by the arm of the Greek god Zeus grasping bolts of lightning. The raven of Wotan stands for Wednesday. The arm of Thor holding thunderbolts represents Thursday. The black cats of Freia, the goddess of youth and beauty, stand for Friday. The last window facing south has a picture of the planet Saturn for Saturday.

There are two heads carved in blocks of stone outside the library windows and two more on the tower to the left under the third floor window. These represent the seasons of the year. Linking the home to the Gardens on the east, a raised terrace was designed with a covered area at either end. The roof beam of each of these areas bears an inscription. On the north is a quotation from Robert Burns: "An' when fatigued wi' close employment a blink o' rest a sweet enjoyment." On the south, the inscription from Walt Whitman reads: "Keep your face always toward the sunshine and the shadows will fall behind you." On this upper Gardens level under the open pergolas are four sculptured heads depicting Greek philosophers: Socrates and Diogenes on the north side, Plato and Aristotle on the south side. These are reproduction of statues in the garden of the Emperor Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli near Rome.

Wisteria vines on the two pergolas on the terrace beside the house were planted about 1911, and the same vines continue to bloom profusely in the spring. If the weather turns cool, why not borrow a book from the library and curl up next to the fireplace? Or play chess or backgammon in the game room?

Amenities beyond your guest room include open access to the two formal parlors and the library. The books throughout the home, most of which are from various eras of the Irwin-Sweeney-Tangeman-Miller family's personal collections, are available for your gentle enjoyment. The verandas and formal Gardens are yours to wander. There are numerous areas in the Gardens to which you can seclude yourself for reading, a romantic glass of wine, or even a picnic.

The breakfast menu varies, but may consist of Eggs Benedict, Belgian waffles with fresh fruit and cream, blintzes, or homemade bagels and quiche. Breakfast is served in the formal dining room with an ornately detailed ceiling from 8:00 to 9:30. Continental buffet breakfast can be made available before 8:00 and until 10:00.

Complimentary fruit, snacks, juice, milk, coffee, and soft drinks are available
throughout the day in the Butler's pantry. Guests will also find freshly brewed coffee on the second floor for easy access in the early morning.

Events on the Property

The Inn at Irwin Gardens is an idyllic setting for a wide variety of events. We can accommodate magnificent weddings, family reunions, business retreats, receptions, fund-raisers, catered dinners, and all sorts of formal gatherings. Maintaining and preserving the immaculate condition of the property is core to our mission. Therefore we reserve the right to decline any event that may not be appropriate in this setting or that might jeopardize the condition of the home or Gardens. Please call to discuss our policies, prices, and what we can offer you. We look forward to making your event a unique experience.

Guests: Please park on 5th Street and enter at the front door at 608 5th Street. Parking is available on the south side of the street across from the Inn, and on both sides of 5th Street near the library and Visitors Center. Or you may park behind the library and Visitors Center in their lot, and take the sidewalk that is between the library and the Inn. This sidewalk will lead you to our front door on 5th Street.

Directions from Indianapolis, IN

1. Take I-65 S – approximately 50 miles
2. Take the IN-46 exit, EXIT 68, toward NASHVILLE/BLOOMINGTON/COLUMBUS – 0.2 mi
3. Take the ramp toward COLUMBUS – 0.1 mi
4. Turn right onto IN-46 E/W IN-46 W Jonathan Moore Pike. Continue to follow IN-46 East – 2.2 mi
5. Turn LEFT onto Washington Street – 0.2 mi
6. Turn RIGHT onto 5th STREET – 0.0 mi
7. 608 5TH ST is on the LEFT.

Directions from Louisville, KY.

1. Take I-65 N toward I-64/I-71 crossing into INDIANA – approximately 70 miles
2. Take the IN-46 exit, EXIT 68, toward NASHVILLE/BLOOMINGTON/COLUMBUS – 0.2 mi
3. Take the ramp toward COLUMBUS – 0.1 mi
4. Turn right onto IN-46 E/W IN-46 W Jonathan Moore Pike. Continue to follow IN-46 East – 2.2 mi
5. Turn LEFT onto Washington Street – 0.2 mi
6. Turn RIGHT onto 5th STREET – 0.0 mi
7. 608 5TH ST is on the LEFT.

Directions from Cincinnati, OH

1. Take I-74 W – 57 miles
2. Merge onto IN 3 S via EXIT 134A toward GREENSBURG – 6.8 mi
3. IN-3 S becomes IN-46 W – 12.9 mi
4. Turn LEFT onto N IN-9/IN-46/IN-9. Continue to follow IN- 46 – 7.4 mi
5. Turn RIGHT onto IN-46 W/IN-7W – 4.3 mi
6. Turn RIGHT onto Lafayette Avenue – 0.1 mi
7. Turn RIGHT onto 5th STREET – 0.0 mi
8. 608 5TH ST is on the LEFT.

Directions from Chicago, IL