A Timeless Tradition: Get Ready for Our Annual House Tour Benefit!
Whether you’re a local, live nearby, or are just passing through, Village Preservation’s annual House Tour Benefit is not one to miss. For 24 years and counting, some of our community’s most beautiful and unique homes have opened their doors and allowed us (and you!) inside for a look at exquisite interiors, meticulous restorations, unparalleled art collections, and many rich layers of history.
Part of what makes our neighborhood so special is its historic built environment. The area features a variety of styles, from Federal-style townhouses to elaborate Greek Revival and Italianate homes, showcasing a rich history of design over the centuries.
And now that it’s officially Spring, we are counting down the days until May 4th, when we get to experience this treasured tradition yet again. To get us in the House Tour spirit, today we take a stroll down memory lane for a look at some of the homes and architectural wonders featured on our tour in years past.
17 Commerce Street
Not only does the House Tour allow us to see how our neighbors decorate and restore their homes, but it also grants us the opportunity to walk back in time (often to the 19th Century). The late federal-style brick townhouse at 17 Commerce Street once belonged to Vice President Aaron Burr, who bought the home’s plot from Samuel Jones in the early 1800s, likely because of its close proximity to his Richmond Hill estate.
The property was torn down and rebuilt by stonecutter Abraham R. Bogert in 1829. The home is quintessential Greenwich Village: quaintly adorned by charming accents of another century (a personal favorite being the wrought-iron pineapples found on the stoop — a symbol of hospitality for guests as they enter the home). The Flemish bond brickwork, paneled stone lintels, and doorway pilasters are all original to the home.
And like all gracefully aged entities, this home is lived in, worn, and settled. About 10 years before Bogert built the townhouse, Minetta Creek ran underneath, causing many of the block’s homes, including this one, to settle slightly with the perceptible slant seen today.
17 Commerce Street is a thoughtful blend of history and modern living. The parlor floor features original wood windows and floorboards as well as a fireplace mantle that dates back to the 1860s. In the 1980s, the home underwent renovations and extensions, specifically in the kitchen and dining room.
18 West 10th Street
About a ten-minute walk northeast of Commerce Street brings us to the elegant Italianate townhouse of 18 West 10th Street. Built in the mid-1800s, the brick townhouse reflected changes taking place on the block and in the broader neighborhood at the time. With Fifth Avenue’s growing popularity, the upper middle class flocked to the avenue’s side streets, like West 10th, and a wave of construction followed. Residents of 18 West 10th Street over the years have included such luminaries as American author Emma Lazarus (July 22, 1849–November 19, 1887) who notably wrote “The New Colossus,” featured on the Statue of Liberty.
Over the years the home experienced much flux and suffered structurally a great deal. Layers of dirt and grime had accumulated, and broken pipes stuck straight out of the walls. Fortunately, a prescription of TLC was all 18 West 10th needed, with renovations and updates combined with many of the home’s architectural features restored to their full glory, such as the fireplace found on the parlor floor which is original to the house. The interior is a perfect melding of its historic roots and contemporary aesthetics with additions like a back library complimenting the original Victorian window grills found on the basement’s windows.
This is just a taste of some of the past treasures found on the house tour over the years, and an indication of what’s to come this year. We hope to see you on May 4th!
Consider becoming an individual tour supporter here or a corporate sponsor here.