Parkside Tour of Homes

Today I took my husband along with me on the annual Parkside Tour of Homes.  The Parkside neighborhood is located adjacent to the Buffalo Zoo and Delaware Park and only about a mile from where we live.  It allows visitors to tour 10 historic homes, varying in architectural and design styles.  Most of the homes date back to the early 1900s.  You can hear more about the event here.

The tour started outside the Darwin Martin House, and you were allowed to wander at your own pace to each of the ten houses on the tour.  We chose to start at the southernmost house and work our way back north towards our apartment.  Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures inside any of the homes, but here are a few of the exteriors.

Queen Anne Victorian, built 1906

American Four Square, built 1910

 

Arts & Crafts bungalow, built 1911

 

Frank Llyod Wright's Darwin Martin House, built 1903

 

Craftsman Foursquare, built 1920

Arts & Crafts, built 1925

Fortunately, much of the original woodwork remained unpainted in these houses, which is the main element of Craftsmen homes.  Most of the home owners chose to decorate in furniture styles that matched the style/time period of their houses, but once in a while I'd see a very modern room that caught me off guard.

It was my first time taking the tour, and I had a great experience.  I was a bit disappointed that in several of the homes we didn't get to see much more than the living room and dining room/kitchen.

A few tips for anyone planning on taking the tour in the future are:

1)  Wear comfortable shoes!  We walked approximately two miles traveling from house to house.  (We also walked about a mile to and from the event each way as well.)

2)  Set aside enough time.  It took us about three hours to see nine of the ten homes.  (We bypassed one house that had a huge line out front.)

3)  Bring cash.  There were nine food trucks parked along the route, as well as several adorable children selling lemonade.  (We only had about $6 on us, which only got us each a small hotdog so we were starving by the time we got home.)

4)  Use the restroom before you start the tour.  Since the tour does take several hours and you're not allowed to use the homeowners bathrooms, it was a bit of an issue.