Landmark Hotel Gets Another Chance
High Point Enterprise - June 2, 1991
NAGS HEAD, N.C. — The Grand Old Lady, as she’s been called for years, lives again in all her glory.
Painters and construction workers put finishing touches on the First Colony Inn last week as sprinklers watered what will soon be the front lawn. Reservations were phoned in. Vacationers pulled their cars into the parking lot. The 59‑year‑old hotel was back on its feet after coming painfully close to being demolished 2½ years ago.
Built on the Nags Head waterfront in 1932, the inn was a popular spot for mainlanders seeking the Outer Banks’ out‑ofthe‑way atmosphere of mystery, charm and relaxation. However, by 1987, time had taken a destructive toll on the three‑story, shingled building with a wraparound veranda, and the encroaching Atlantic Ocean threatened to wipe away the historic treasure for good.
By spring of 1988, the owner of the hotel was making plans to demolish it, much to the regret of locals and its former patrons. Several public and private organizations attempted to relocate the inn, but funding fell short in every instance. Hope was running out quickly. That’s when Richard and Camille Lawrence of Lexington, N.C., longtime lovers of the Outer Banks, stepped in.
“We just didn’t want to see it be destroyed,” Camille Lawrence said, as her children and other relatives scurried around the inn last week hanging mirrors, making checklists and taking turns manning the front desk. The 26-room inn, advertised as a bed and breakfast, reopened May 24 with summer rates starting at $100 a night.
It may look established and comfortable now, but a lot of labor went into reviving what Nags Head residents and vacationers have fondly referred to as the Grand Old Lady. In August 1988, after securing a small business loan, the Lawrence family hired house movers to saw the majestic structure into three sections and move each piece to a tract of land on the other side of the beach road, three miles south. After reassembling the pieces, 2½ years of extensive rehabilitation ensued. The bulk of the work was done over the past several months. Workers returned the hotel’s exterior to its original appearance, redesigned the interior and added modern conveniences.
“I think we’ve improved it, frankly,” Lawrence said, showing off some of the rooms’ features, including microwave ovens, remote‑controlled air conditioners, antique and reproduction European and traditional furniture — even heated towel bars in the bathrooms for those chilly off‑season mornings. Each room is furnished differently and offers its own architectural characteristics.
Just last year, the First Colony Inn was in such disrepair that curious visitors had to climb in and out of it on ladders. “We completely gutted the whole thing,” Lawrence said, explaining that much of the interior was not salvageable. But the Lawrences, with the help of construction crews, managed to save more than 50 percent of the original materials. Other materials, such as the hardwood floors, were purchased from other historical buildings and refurbished.
Lawrence, an art teacher at Davidson County Community College, would not disclose how much money it has taken to revamp the hotel, though early estimates indicated the job would require at least $2 million. The structure itself, as it sat ready to be moved from its original site, didn’t cost a penny.
The First Colony Inn, the sole‑surviving hotel from its era at Nags Head, offers vacationers a blast from the past, its owners say. “This was the way people went to the beach in the 1930s,” Lawrence said. “It’s a whole different thing.” Sandra Jackson of Raleigh, Lawrence’s niece, described the inn as “a local curiosity.”
Rhoda Lawrence of Seattle, Lawrence’s daughter, believes the renovation project turned out as they expected it would. “We’re happy with the results,” she said. “There were some things we couldn’t keep the same about the building, but the concept is still there.”
Mystery also plays a part in the inn’s charm: Legend has it that a female ghost haunted a third‑floor room, but the owners say they haven’t come across the supernatural being — yet.
The hotel puts vacationers in close proximity to several major attractions of the Outer Banks: Jockey’s Ridge (a 400‑acre state park featuring the largest sand dune on the East Coast), Oregon Inlet, the Wright Brothers Memorial, Bodie Island Lighthouse, Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Hatteras Lighthouse.
High Point Enterprise - June 2, 1991
NAGS HEAD, N.C. — The Grand Old Lady, as she’s been called for years, lives again in all her glory.
Painters and construction workers put finishing touches on the First Colony Inn last week as sprinklers watered what will soon be the front lawn. Reservations were phoned in. Vacationers pulled their cars into the parking lot. The 59‑year‑old hotel was back on its feet after coming painfully close to being demolished 2½ years ago.
Built on the Nags Head waterfront in 1932, the inn was a popular spot for mainlanders seeking the Outer Banks’ out‑ofthe‑way atmosphere of mystery, charm and relaxation. However, by 1987, time had taken a destructive toll on the three‑story, shingled building with a wraparound veranda, and the encroaching Atlantic Ocean threatened to wipe away the historic treasure for good.
By spring of 1988, the owner of the hotel was making plans to demolish it, much to the regret of locals and its former patrons. Several public and private organizations attempted to relocate the inn, but funding fell short in every instance. Hope was running out quickly. That’s when Richard and Camille Lawrence of Lexington, N.C., longtime lovers of the Outer Banks, stepped in.
“We just didn’t want to see it be destroyed,” Camille Lawrence said, as her children and other relatives scurried around the inn last week hanging mirrors, making checklists and taking turns manning the front desk. The 26-room inn, advertised as a bed and breakfast, reopened May 24 with summer rates starting at $100 a night.
It may look established and comfortable now, but a lot of labor went into reviving what Nags Head residents and vacationers have fondly referred to as the Grand Old Lady. In August 1988, after securing a small business loan, the Lawrence family hired house movers to saw the majestic structure into three sections and move each piece to a tract of land on the other side of the beach road, three miles south. After reassembling the pieces, 2½ years of extensive rehabilitation ensued. The bulk of the work was done over the past several months. Workers returned the hotel’s exterior to its original appearance, redesigned the interior and added modern conveniences.
“I think we’ve improved it, frankly,” Lawrence said, showing off some of the rooms’ features, including microwave ovens, remote‑controlled air conditioners, antique and reproduction European and traditional furniture — even heated towel bars in the bathrooms for those chilly off‑season mornings. Each room is furnished differently and offers its own architectural characteristics.
Just last year, the First Colony Inn was in such disrepair that curious visitors had to climb in and out of it on ladders. “We completely gutted the whole thing,” Lawrence said, explaining that much of the interior was not salvageable. But the Lawrences, with the help of construction crews, managed to save more than 50 percent of the original materials. Other materials, such as the hardwood floors, were purchased from other historical buildings and refurbished.
Lawrence, an art teacher at Davidson County Community College, would not disclose how much money it has taken to revamp the hotel, though early estimates indicated the job would require at least $2 million. The structure itself, as it sat ready to be moved from its original site, didn’t cost a penny.
The First Colony Inn, the sole‑surviving hotel from its era at Nags Head, offers vacationers a blast from the past, its owners say. “This was the way people went to the beach in the 1930s,” Lawrence said. “It’s a whole different thing.” Sandra Jackson of Raleigh, Lawrence’s niece, described the inn as “a local curiosity.”
Rhoda Lawrence of Seattle, Lawrence’s daughter, believes the renovation project turned out as they expected it would. “We’re happy with the results,” she said. “There were some things we couldn’t keep the same about the building, but the concept is still there.”
Mystery also plays a part in the inn’s charm: Legend has it that a female ghost haunted a third‑floor room, but the owners say they haven’t come across the supernatural being — yet.
The hotel puts vacationers in close proximity to several major attractions of the Outer Banks: Jockey’s Ridge (a 400‑acre state park featuring the largest sand dune on the East Coast), Oregon Inlet, the Wright Brothers Memorial, Bodie Island Lighthouse, Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Hatteras Lighthouse.