The
Northside House Tour has been held 16 times since 1990. This year’s event, which will be held from noon to 5 p.m. on Sept. 25, will feature 12 homes from a variety of historic periods.
“Back when the tour started, the neighborhood was in much different shape, and it was a way to let people know that Northside was a good place to live,” says Ryan Mooney-Bullock, publicity coordinator for the tour. “Now people know that, but they might not get to see how people are really living in the neighborhoods.”
The self-guided tour allows the public an up-close-and-personal look at how residents have renovated, rehabilitated and decorated the neighborhood’s stock of historic homes.
This year, two modern houses — which are both LEED certified — will be featured, as well as Victorian, Tudor and Colonial Revival houses.
“The tour does a great job of showcasing the architectural history of the neighborhood and how it’s grown over the years,” Mooney-Bullock says.
The exact houses that are on the tour won’t be released until the day-of as a way to keep the event a surprise. But the houses are spread out within a two-block radius of Hamilton Avenue, spanning from the southern end of the business district and up the hill.
In tandem with the event, many realtors also host open houses. None of the houses on the tour are for sale, but there have been instances of people who moved to Northside after falling in love with a particular street or house they saw while on the tour.
Tickets are $15 in advance and will be for sale online Sept. 12-24 as well as at all Northside Bank locations, Shake It Records, Taylor Jameson Salon and Building Value. You can also purchase your tickets day-of for $18 at McKie Recreation Center, which is where the tours begin.
You will receive a passport booklet at McKie, which includes a map of all of the homes on the tour, as well as a description and photo of each house. There are also QR codes that you can scan in the booklets for more information.
The route is walkable, but you can also drive from house to house.
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