Elegance 2008
This year’s home tour in the North Edgewater area was incredible! Thanks to seven generous home owners and many volunteers, the Edgewater Historical Society was able to present one of the best tours yet. And, of course, after 20 years on the same weekend, we have grown accustomed to great weather.
The tour began at St. Gertrude Church at Granville and Glenwood. The church generously loaned us table and chairs and kept the church open so that tour-goers could see the beautiful gothic style interior. With books in hand, the tour-goers were directed to go north, either to the home on Glenwood or down Thome to see the only house on that street. It took some imagination to picture the area with only these few Victorian homes standing on otherwise empty blocks.
Among the homes open for viewing were three on Highland that dated from before 1900. Though built within a few years of each other, they each had unique design elements and updated interiors that made comparisons interesting. This area was at one time called Edgewater Park and, when he began doing the research, LeRoy Blommaert discovered that some of the record keeping was not very precise. One house had two permits and another had no permits.
Further on down Highland were three concrete two-flats designed by A. E. Norman. One owner offered his for the tour and, because of his research, we all learned a little about concrete as a construction material. It’s hard to believe those bricks were made on site.
And perhaps the most unique home on the tour was the former Edgewater Dairy, which has been completely transformed into a remarkable living space. Most of us who saw it wanted to just move in and enjoy the wide expanse of deck on the second level on that beautiful day. Later in the afternoon, the last stop on the tour was Uncommon Ground Restaurant which offered tour-goers refreshments.
We like to thank the homeowners, the Klevorns; the Merriman Heins; the Quinn Ellis; the Riggenberg-Varona, the Goncu Leons, Tim Lynch and Ginger Bonneau for their generous sharing of their homes. Thanks also to Dennis Matyja for showing his garden. and teaching us all about how to design for a small urban lot.
A special thanks to all our volunteers: Ceci Murphy, Evangeline Mistaras, Emily Gross, Linda Komosa, Bob Remer, Thom Greene, Marieluise Kailing, Suzanne Darnell, Nancy Schroeder, Larry Ebert, Ed Gross, Sylvia Lynch, Sandee Remis, Elisabeth Szegho, Dave Gemperle, Lori Lynch, Tom Murphy, Kate Welborn and Betty and Ara Mayian.
Thanks also to LeRoy Blommaert, who researches properties on the tour and also works hard on publicity.
We’re sure that you’ve noticed our yellow signs sprouting everywhere. We have heard that people think the signs indicate a home on the tour, but there are so many of them and they are changed during the few weeks before the tour. The signs are there to remind you that the tour is coming soon. On each sign is a flyer that tells you the starting location. We ask members and friends to display the signs. But just driving by you can’t get the info on the flyer. We are sorry for any confusion and hope that more people will understand that the flyer has all the details.
Many thanks to St. Gertrude Church for hosting the pretour supper before the volunteers get a preview of the tour. Thanks also to the church for hosting the tour starting point. Thanks to the Uncommon Ground restaurant at Glenwood and Devon for being the last refreshing stop on the tour. It was a memorable tour… and so elegant.