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MOST OF US IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY ASSOCIATE EDGAR ALLAN POE WITH NEARBY BALTIMORE. Poe died in Baltimore and is buried there and the name for the city\u2019s NFL franchise was inspired by his most-famous work, \u201cThe Raven.\u201d But Poe spent a lot of time in Richmond, Virginia, where fans can sleep at the site of Poe\u2019s \u201cenchanted garden,\u201d have a glass of wine under the shade of the same linden trees where Poe fell in love for the first time and see his boyhood bed, original manuscripts and a lock of his hair. Maybe, if you\u2019re really lucky, you\u2019ll see a ghost or two.<\/p>\n
Many of the most pivotal events in Poe\u2019s extraordinary and tragic life occurred not in Baltimore but in and around Richmond. And many of the sometimes-spooky sites can still be seen today. Home base for the ultimate Poe adventure is the Linden Row Inn on East Franklin Street. This 70-room boutique hotel is comprised of seven historic townhouses that together are some of the best surviving example of Greek Revival architecture in the United States. The property is home to many Poe stories, real and imagined.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the ghost stories out there \u2013 that is false \u2013 is that his mother Eliza Poe\u2019s ghost roams the buildings,\u201d says Vishal Savani, director of the Linden Row Inn. \u201cThe story is her ghost is here because she stayed in one of the townhouses, but these buildings hadn\u2019t been built in Eliza Poe\u2019s lifetime. Edgar hadn\u2019t even played in the gardens that were here until after her death.<\/p>\n
Perhaps that story isn\u2019t true, but there is a very real connection between Poe and the property.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Poe\u2019s time, the whole block was a big garden surrounded by a brick wall, and everybody in the neighborhood would hang out there,\u201d says Chris Semtner, curator at the Poe Museum. \u201cIt was filled with linden trees and roses. They say you could smell the roses from a block away.\u201d<\/p>\n
The garden was immortalized by Poe in his poem \u201cTo Helen,\u201d as the enchanted garden, and it was where he met and fell in love for the first time with Sarah Elmira Royster Shelton. In true tragic Poe fashion, though the couple intended to marry, her parents didn\u2019t approve and kept them apart. Later in life, after they each married and had been widowed, they reunited and intended to marry again. Unfortunately, Poe died 10 days before the wedding.<\/p>\n
Today, the Linden Row Inn is still home to the same linden trees that shaded Poe\u2019s enchanted garden. The hotel provides beer and wine service, so guests can enjoy a drink under the trees.<\/p>\n
Besides meticulously restored period rooms, guests can look forward to other great amenities included in the price of their stay, such as a continental breakfast and a shuttle service that will take them anywhere within a two-mile radius which is basically everywhere they\u2019re likely to go.<\/p>\n
One place on most guests\u2019 lists is the Poe Museum. Amidst the vibrant cityscape, a little stone house sits as if it is a transplant from another time and dimension. This tiny building is the face of the museum and houses the guest shop and one exhibit, but it is only the tip of the iceberg that is the Poe Museum.<\/p>\n
The Old Stone House opens to a fantastic garden with a shrine to Poe and several outbuildings bordering it. The Poe Museum garden layout is based on Poe\u2019s poem \u201cTo One in Paradise,\u201d and it is full of pansies, lilies and roses. The shrine, at the far end of the garden, is home to a statuary bust of Poe.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe original bust was stolen once,\u201d says Semtner. \u201cThe thief somehow got over the brick wall with the bust, walked into a bar with it, and asked the bartender for two drinks \u2013 one for himself and one for his good friend Poe. The police were called, but when they arrived at the scene, the thief was gone. The bust, however, was recovered.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now the museum keeps the original bust inside, under lock and key, and a reproduction of the bust is bolted down in the shrine.<\/p>\n
Few may think of Poe as a party animal, but the Poe Museum is definitely a happening place \u2013 especially in the fall as the anniversary of Poe\u2019s October death and Halloween approach. The museum sponsors \u201cUnhappy Hour,\u201d a chance to unwind with a drink or two and party in the Poe exhibits as well as other fun events with costumes, live music and performances of Poe\u2019s works.<\/p>\n
Since Poe is most well-known for his horror stories such as \u201cThe Raven\u201d and \u201cThe Tell-Tale Heart,\u201d we often don\u2019t get to see the softer side of Poe. He was a hopeless romantic and, surprisingly, a bit of a ladies man.<\/p>\n
\u201cPoe\u2019s sister went to an all-girls school,\u201d says Semtner. \u201cThis was very fortunate for Edgar.\u201d<\/p>\n
When you go to an all-boys academy, having an inside contact at a girls school must have been a godsend.<\/p>\n
\u201cPoe could get his sister to sneak him into the all-girls school sometimes,\u201d says Semtner. \u201cShe\u2019d also act as courier and transport letters and drawings, little gifts of fruit or candy. He was a big hit for writing these girls poems until they figured out that it was the same poem, over and over again, just dedicated to different girls.\u201d<\/p>\n
All of Poe\u2019s romances came to a tragic end \u2013 from rejected proposals, to his young wife dying of tuberculosis, to his own death 10 days before marrying the woman he\u2019d fallen in love with as a teen. But maybe the important thing to remember is that he never stopped trying to find love.<\/p>\n
To channel Poe\u2019s romantic fervor, the garden at the Poe Museum is available for weddings.<\/p>\n
The Poe Museum<\/strong> CONTACT:\u00a0www.poemuseum.org<\/a>\u00a0or 804.648.5523<\/p>\n THE LINDEN ROW INN: 100 East Franklin St., Richmond, VA 23219<\/p>\n
\n1914 East Main St.,
\nRichmond, VA 23223.<\/p>\n