DEL.ICIO.USThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/26/08
Madison — The concentration of elegant 19th-century homes here has long drawn visitors who love architecture and history.
But, for a long time, there wasn't much beyond what you can see through the windshield and not many reasons to get out of the car. Downtown dining was limited to a strictly OK meat-and-three. A handful of chain motels were clustered near I-20 just outside of town.
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| The many charms of downtown Madison include the James Madison Inn. Owners Jane and Everett Royal created a space that looks old yet new, harmonious yet eclectic. | ||
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| A trip to Madison isn't complete without a horse-drawn carriage tour. | ||
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That's all changed.
The city in 2004 leveled two square blocks of pre-fabricated metal industrial buildings and run-down retail. A park with a 25-foot-tall cast iron fountain, bandstand and great lawn is under construction on the spot two blocks west of Main Street.
The $4 million redevelopment project has sparked a downtown building boom. Art galleries, antique shops and boutiques fill new storefronts. Restaurants with ambition and a decent wine list have moved in.
Downtown Madison is now a place worth parking the car. And with the opening last spring of the James Madison Inn, you can park your car for the weekend. All the charms of Madison — named "No. 1 Small Town in America" by Travel Holiday Magazine — are an easy amble from the hotel's front porch.
The inn, at first glance, seems an unlikely hideaway. It's a narrow, awkward looking brick building squeezed between Washington Street and a long, low complex housing shops, the Town 220 restaurant and Madison Markets — a rabbit warren of antiques, crafts and do-dads. But step inside and you'll understand why your mother said you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.
The hotel lobby is filled with light. Paintings by local artists, including Steffen Thomas, whose work fills a museum in the nearby town of Buckhead, hang on every wall. The harmoniously eclectic collection of chairs and lamps, sofas and tables seems to have been assembled over time.
Everything in the hotel, owned by Madison residents Jane and Everett Royal, is nearly new, of course, but nothing seems modern. Well, except for the wireless Internet access and the 32-inch LCD flat-screen televisions.
Each of the 17 rooms and two suites is named for one of the landmark homes that have long drawn people to Madison: Boxwood, Reese Cottage, Bonar Hall, Marrol House. Each of the homes is featured on the 1.4-mile walking tour of the historic district.
The hotel sits less than half a block from the walking tour route, just around the corner from stop No. 43 — Round Bowl Spring Park. Three blocks away, at the corner of Main and Jefferson, is the Madison-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce welcome center where you can pick up maps for the walking tour.
If it's Saturday, the welcome center is also where you can climb aboard a horse-drawn carriage for a tour of the district. The 40-minute, $20 ride follows roughly the same route as the walking tour, but there are a number of reasons to consider it even after walking the route.
Riding four feet or so above the ground provides a bird's eye view — if that bird is an emu. You'll see things a bit differently.
The history provided by carriage driver Elaine Culbertson augments the blurbs in the walking tour brochure, which contains none of the real estate gossip provided by Culbertson.
"That house sold for $2.3 million. Can you believe it?"
And, gossip aside, there is something relaxing about the hypnotic clump-clomp-clump of the horse hauling you about. (Bob, by the way, is the brown horse. The white one is Prince.)
Should history make you hungry, it's a short stroll to sate your craving. Need just a sugar rush? Stop at Antique Sweets for handmade chocolates or Scoops for ice cream. Looking for lunch and a cold beer? Try O'Hara's or Madison Chop House Grille, both on Main Street. Closer to the James Madison Inn you'll find the Ice House Restaurant, a two-level room with bricks and beams and big-screen TVs. And, yes, it used to be an ice house.
Make dinner reservations at Town 220 Bistro, just 50 steps or so, depending on your stride, from the hotel lobby. So go ahead and order that second glass, or bottle, of wine.
High thread counts, gracious service and darn good coffee in the morning are nice. But after a week of fighting traffic in metro Atlanta, to spend a weekend shopping and sightseeing and eating well without getting in a car, well, that's luxury.
IF YOU GO
• Where to stay: James Madison Inn, 260 West Washington St., 706-342-7040, www.james madisoninn.com. King room, $225-$275; suite, $325-$375 per night.
Next spring, request a park-side room. For the time being, during park construction, request market side.
Also consider Brady Inn (706-342-4400) and Madison Oaks (706-343-9990), bed-and-breakfast inns close to the town square.
• Where to eat: Town 220 Bistro, 220 W. Washington St., 706-752-1445. The Ice House Restaurant, 271 W. Washington St., 706-342-8887. O'Hara's Restaurant, 133 S. Main St., 706-343-1123.
• What to do: Double C Carriage Tour, 706-224-4539. Old Madison Tours, one three-hour bicycle surrey tour, 706-817-8204, www.oldmadison tours.com. Steffen Thomas Museum and Archives, 4200 Bethany Road, Buckhead, Ga, 706-342-7557, www.steffenthomas.org.
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