Suite 9 | Historic Art City Inn

We are the Brinton family, and we work together to manage the Art City Inn. We decided that we wanted to go into hospitality while visiting the 50 states (driving and camping across the lower 48!). We loved meeting people on our travels: picking grapefruits with Arizonians; kayaking lagoons with South Carolinians (and water moccasins); and biking carriage trails with Mainers. We knew we wanted to help other people have a special experience in our home state. When Art City Inn was listed for sale, we had found our dream opportunity.

By day, Eric is a retina surgeon and Amy is a homemaker. Our hobbies as a family are snow skiing, biking, and playing in our family rock band. It means a lot to us to be able to meet you and share the historic 1892 Art City Inn. Consider us at your service!

When construction of the Victorian Eclectic hotel on 200 South began in 1892, it replaced a log cabin. The juxtaposition aptly illustrates Utah’s transformation in the late 19th century: the newly connected railroad had quelled Utah’s isolation as a pioneer frontier and brought East Coast and international influence.

Dogtooth brick arches around the windows and stately stained glass above the entrances—hardly a utilitarian pioneer style—anticipated what Springville would become: Art City, which some have claimed to have the highest number of artists per capita. In addition to its design, the inn’s proprietors have leaned toward the artistic. An original owner, Moses Johnson, was a prominent actor and drama teacher. His wife, Anna Kearns Johnson, ran the hotel as Moses was away with a traveling acting troupe. Subsequent owners were William and Loretta Chase Kearns. Both Loretta and her son Howard, who grew up in the hotel, were professional visual artists. The Springville Museum of Art preserves 21 of Howard's pieces in its current collection.

The inn has been run under many owners, some artistic and some otherwise, and has been called the Johnson/Kearns Hotel, Kearns House, Manitou Hotel, Valley Tavern Hotel, and the Victorian Inn Bed and Breakfast.

In 1980 the inn had fallen into disrepair and was set to be demolished, but restorationists Craig Lott and Randall Poulsen recognized its potential. They restored it using as many original components as possible, earning a 1991 Utah Heritage Foundation Project Award. (They also acquired and restored the stone’s-throw-away H.T. Reynolds store, which is now run as Magleby’s restaurant.) The inn was first recognized on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. After renovations in 2021–22, the property now has completely updated amenities and furnishings. We welcome you into our inn to wonder about the past while thoroughly enjoying the present. Welcome to Art City Inn!