By Erica Solvig
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Lebanon firefighters Wednesday help out at the Golden Lamb after a load of gravel collapsed a small portion of the roof. The Cincinnati Enquirer/JEFF SWINGER

LEBANON - Sandy Coffing of Liberty Township had joked with her girlfriends that she wanted their outing at the Golden Lamb Inn on Wednesday to "have some excitement."

They got some. Their lunch was interrupted by fire crews, who rushed to the scene after part of the roof collapsed, breaking the sprinkler system and causing water damage to all four floors of Ohio's oldest inn.

"We were the last ones eating," said one of her lunch partners, Donna Genskow of West Chester Township. "We were on the first floor, and we could see water dripping down the walls. It got very cold."

Construction workers who were repairing the leaky roof were moving equipment and gravel for the coating when a 10-by-15 foot section gave way. No one was injured, though the building was evacuated and closed.

Manager Paul Resetar said officials believed the excess weight caused the collapse, which happened around 12:30 p.m.

IF YOU GO

Ohio's oldest inn: The Golden Lamb celebrated its bicentennial Dec. 23, 2003. High volume: Approximately 220,000 people eat there each year. Famous guests: Ten U.S. presidents have stayed at the inn, as have authors Harriet Beecher Stowe, Charles Dickens and Mark Twain. Ghosts: Two ghosts are said to haunt the restaurant and hotel. One is a little girl named Sarah, the daughter of previous Golden Lamb owner Isaac Stubbs, and the other is believed to be Charles R. Sherman, an Ohio Supreme Court justice who died at the hotel in 1829.

Gravel fell through the hole and into the museum room below. The collapse broke the sprinkler system, and water gushed for several minutes, causing damage to the floors and ceilings of the museum room, a hotel room and the front dining area.

Resetar said none of the historic items has been ruined, and that the water damage was minor.

He said a structural engineer would examine the building this morning, and that the inn would be ready to reopen as soon the engineer says it's safe.

The estimated 100 people who were eating lunch were allowed to finish their meals before the building was evacuated. There's only one overnight guest scheduled, and other accommodations were being made Wednesday afternoon, Resetar said.

Despite at least two fires and a citywide power outage, the hotel has never permanently closed, according to Fred Compton, the Golden Lamb's unofficial historian, who worked at the hotel for 35 years.

"We've survived fires and other things, so in the scheme of it all, this is minor," Resetar said.

Work to the gravel-coated roof had started Wednesday.

Crews from the Hamilton County Urban Search and Rescue Team helped stabilize the roof. A section of Broadway was closed for most of the day.

David Eck contributed to this report. E-mail esolvig@enquirer.com