55 4-1/2 Street
Highlands, NC 28741
Toll Free 888-799-4464
828-526-4464
email: Relax@4andaHalfStInn.com

Innkeepers Rick and Helene Siegel do everything possible to ensure that your stay with them is memorable.

Former Atlantans, the couple worked together in several businesses before they bought the 4-1/2 Street Inn, and their ease in working together is reflected in every aspect of the Inn.

Graciously welcoming you as if they were entertaining guests in their own home, the couple makes guests feel immediately comfortable.

A landscape designer and contractor, Rick has enhanced the grounds with his own creative touch. Flowering rhododendrons, azaleas and hemlock surround the inn, and the air is infused with the added fragrance of herbs and vegetables from newly-planted gardens.

Helene's exuberance and warmth permeate the 4-1/2 Street Inn. She is always available to respond to guests' needs, answer questions and make suggestions for dining and activities in the Highlands area.

Her wonderful gourmet breakfasts and luscious cookies are a treat in themselves.

Our beautiful Inn was built in 1910 by Irvin Rice, a butcher and the proprietor of a meat market on Main Street. It was originally built with 11 bedrooms and 6 ½ baths. He and his wife Lily lived in the house and rented rooms to summer visitors. They had one daughter and two sons.  Mr. Rice was part of the Rice family that founded Rice University and Baylor University.

The next steward of our home was Edna Rice, daughter of Irvin Rice, who married into the Bennett family of Hendersonville, North Carolina. The Bennett’s enjoyed many wonderful summers here as their family vacation home. The Bennett’s are remembered for their love of life and joyous pranks. We have pictures of “mock weddings” held on our south grounds while on horseback. Our “elfish ghost” is attributed to their family’s jokester ancestors.

John an Ellie Pierson Potts bought the Rice home in 1937. Prior to moving to Highlands John worked for the United States Forest Service. While in Highlands, he was a surveyor and draftsman, town councilman and town clerk for 18 years.  Ellie was very artistic and an excellent cook.

They opened the Fairview Inn in 1938 and rented rooms for 20 years. Because of Ellie’s culinary gifts it became a popular restaurant as well. On Sunday’s they’d never finish serving lunch until after 3:00.  The front porch would be full of guests who enjoyed visiting while they waited their turn.

It was named the “Fairview Inn”, because everywhere you looked from the Inn there was a “fair view”.  Ellie rented rooms for the summer season cooking 3 meals a day. She operated the Inn with the help of her daughter and 7 grandchildren.  All family members would change rooms regularly to insure as many rooms could be rented in season as possible.

John’s vast knowledge of the Southern Appalachians was always at the disposal of the scientists who came to study at the Highlands Biological Station.  John and Ellie gave special rates to the researchers, enabling many young scientists to complete research necessary for their theses and dissertations.

During the 1970’s the Potts heirs rented the Inn to the Highlands Playhouse as a “dorm” for its performers and artistic staff during the summer seasons. This era has lent itself to many colorful stories and the Inn remains a fond memory for many a person’s adolescence.

Tom and Linda Clark bought the property in 1990 and after extensive renovations,reopened it as the 4 ½ Street Inn Bed and Breakfast. Great care was taken to maintain the integrity of the architecture, leaving the home beautifully preserved to the period in which it was built.  Throughout the Inn there is a wealth of original woodwork, including mantels, wainscoting, and four-and five-panel doors. The woodwork is of oak, pine, and chestnut, all finished with the same rich dark stain.

Rick and I bought the Inn in 1997 and it remains the center and heartbeat of our lives.  Happiness and joy have been imprinted in our walls and halls since 1910 and when guests enter the Inn today they often comment on the “good vibes, and love” they feel as they walk through the door. We hope you feel the same way!