PHOTOS AND VIDEO: Historic Pearson house demolished

The claw of the demolition machine chomped through the Pearson House like a metal jaw. With each bite, the historic home revealed itself room by room. A painting still hung in an upstairs room. For those present for the demolition, this would be the last time the “grand lady” would stand on the grounds of the Richmond Hill Inn. The demolition happened Wednesday, Feb. 1. (photo by Caitlin Byrd)

Xpress Files: Richmond Hill Inn bankruptcy documents

Federal bankruptcy court documents filed by the owner of the Richmond Hill Inn show that the loss of the inn’s historic mansion to fire on March 20 was valued at $7 million, including $25,000 in oriental rugs, $55,000 in food and wine and an unknown amount to replace the irreplaceable — a portrait of Gabrielle Pearson, the wife of the congressman and ambassador who built the original Victorian mansion in 1889.

Hot legal battling preceded Richmond Hill blaze; arson suspected

Five months before a devastating March 19 fire destroyed the historic Richmond Hill Inn, legal battles had been heating up between the current and former owners of the property. Investigators believe the blaze was intentionally set. A landmark lost: A devastating early morning fire March 19 destroyed the Richmond Hill Inn’s historic main building. Investigators […]