Ear to the Ground

The word on the street is that the Warren Inn has been sold. As the story goes, there was a bidding war for the first--and perhaps only--movie theater turned motel in the country. It's rumored that one of the unsuccessful contenders was the hotel group that counts among its hostelries a luxury hotel on the Upper East Side of Manhattan named for a British essayist. Unfortunately, it's not known who the prospective buyer is or what is planned for the building.