It’s hard not to fall in love with a city so cultured, diverse, and welcoming.

Located off of East Franklin Street, Linden Row Inn is one of the few buildings in the city that’s a part of the Greek Revival architecture movement with a rich history connected to the LGBTQ community.

Charles Ellis--the business partner of John Allan who was Edgar Allan Poe's adoptive father--owned the land where Linden Row Inn stands now and used the land as a private garden. Poe used to play in the garden as a child and this was where he courted his first love, Elmira Royster. 

According to lore, it is believed that the “enchanted garden” that Poe refers to as a “parterre” in his famous poem, “To Helen”, is the garden at Linden Row. Now, Parterre is the name of the full-service bar and restaurant located inside of Linden Row Inn, with nods to Poe throughout their menu options. 

Linden Row is more than just inspiration for literature--it is a symbol of love and acceptance, and it’s all because of Mary Wingfield Scott.

Scott, a prominent historic preservationist, grew up in Richmond’s Monroe Ward in the early 1900s. She attended Virginia Ellett’s School for Girls that was located in Linden Row at the time. After Scott received her Ph.D., she moved back to Richmond and became a member of the William Byrd Branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities.

From 1923 to 1967, Scott lived with  her partner, Virginia Withers, alongside their two adopted boys and fought for preservation of the historic block.

During the 1940s, two of the original row homes at the end of East Franklin Street and 2nd Street were razed, and there was an approved plan to rezone the remaining block where Linden Row stands today.

“Mary Wingfield Scott instead stepped in, purchased the remaining seven row homes and served as the landlord with her partner, [Virginia] Withers, between the 1950s and1970s,” Casey Watson, senior sales manager at the historic inn, said. 

Scott donated Linden Row to the Historic Richmond Foundation in 1980, and the foundation worked with a private developer to convert the row homes into a full-service hotel that opened in 1988. She has been credited with saving many buildings from destruction in Richmond, yet her impact within the community goes beyond saving historical buildings. 

“Linden Row Inn was among the first sponsors of the OutRVA campaign back when it originally launched,” Watson said. “Additionally, Linden Row Inn is a TAG Approved Hotel as well as proud members of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association.”

TAG Approved hotels must enforce non-discriminatory policies including sexual orientation and gender identity, treat heterosexual and same-sex couples equally in personnel policies, provide LGBTQ diversity and sensitivity training for employees, empower customers and employees to be "watchdogs" of their LGBTQ business practices, give back to their community, and employs staff who reflect the diversity of their community.

Watson added, “What inspires our support for the LGBTQ community is our overall philosophy of supporting diversity in all forms, in addition to our connection with Mary Wingfield Scott. As a landmark with strong historic ties to the LGBTQ community, we pride ourselves in supporting OutRVA and other diversity-oriented causes.”

To learn more about the history of Linden Row Inn or to make reservations, visit their website or call 804-783-7000.