Irwin Home

Built in 1864 by Joseph I Irwin, Columbus banker and businessman (and J Irwin Miller's grandfather), this Italianate design was remodeled in 1880.

The home is now a bed and breakfast.

To accommodate four generations of the Irwin family, the home has been enlarged and redesigned over the years. The current mansion was completed by Henry Phillips, a Massachusetts architect, who was hired by William G Irwin in 1910. The old brick exterior was covered by tapestry brick with stone trim, and several new chimneys, which are now a prominent feature of the house, were added.

The intricate detail of the extensive fine woodwork and moldings throughout the house are reminiscent of a European estate

The highlight of this two-acre property is the garden, a beautiful maze based on a famous garden in Pompeii. The gardens are open for public viewing Tuesday and Saturday afternoons, generally from April through October.

Several fountains and a long pool are the focal point of a lowered, sunken garden. There is a statue under the center arch of the garden house designed from a lakeside structure at the Villa of Hadrian at Tivoli in Italy. Pompeian murals accent the garden house. A tall brick wall is rounded in imitation of 16th-century gardens at Mantua in Italy. Wisteria vines on the terrace’s pergolas were planted in 1911, and continue to bloom in the spring.