42nd Annual Grant Park Spring Tour of Homes May 21-22

By Christy Simo
The 42nd annual Grant Park Spring Tour of Homes taking place on May 21 and 22 offers a glimpse inside nearly a dozen properties throughout the neighborhood, including a Craftsman bungalow, a 1920s Gothic Revival church repurposed into commercial space, and stunning new additions to historic homes.
“My wife and I had our house on the tour last year, and it was such a fantastic experience that I wanted to get more involved with this year’s tour,” says event chair Heidi Reis. “It’s a great way to meet other neighbors and see how others have adapted their historic homes to suit a modern life.”
Once again the tour will be featuring a historic home under construction so attendees can see what goes into the restoration and rehabilitation of a historic property. Last year’s featured house under construction, the “Painted Lady” at 367 Park Avenue, is almost unrecognizable. The fully restored four-story house is on this year’s tour, so be sure to stop by and see how much it has changed.
This year’s tour also includes a house with a mystery door that goes nowhere, an 1898 home with a basement original to the house – practically unheard of in Grant Park – and an award-winning 100-year-old oak tree in one of the historic home’s backyards.
Proceeds from the annual event go toward neighborhood projects like the Ormond-Grant Park Playground Renovation and the new Grant Park Community Garden – Boulevard, which will also be on this year’s tour. Located at the northwest corner of Boulevard and Robinson Road, the neighborhood’s newest community garden is also creating an “art fence” to welcome people to Grant Park as they drive north on Boulevard.
Volunteers are still needed at houses on the tour! If you are interested, be sure to go to www.gpna.org/tourofhomes to select the house and times you want to volunteer. Volunteers will receive a complementary ticket to this year’s Spring Tour of Homes and to the neighborhood’s annual costume party and fundraiser, the Mothball, held each fall.
Special thanks to the Grant Park annual and individual business sponsors who will be supporting this year’s tour. Look for coupons and more information about our sponsors in the back of the tour brochure during the event.
Tickets are $20 for adults in advance ($25 day of), $10 for kids under the age of 18, and free for children under the age of 3. For more information on the Grant Park Spring Tour of Homes or to purchase tickets, go to www.gpna.org/tourofhomes.