Freehold through the Ages: Historic House Tour S

[admin]

FREEHOLD BOROUGH, NJ – One of the very few towns in Monmouth County that is abundant in historic homes is set to showcase appealing examples of American residential architecture. Freehold Borough will host a grand tour of homes that exemplify period building design from pre-Revolutionary War through the present. The “Freehold through the Ages” home tour is set for Saturday, June 20, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.


The tour is conceived and implemented under the guidance of Freehold Borough’s Historic Preservation Committee, a body composed of volunteers whose goal is to protect the hundreds of historic buildings and landmarks throughout the borough, as well as to raise awareness in the community about proper care and deference to historic edifices.


“Our historic home tour is perfect for people who love America’s rich history and want to learn details about period architecture, as well as those looking to invest in an older home for restoration value,” says Muriel J. Smith, Preservation Commission member who is co-chairmen, with Anthony DiFlumeri, of the event. “Freehold Borough is teeming with beautifully maintained homes that are clear windows of what life was like here in the past.”

The participating homes and ticket prices will be announced in March. Persons wishing further information can contact Ms Smith at [e-mail]

[ka19]

Awesome!

[admin]

Here is an updated release.....
Freehold through the Ages on Tour June 20

FREEHOLD - A Freehold Through the Ages Home Tour will feature nine houses
dating from the 18th through 20th centuries, Muriel J. Smith, co-chairman of
the House Tour, announced this week.
The Tour, scheduled for June 20, is being sponsored by the Historic
Preservation Commission of the borough, with the purpose of accenting the
variety of architecture and historic significance throughout the residential
areas of the borough. The tour also highlights the popularity Freehold has
enjoyed for more than 200 years of homesteading.
The homes will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 20, with guides in
each of the residences to explain the history of the structure and some of
the items of interest in each of the homes.
A special feature of the tour will be the display of a vacant Victorian
house in need of renovations, which will also be used as a headquarters for
the Tour that day.
"This is a place for our visitors to dream and imagine," Mrs. Smith
said, "they can tour the two main floors of the house, see the rooms in the
basement with their painted walls, and imagine how they would decorate the
house themselves. Tour goers can also relax and rest a few minutes on the
wraparound porch and who knows? Perhaps some owner one day will rehabilitate
the house and put it on a future house tour. This year's tour visitors will
then have a Before and After view of a gracious Victorian home." The home is
located on W. Main St. and was once the home of local physician Dr. and Mrs.
McDonald and their family of 13 children
Other houses on the Tour include the borough's oldest house, the
Covenhoeven House, now the property of the Monmouth County Historical
Association, and a house steeped in history from the days of the Revolution;
the Kuperberg House on Broadway, a Victorian home with designer renovations
that feature individuality in each of the rooms; the Gaetano House at 120
South St. an award winning Victorian home featuring unique colors and
magnificent carpentry and woodworking; the gracious Hepburn House, a Queen
Anne structure at 15 Monument St. once the home of a local physician and his
family, now a Bed & Breakfast; the Yow home at 128 W. Main Street, built in
the early part of the 20th century and featuring both French and pocket
doors, a stone fireplace and chestnut woodwork; the Kenny home at 21
Monument St., an impressive mid-20th century home with living accommodations
on four levels; the Nicosia home at 27 Morris Street, a custom contemporary
multi--level home with a unique open floor plan; and the newest house, the
Benson Home at 94 Broad Street, built at the end of the 20th century and
featuring a spa-like master bath, sweeping circular staircase, and large
working kitchen adjacent to a comfortable family room.
Another highlight of the Freehold Through the Ages tour will include
special discounts and offers from local restaurateurs for guests on the
tour. First to offer a special Tour rate is Solo's Italian restaurant on
South St., offering a 20 per cent discount for either lunch or dinner for
tour visitors.
"Our homes in Freehold are magnificent, and our business district is
equally impressive with its variety of offerings," Mrs. Smith said, "we have
restaurants featuring foods from more than half a dozen different
ethnicities, in addition to outstanding American fare," she said, "what
better way to sample something new than planning a day of visiting gracious
homes and relaxing over a meal or snack either at the mid way point, before
or after the Tour?"
Tickets for the tour are $30 and will be available through Commission
members in advance or at the McDonald house the day of the Tour.

[Bermuda98]

This is fantastic....

[admin]

www.app.com/article/20090527/GETPUBLISHED/905270374/1285/LOCAL09/Freehold+s+historic+homes+open+to+public+June+20

Freehold's historic homes open to public June 20

FREEHOLD BOROUGH -- Any house that has been home to 14 gregarious, happy-go-lucky children growing up is bound to be filled with stories, laughter and more than a few scars and chips.



Many of these stories will be told Saturday, June 20 when nine spectacular homes are open to the public for a walking tour. The Freehold Through the Ages House Tour, sponsored by the Freehold Borough Historic Preservation Commission, is headquartered in the former home of the late Dr. and Mrs. George McDonnell at 97 W Main Street.

The tour's purpose is to showcase and accentuate the vast variety of architecture from Georgian style to modern, featuring nine homes built in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Tickets are $30 and are available at Freehold Borough Hall, at ReMax Real Estate office on Main St. or by calling 732-431-7548. Tickets will also be available at the McDonnell house from 9 a.m. the day of the tour.

Tourgoers will not only be able to enjoy experiencing the unique historic architecture of the homes, they will be treated to many stories of typical ways of life during the past centuries and decades.

For example, Dr. McDonnell was a Notre Dame University graduate who interned at what is now Monmouth Medical Center in the 1930s, where he net his wife, Kathleen, a nurse. After serving as a Captain with the US Army medical corps during World War II, Dr. McDonnell established his practice on Main Street and purchased the historic 1897 Victorian style house at 97 W. Main to raise his rapidly growing family.

The McDonnells purchased pieces of furniture and artifacts from previous owners of the house, some of which are still in the McDonnell family collection and will be on display June 20. Letters, cards, deeds, photographs and cancelled checks from local banks dating back to the 1800s will be on display, together with Dr. McDonnell's medical bag from his half century of caring for the ill and making house calls.

But the stories the McDonnell offspring tell will have visitors listening in some of the rooms for ghosts, inspecting other rooms for scratches or autographs on the walls, and imagining the escapades of an Irish Catholic family in the mid-20th century. Docents will be in the house to explain how the upstairs back bedroom was added and why; why there were never fires in any of the home's several fireplaces, or where their father acquired a World War II water color painted by a German POW.

"We are hopeful some family members will be able to be here during the tour," said Muriel J. Smith, Historic Preservation Committee Co-chairman. "We've met with them and have been absolutely charmed by the folksy, warm-hearted, funny and mischievous memories they have of growing up Irish in a big home in Freehold."

Other homes on the tour include the oldest, the Covenhoven House and the Yow House, both on West Main St.; the Benson house on Broad Street, the Taylor Farm Homestead on Broadway, the Gaetano house on South St., (last year's winner of the Preservation Commission's Restoration Award), the Hepburn House and the Kenny house, both on Monument Street, and the Nicosia house on Morris St.

[admin]

Did anybody go to this? I was working, as usual. The weather was rotten, but how was the turn out?

[admin]

I understand that about 44 people showed up for the tour and many of them took advantage of the discounts from the local restaurants.

That is a good turn out considering the weather that day. This was a good thing for the HPC to do because it puts us on the map in a good way. Lets hope they do more of these tours in the future.