This story originally appeared in The Centre County Gazette.
BELLEFONTE — A little piece of royalty in Bellefonte celebrated five decades of restoration and warm welcomes during an open house on Sunday, June 16.
The Queen, A Victorian Bed and Breakfast, located in a Queen Anne style building at 176 E. Linn St. in Bellefonte and run by Nancy Noll, proprietor and innkeeper, welcomed guests to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the building’s restoration adventure.
Purchased by Noll and her then-husband with the intention of flipping it and buying land out in the country with the profit from the sale, it now serves as a bed and breakfast, which Noll and her now husband, Curtis Miller, restored.
“Initially, we were simply going to put five years of sweat equity into the property so we could flip it for 50 acres of land. Our plan was to build a geodesic dome and live off the land. We were still stuck in hippie mode,” Noll joked. “When my husband left after five years, I thought the smart thing to do would be to sell and move into an apartment. But our 10-year-old son had other plans.”
Noll and her son moved up to the second floor of the property and rented out the first floor to cover renovations, so her son could stay in the neighborhood, which was only a block away from his school and where his friends lived. However, after ten years of renovating the second floor, Noll wanted a change in pace and considered moving to the mountains. But Miller came up with a plan to remodel the second floor so that it had an extra apartment space to rent.
“When I walked off my corporate job to take back my soul, my dear friend Charlotte, who had a bed and breakfast one block away, started to send her overflow to me,” Noll said. “I had no idea why people would want to stay here. It took about a year for me to realize I was a bed and breakfast. That meant we needed more rooms, so it was time to restore the third floor.”
Over the years, Noll and Miller faced challenges, taking on most of the renovations themselves, but their hard work helped mold The Queen into an escape which, Noll notes, offers an experience a hotel cannot.
“A bed and breakfast offers a unique experience for travelers. During COVID, hotels had to close because they had no staff. If I was home, we were staffed,” Noll said. “Many people needed to travel in spite of COVID. We were able to offer a safe haven by following all of the CDC guidelines. Many of those guests are now committed to B&Bs and the unique experiences they offer. Innkeepers offer the best concierge service, insuring the best off-site experiences. Rooms are always unique, and no hotel can match the breakfast served by a B&B.”
Bellefonte boasts an abundance of Victorian-era homes, many of which have been preserved and can be viewed on historic walking tours of the town.
To preserve the land that the bed and breakfast is located on, The Queen integrated UNESCO sustainability principles, including having certified pollinator and Audubon gardens onsite. It received the CCRA 2024 Emerald Award in the Centre County Green Business Partnership program for its environmental stewardship and resource-efficient practices.
During the open house, visitors were able to tour the gardens and guest rooms. The rooms in the bed and breakfast include Anne’s Room, the original master bedroom suite; The Governor’s Suite, a two-room suite; Nanny’s Attic, which can accommodate two people; and the Maid’s Quarters, an apartment with a bedroom, laundry, full kitchen and living room. The bed and breakfast also has a three bedroom home, Viriginia’s House, located on an adjoining property, that can accommodate up to six adults.
Over the years, many visitors from around the world have stayed in those rooms, many of which, Noll noted, have since gone on to become well known, like a man who stayed at The Queen while moving from Missouri to Manhattan to head up three of Amazon’s companies or a few authors whose works are revered.
“Each of my guests adds richness to my life. They come from all over the world with life stories to inspire me to travel more, to volunteer more and to love more,” Noll said. And though she does not know for certain what the next 50 years have in store for The Queen, she is certain of one thing.
“The Queen belongs to the neighborhood,” Noll shared. “And I hope she will always reign.”
