The diversity of Elgin’s architecture will be on display Sept. 11-12 during the Gifford Park Association’s annual Historic Elgin House Tour.
“We’ve gone on the tour before, and it’s great how it showcases various neighborhoods each year,” said Gloria Kellenberger, owner of one of the seven houses on this year’s tour. “That’s what’s cool about it — the chance to see the different styles of homes the city has to offer.”
Lifelong Elgin residents, Kellenberger and her husband, Jack, bought the home at 336 Hamilton Ave. in 1999, about the same time their two daughters were heading off to college.
“With the move, there was no time for empty nest sadness,” Kellenberger said.
The couple had looked at another place in the neighborhood, she said, but were drawn to the Hamilton Avenue home, which was built in 1936 in the French Eclectic style.
The house walk website, historicelginhousetour.com, notes that “a concrete geometric medallion placed directly at the center of the home above the entry is unique to this home.”
Jack Kellenberger said the couple still hopes to learn if there might be a meaning behind the medallion’s design. What they did learn over the years was their house came with quite a few quirks.
When refurbishing the basement, Jack Kellenberger said he not only found windows behind wood paneling but discovered a hole in an exterior wall that might have been used as a hiding space of some sort. He left the hole and covered it with a piece of stained glass.
When replacing a whirlpool-style upstairs bathtub, the couple discovered a Tupperware container had been put in a gap between the second-story floor and the first-story ceiling, apparently in an attempt to conceal a leaky pipe.
Still, the couple found the house to be in fairly good shape, with Jack Kellenberger doing a good deal of remodeling work himself and calling in professionals for bigger projects.
They repurposed an old door and pane glass windows from the house into parts of a shed he built on the edge of the home’s back yard, which is where the couple spends a good deal of time relaxing or entertaining friends and family.
“It’s a nice, quiet neighborhood,” Gloria Kellenberger said.
“The neighborhood is known as Grant Park, but we’re just a few blocks away from Wing Park too,” Jack Kellenberger said.
Also on the house tour is 344 Vincent Place, owned by Mark and Aimee Novelli.
“We’ve been at our current house going on seven years,” Mark Novellie said. “With three young kids, the spaciousness inside the home greatly appealed to us, as well as the beautiful historic features inside the home.”
Built in 1931, the house is a Colonial Revival style with prairie style influences and some art deco touches, he said.
There are etched glass windows and original door knobs and hardware throughout, working fireplaces in the living room and basement, what might be an original light fixture in the entryway and even a shoeshine cabinet in a back hallway leading in and out of the house, Novelli said.
But old houses come with challenges too, he said, and they had to learn how to maintain the windows and interior woodwork, work with radiant heat and deal with old piping.
“We have learned to find trustworthy people who can help us keep the home in great condition,” Novelli said.
The Novellis and Kellenbergers had been asked to showcase their homes in the 2020 tour, but the event — held annually since 1981 — was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The house walk committee has put together safe options for those who want to attend this time,” Novelli said.
Committee member Paul Bednar said those requirements include mandatory mask-wearing while inside the houses and groups limited to 10 or less, who will be monitored by a docent. Surfaces touched frequently, such as handrails, will be sanitized periodically, he said.
Electronic ticketing is being used to minimize contact and enable guest notifications and refunds. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for anyone 65 or older and $10 for anyone 18 or younger. The price increases $5 if purchased on the days of the event.
For more information or to purchase a ticket, go to historicelginhousetour.com.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
