{"nrhp_refnum":"82003500","name":"Pine Crest Inn","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Pine Crest Lane","address_restricted":false,"city":"Tryon","county":"Polk County","state":"NC","lat":35.208707719000074,"lon":-82.23385226299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-04-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Entertainment/Recreation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A resort inn complex on Godshaw Hill in Tryon, Polk County, North Carolina, made up of a two-story inn and ten cottages. The original inn and three cottages were built around 1906 as a tuberculosis sanatorium by an unidentified builder.","why_significant":"The inn is the last of four major inns in operation tied to Tryon's growth as a resort community in western North Carolina. It is also linked to Carter Brown, who ran it from 1917 and helped make Tryon a nationally known equestrian center. Brown designed and built several of the cottages and moved log cabins onto the property.","narrative":"Pine Crest Inn is a resort complex on Godshaw Hill in Tryon, North Carolina, consisting of a two-story inn and ten cottages with 34 guest rooms. The inn and three cottages were built around 1906 in Neo-Classical Revival style as the Thermal Belt Sanatorium for tuberculosis patients. The venture failed, and the property sat idle until Carter Brown, a Michigan resort developer, rented it in 1917 and bought it in 1920. He renamed it Pine Crest Inn, enlarged it, designed and built four cottages, and moved log cabins from Tennessee to serve as guest quarters. Brown's guests often bought property in Tryon, and the inn became a focal point of the town's growth. He also opened riding trails and started the town's horse show and steeplechase, helping build its national reputation for horses. The inn is the last of four major early inns in Tryon still operating. Porch enclosures and other additions have changed the exterior, but original interior woodwork survives.","period_of_significance":"1906-07","architect_builder":"Unknown for original buildings; later structures by Carter Brown","architectural_style":"Neo-Classical Revival (original inn and cottages)","criteria":["A","B"],"status_note":"Occupied and operating as an inn with a dining room; condition listed as excellent and altered, on its original site.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:57.727608-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/70/7218/47721870/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/82003500.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003500/cbe83a349e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003500/cbe83a349e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Bigskybill","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pine_Crest_Inn.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Bigskybill</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pine_Crest_Inn.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47721870","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Crest_Inn","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q20745481"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/polk-county/pine-crest-inn-82003500/"}