The Preservation Society of Chapel Hill Holiday House Tour

The Preservation Society of Chapel Hill at the Horace Williams House

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The Preservation Society of Chapel Hill's 2006 Holiday House Tour

"A Stroll Through History"
Rosemary Street & Tenney Circle

Saturday, December 9, 2006 and Sunday, December 10, 2006 - 1 - 5 p.m.

The Horace Williams House - Headquarters for the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill

The Horace Williams House - Headquarters for the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill

On Saturday, December 9 and Sunday, December 10 from 1 to 5 p.m. each day, the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill will sponsor its annual celebration of history and hospitality with a wonderfully walkable tour of seven private homes on Rosemary and North Streets and Tenney Circle, the Horace Williams House, the Chapel Hill Museum, and the Chapel Hill Historical Society.

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 the day of the tour and may be purchased starting the first week in November at the Horace Williams House, Bloom in Southern Village, Botanica in University Square, Chapel Hill Museum on Franklin Street, McIntyre’s Books in Fearrington Village, Morgan Imports in Durham, The Painted Bird in Carr Mill, Purple Puddle on Elliott Road, Salutations in Meadowmont, University Florist on Franklin Street, Womancraft in Eastgate, and A Southern Season at University Mall. (On the days of the tour, tickets will only be available at the Horace Williams House, the Chapel Hill Museum, and the Chapel Hill Historical Society). Please plan to pay with cash or check at all locations.

About the Homes

The homes on this year’s tour present a wonderful overview of Chapel Hill’s history from its earliest days through the 1950s and ‘60s, showing the evolution of a Chapel Hill style that has always been both modest and modern. The oldest home on the tour, lovingly restored by John and Elizabeth Pringle, was part of a working farm until late in the 19th century.

Two Arts and Crafts style houses on Rosemary Street from the 1910s reflect the history of town and gown and also exemplify two very different approaches to historic preservation.

In 1911 University librarian Louis Round Wilson built the home at 607 East Rosemary and lived there until his death in 1979 at the age of 103. Susan Seehusen and Louis Perlmutt purchased the home from Wilson’s daughters and created a Danish modern interior within the historic façade.

Edward Smith’s home at 611 East Rosemary was built in 1914 by the “mother of the Good Roads program,” Harriet Berry. Current owner Edward Smith recently completed a striking “Arts and Crafts makeover” that highlights and enhances the home’s authentic period style.

The Stacy-King Home on North Street and the residences created for Erle Peacock and Fred Bowman on Tenney Circle are striking examples of the simple elegance of homes built in the 1920s and ‘30s that for many people epitomize Chapel Hill charm.

Finally, the Welsh-Lamberton-Gravely-Ross house was designed by the “father of the California ranch house,” Cliff May and recently updated by VIETRI import company CEO Susan Gravely and her husband Bill Ross to reflect the family’s love of all things Chapel Hill and all things Italian. Tour goers will experience all this history and style in a four-block radius!

The Horace Williams House, magnificently decorated for the holidays, will be a center of activity on the days of the tour. Dr. Ruth Little will be available on tour days to sign copies of her recently published book The Town and Gown Architecture of Chapel Hill, 1795-1975. The Horace Williams House Art Committee will sponsor an exhibition of magnificent felted wool clothing and accessories by Emily Mills Reed (that will run from December 3rd until the house closes for the holidays on Friday, December 22). Finally, on Sunday, December 10 at 7:30 p.m., the Society will host a recital by harpsichordist Beverly Biggs, and baroque violinist Karen Walthinsen. A $10 donation is requested at the door.

Please plan to join us for this wonderful celebration of Chapel Hill’s history and hospitality that supports the work of the Preservation Society and the Horace Williams House.

This tour is an important fund-raising event that sustains the ongoing work of the Preservation Society to protect the built and natural environment of Chapel Hill and is an opportunity for the public to get a look inside some of the loveliest and most significant properties that give our community its unique charm. For more information, contact PSCH director Catherine Frank at 919-942-7818 or chpreservation@mindspring.com.

Rosemary Street &Tenney Circle | The Homes