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Another Successful Tour Comes to a Close

On Sunday, May 9, 2010, for the 28th time, the Monrovia Historic Preservation Group held a home tour.  And for the 28th time visitors came to take that step back in time to walk through carefully and lovingly restored period homes.  How do we judge that it was successful?  By the amount of money collected or the number of people present?  No, we measure success by the number of smiles, which on that day were wide and many.  The Mother’s Day Home Tour is MOHPG’s annual fundraiser, enabling the organization to support its preservation efforts.  But the tour also enables MOHPG to educate attendees on the worth of preserving these vintage structures. Both goals appeared to have been met.  While the exact number of guests won’t be known until the final tour report, it is estimated that between 800 and 900 people were in attendance.  Add to that the 200 volunteers working to insure a successful tour and one can easily imagine the scene on Highland throughout the day.

The weather cooperated with early overcast skies and mild temperatures, an ideal combination for walking from house to house.  Lines in front of the houses were moderate, which only increased the tour goers anticipation of viewing some truly spectacular homes, all of them large, two-story houses.  The numerous docents stationed throughout the homes, many in period attire, enhanced the visitors experience by sharing historic anecdotes (for example, one house had a speakeasy during the Depression!).

Following the immensely popular format used for the past two years, four of the five homes on the 2010 tour were located on one street.  Highland Place is the widest residential street in Monrovia, with trees lining and overhanging the street.  With its wide variety of vintage homes, Highland Place can lay claim to being one of the attractive streets in the city.  View a Photo Gallery of the tour!

All photgraphs by Larry Marotta