If you’ve ever wondered about that big old house down the street or that ultramodern job up the road, answers to your questions could be at hand.
Organizations throughout the area are sponsoring house walks this spring and summer showcasing architecturally significant homes as well as dramatic interior renovations. Proceeds benefit a charity or other not-for-profit organization.
Most house walks are self-guided. Maps to each featured location often are available with tickets, allowing participants to set their own pace.
APRIL
April 27: The 17th Annual Parenthesis Kitchen Walk will spotlight 12 newly re-modeled kit-chens in Oak Park and River Forest homes, including a re-production of the kitchen in the Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Home. Also on the tour are kitchens in homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, E.E. Roberts and Seward Gunderson. Proceeds benefit Parenthesis Parent-Child Center in Oak Park. (For a preview of this walk, see Page 3.) Cost: $30 in advance; $35 day of event; children under 12 not admitted. Hours: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Call: 708-848-2227 or visit www.parenthesis-info.org.
April 28: The Elmhurst Junior Women’s Club’s 2nd Annual Elmhurst Kitchen Expedition will feature six Elmhurst homes with extraordinary kitchens. Cost: $15 in advance; $20 day of tour. Hours: noon to 5 p.m. Call: 630-359-3665.
MAY
May 5: Six Lincoln Park homes, including a restored mansion, are featured on the 14th Annual Chicago City Day School house tour. The tour begins at the Francis J. Dewes mansion at 503 W. Wrightwood Ave. and showcases the architecture of the buildings as well as the interior designs. The 1920s mansion on Wellington Avenue was renovated by architect Thomas Beeby in 1998. Cost: $100. Hours: 1 to 5 p.m. Call: 773-327-0900.
May 5: The Edgewater Historical Society plans to hold its first Spring Home Tour in the North Edgewater area. The tour will include a luncheon as well as the viewing of four historic homes from the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. The luncheon will be held at the Thai Grill in the Sovereign Apartments, 1040 W. Granville Ave. Cost: $25. Hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call: 773-907-1872.
May 10: The Junior League of Chicago’s Second Annual Tour of Homes will showcase several prominent Lake Forest homes, including those designed by architect David Adler. A special preview luncheon will take place May 9 at Knollwood Club, 1890 Waukegan Rd., Lake Forest, where author and decorator Barbara Milo Ohrbach will speak on entertaining and tabletop design. Luncheon cost: $55. Cost for tour: $40 in advance; $45 day of tour. Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 9 for presentation and luncheon; 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 10 for walk. Call: 312-664-4462, ext. 634.
May 10: The 18th Annual Glen Ellyn Infant Welfare Society House Walk will feature a tour of four of the area’s finest homes. Two of the homes are within walking distance of one another; a car is needed to visit the others. Cost: $20 in advance; $25 day of tour; children under 13 and infants are not allowed. Hours: 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. Call: 630-858-7608.
May 12: The Evanston Historical Society’s Mother’s Day House Walk and Reception will showcase six Evanston homes built from 1895 to the late 1920s. The walk will include historical information on Evanston’s only forest preserve, Perkins Woods, and on St. Matthews Episcopal Church (built in 1879) and the Swedish Retirement Home (built in 1909). Cost: $35 in advance; $40 day of tour. Hours: 1 to 5 p.m. Call: 847-475-3410.
May 18: The 28th Annual Wright Plus house walk, sponsored by the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust, will feature interior tours of eight private residences in Oak Park and River Forest that were designed by Frank Lloyd Wright or his contemporaries. Transportation between neighborhoods will be provided. Cost: $85. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call: 708-848-9518 or visit www.wrightplus.org.
May 19: The 2002 Historic House Walk, a self-guided tour of the Janesville, Wis., historic district features eight residences including a renovated middle school. Volunteers and residents will be at each location to discuss architectural features of the buildings and answer questions. Cost: $10 in advance; $12 day of tour. Call: 608-756-4509 or online at www.lincolntallman.org. Hours: noon to 5 p.m.
May 21: The Glencoe PTA’s “Housewalk 2002: Ideas for all Lifestyles” features five homes that reflect the diversity of housing styles in Glencoe. Award-winning gardens also will be featured. Cost: $50. Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Call: 847-835-4315.
JUNE
June 8: Six structures designed by Frank Lloyd Wright or his contemporaries will be featured on the 2002 Wright and Like Road Trip in south-central Wisconsin. Cost: $45; $40 if tickets purchased before May 1. Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call: 608-287-0339 or visit www.wrightinwisconsin.org.
June 8: The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless is sponsoring a tour of five homes in the Beachwalk resort community in Michigan City, Ind. Tour begins at Beachwalk Inc., 1949 Lake Shore Dr. Cost: $65 in advance; $75 day of event. Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call: 312-435-4548, ext. 16.
June 9: A variety of architectural styles of homes in North Arlington Heights will be showcased in the 9th Annual Arlington Heights Historical Society house walk. Cost: $22 in advance; $25 day of tour. Hours: noon to 5 p.m. Call: 847-255-1225.
June 9: The Crystal Lake Historic Preservation Commission’s 6th Annual Heritage House Walk will feature full tours of several historic homes on Woodstock Street in Crystal Lake. Cost: $8. Hours: noon to 4 p.m. Call: 815-459-0171 or 815-444-0536.
June 15: The Lakefront SRO’s 9th Annual Home and Garden Benefit Tour features some of the most beautiful country homes and gardens on the Lake Michigan shore of southwestern Michigan/Michiana area. The Lakefront SRO is a Chicago nonprofit agency that combats homelessness by preserving affordable housing. Cost: $75 in advance; $100 day of event. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. CDT. Call: 773-561-3800.
June 23: The 5th Annual House Tour of Historic LaGrange will highlight six homes, including an 1890s Victorian Queen Anne and a 1920s Dutch colonial. Proceeds benefit The Pillars Community Services social service agency. Cost: $30 in advance; $35 day of tour; $26 per ticket for groups of eight or more. Group tickets must be purchased by June 7. Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call: 708-458-6920 ext. 153.
June 23: Joliet’s Cathedral Area Preservation Association presents its 19th This Old Housewalk, featuring six homes dating from the late 1880s to the mid-1940s in the historic Cathedral neighborhood. Tour begins at Preservation Park at Wilcox and Taylor Streets. Cost: $10 in advance; $12 day of walk; additional $8 for catered lunch. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call: 815-723-7603 or online at www.capajoliet.org.
June 23: The Historic Palatine House and Garden Tour, sponsored by the Palatine Historical Society, highlights six Palatine homes and gardens. Tour starts at the Clayson House Museum, 224 E. Palatine Rd. Cost: $10 in advance; $15 day of tour. Hours: noon to 5 p.m. Call: 847-991-6460.
June 23: The Mid-South Planning & Development Commission’s 7th Annual Bronzeville Historic House Tour will showcase a variety of turn-of-the-century properties, including homes designed by such architects as Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, Henry Newhouse and Andrew Sandegren. A narrated trolley tour will be available. Cost: $25 in advance; $30 day of tour. Hours: noon to 5 p.m. Call: 773-924-1330.
June 29: Five summer homes in the historic North Beach area of South Haven, Mich., will be showcased in the 8th Annual SHOUT for South Haven Cottage Walk. Cost: $12.50. Hours: noon to 5 p.m. Call: 616-637-5252.
JULY
July 18: The Williams Bay Women’s Civic League Tour of Homes will showcase a variety of architectural and interior design styles in Lake Geneva, Wis. Cost: $22 before July 1; $25 thereafter. Hours: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call: 262-245-9400 or 262-245-5027.
