Walk on Over: The 2nd Annual Hillsdale Historic House Tour
If, like us, you could do with a little less driving in your life, you’ll be happy to know that the second annual Hillsdale Historic House Tour is a pedestrian-friendly event: All of the buildings are on a 1/4 mile stretch of Cold Water Street, which has three of the oldest houses in the hamlet and 16 other buildings that helped win National Historic Register status for the neighborhood. “Cold Water Street is ideal for our historic house tour, because so many architectural styles from the 1800’s through the early 1900’s are represented on this one short street,” says tour chairman Matthew White. “The exteriors of all the houses have retained their period looks. Some owners have updated the interiors while others have kept or restored original elements.”
For the July 31 house tour, which benefits the Hillsdale Preservation Committee, at least four of the houses will be open to visitors, as will a Queen Anne-style building that has been a law office continuously since it was built in 1892; visitors will see the law library, maps and other records that have stayed with the building each time it has been sold to another lawyer. In addition, several long time residents of Hillsdale will be on hand to talk about the history of the houses, the street and the town.
Visitors can also tour an 1828 Federal home built onto the front of what is believed to be a late 1700’s farmhouse. The 1855 Greek Revival on the tour appears from the street to be a large single family home with four floor-to-ceiling windows framing a center door with sidelights, but it’s actually a cleverly disguised two family house. The 1867 Gothic Revival on the tour retains many original features on the outside while the interior has been updated for modern life. A brochure created for the tour will detail all the historic buildings on the street, which include excellent examples of Gothic Revival and Second Empire architecture. At the end of the street, visitors can wander the gardens of what was originally the parsonage of the Presbyterian church that was built in 1858 in the Greek Revival style.
Hillsdale Historic House Tour
Saturday, July 31; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tickets: $20
Tickets available at B&G Wine & Gourmet and at Passiflora in Hillsdale.
Day-of ticket sales at 57 Cold Water Street.
On the day of the tour select Hillsdale area restaurants, including the Swiss Hutte, Mt. Washington House, Hillsdale Country Diner and Hillsdale House, will offer a discount to patrons showing their Hillsdale Historic House Tour ticket, as will Neumann Fine Art, B&G Wines and Passiflora.
Also this weekend in Hillsdale: