&
Toss those full-color travel bro
chures and enticing magazine
ads aside. A romantic weekend
getaway or a quiet overnight escape
is as close as Lincoln’s historic Near
South neighborhood.
Nestled among the Redbud trees
on the comer of 22nd and B streets,
the Rogers House Bed & Breakfast
Inn has become as popular with weary
Lincolnites as it has with weary trav
elers since opening in 1984, said
innkeeper Nora Houtsma.
With a fireplace in the Banker’s
Suite and a private sunroom in the
Doctor’s Retreat, a mini-vacation can
break the daily routines anytime of
the year. Of course, breakfast in bed
is an option in any of the eight guest
rooms, Houtsma said, and the library
is always open.
The inn’s guest list reads like a
combination international phonebook
and local who’s who: Soviet
filmmakers and humorists; African
diplomats; tourists from Australia,
England, Japan, Vietnam, Germany,
Canada, South America and Paki
stan; 92 weddings and three ‘‘Murder
Mystery Nights.”
Made of deep red brick, the now
ivy-covered, three-story house was
built as the retirement home for Mindcn
banker Noyes C. Rogers in 1914.
Rogers’ son-in-law and his family
lived in the house from 1929-1965,
after which it housed the Pi Kappa
Alpha fraternity and later became a
group home for the menially retarded.
Houtsma and two partners bought
the house and began renovation in
1983. The first two floors took six
months of replacing light fixtures,
tearing up old green shag carpet, stop
ping wallpaper and installing show
ers, Houtsma said. The third floor,
which once was a ballroom, needed
another year of restoration before the
inn opened, she said.
The history within the house has
gradually unfolded since opening,
Houtsma said.
The Martinson Room is named
after Nettie Martinson, the Rogers
maid, who was bom in a sod house on
the prairie. Her photograph hangs on
the wall, and was recognized by a
grandson who lived two blocks from
the inn.
A Rogers greatgrandson was lo
cated in Lincoln by studying obituar
ies, Houtsma said.
The inn was named a local historic
landmark in 1983 because of its post
Victorian, Jacobcthan Revival archi
tecture. Although all of the furnish
ings closely reflect the era of the early
1900s, Houtsma said, the house is
decorated to feel comfortable and to
not feel like a museum.
.
Story and photos
by Robin Trimarchi
Top: Built in 1914, initial renovation included
uncovering a hidden door and hidden windows,
installing showers in old closets and convert
ing a third-floor ballroom into three state-of-the
era bedrooms.
Above: Former Lincolnite Kathleen Etchison,
now of Westchester, Pa., prefers the coziness of
a bed and breakfast while on out-of-town busi
ness. Etchison is the magazine editor for Smith
Kline Beecham Animal Health/Norden.
Right: A brass peacock adorn3 the living room
fireplace.