2011 Fall Historic Home Tour

Our local historical foundation hosts a house tour each fall.  Usually my mom, aunt, and cousin tour the homes with me, but this year I was on my own. 

I started the tour at this Queen Anne/Colonial Revival, circa 1911, which has been extensively remodeled over the past two years.

I pass this home by car nearly every day and have watched with interest the outdoor renovations.  I love the retaining wall that they restored not too long ago.

Pots leading to the house are full of color and are quite inviting.

The back of the house borders Riverside Park.

This home, circa 1913, was designed by Stanhope Johnson, a local architect who designed many grand Lynchburg homes during this time period. One source calls it a Bungalow/Craftsman, the other a Colonial Revival. The home originally belonged to John Warwick Daniel, a famous Virginia U.S. Representative and Senator.  It was full of interesting antiques and had a wonderful sunroom on the second floor.

This home, circa 1916, was constructed using eight-inch, hollow terracotta tiles, which were plastered on the inside and stuccoed on the outside. There are only 13 homes in Lynchburg with this style of construction.  This house was full of interesting artifacts from China. The homeowner were so sweet and gracious and were delighted to share their many interesting inherited things.

This home, circa 1922, is another Stanhope Johnson design, though this one isn’t quite as grand as the previous one. It also reeked of dog so I had to get out of there fast.

This home, circa 1911, is on a secluded street and boasts a view of the James River.

I volunteered to help with the house tour this year and spent two hours taking tickets, greeting guests, and admiring this view.  Not so bad!

This house once belonged to an old friend’s great-grandmother and I was told by her mom that the yards were terraced and full of roses when she was a child.  The yard grew up over the years and I hope that the new owner will restore it to its original beauty.

Tour day was cloudy and rainy and you can’t really appreciate the view from my pictures.

Interior photographs are not allowed on this tour, but I asked the home owner if I could photograph two rooms upstairs and he graciously agreed.  This mural was done in the 1950’s.  I am so glad that the owner didn’t have the heart to paint over it.  Isn’t it darling?

This groovy bath hasn’t yet been remodeled.  Love the retro paper!!

Finally, I see this car near Randolph College (Formally Randolph Macon Women’s College) every now and then.  It was parked on the same street as the last house and my guess is that a professor is its owner.  Can you imagine driving this around town??

Hope you enjoyed the tour.  I had fun but I sure did miss touring with my Mama, aunt, and cousin!