Fit for a King: A historic inn on Duke's doorstep

Plenty of businesses have strange names. There is Ruth’s Chris Steak House. And Fifth Third Bank. Also, DSW Shoe Warehouse. And now Durham’s own King’s Daughters Inn.

But it only takes a simple Web search—or a chat with owners Deanna (MS, Cell Biology, ‘04) and Colin (Law ‘01) Crossman—to root out a backstory that explains it all. Their 18-month-old upscale bed and breakfast, the aforementioned King’s Daughters Inn, derives its name from what sat for almost 100 years where the Inn now sits, just beyond the eastern wall of Duke’s East Campus where Buchanan Blvd. meets Gloria Ave.

A Durham chapter of the King’s Daughters, a Christian women’s organization, ran a retirement home of sorts for older women at the site. In 2006, when a dearth of residents led the chapter to close its house, they put it up for sale.

(And for the curious: A lady named Ruth bought Chris Steak House, Fifth National Bank merged with Third National Bank, and someone thought it would be OK to name a company Designer Shoe Warehouse Shoe Warehouse.)

The Crossmans met in 2005 while renovating houses across the street from each other in the Walltown area of Durham. They initially passed over the house, which had deteriorated considerably over the years, because they assumed it was a private home. But when the house didn’t sell and didn’t sell and continued not to sell, they grew more interested. They hit it off with the realtor, and in in early 2007, it was theirs.

Turning the property’s two buildings, one 51 and the other 82 years old, into a 17-room hidden treasure took daily construction crews of 30 to 50 workers nine and a half months to complete. The Crossmans also worked on the house and used as many sustainable materials and methods as they could. After renovating a collective 18 houses over the years, they had enough experience and confidence to embark on such a robust project.

According to the Crossmans, the King’s Daughters Inn is the only hotel in America to offer an Apple computer in each room (though there are many across Europe, they say). It has conference, lounging and, naturally, breakfast facilities, which attract corporate retreaters as well as brides and grooms. Each room is filled with different 1920s-style bright and bold colors and patterns. The old-style rooms peppered with new-style amenities—those Mac Minis, large flat-screen televisions and energy-saving infrared sensors—remind you you’re in Durham, a city known equally for its arts and technology cultures.

Deanna says she is glad this opportunity came around in today’s Durham, when it’s on an upward trajectory. Ten years ago, she says, this would not have been possible. She’s convinced the area’s expansive and high-quality culinary options, coupled with attractions like the Durham Performing Arts Center and the brand-new Casbah, have led to the early success of the Inn. And they did it all with that strange name.