Tickets are now on sale on Eventbrite for the Capitol Hill Restoration Society’s May 9 and 10 annual House & Garden Tour. The advance price is $40; the price increases to $50 on the weekend of the tour.
This popular event on Mother’s Day Weekend sells out every year.
This year’s tour highlights the southeast side of Capitol Hill, with its lovely parks and older homes.
There are eight homes on the tour, three semi-public buildings and a newly-installed native plant garden. Some of the homes have been on the tour in the not-so-recent past, but anyone with a long history of attending the tour probably wouldn’t recognize their interiors due to fresh and interesting updates in decor.
Refreshments from local DC vendors will be offered in the lobby of 507 8th Street SE, on Barracks Row, which will also operate as tour headquarters. “The 507,” as it is known, is an event venue as well as the offices of Taoti Creative. Both parts of the building will be available for tourgoers to see. The building itself has been many things over the years – some more reputable than others and the society is pleased to be able to have more information and to be able to introduce this space to those who have not seen it recently.
The homes on the tour feature both historic and more modern layouts and interiors. A few of the homes are on lightly-used streets and some are ones that you might have always wondered about, due to either their unusual exterior shapes or paint colors. There are standalones, corner lots, clapboards, and former boarding houses. And, there is an infamous alley, an infamous business and one with some interesting collections.
The tour features some stately and well-behaved stops, such as the Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church and the Hill Center, both of whom have graciously offered their locations as rest stops and will also offer tours of their buildings. The church is a beautiful example of gothic architecture with impressive stained glass windows and the Hill Center has made a few interesting changes to their outdoor garden.
The tour as always is foot friendly. This year’s map will take tour-goers through some of the beautiful parks south of Pennsylvania Avenue and CHRS will provide information about them in the tour catalog.
More information is at www.chrs.org
