2012 Tour of Homes: Spanning the Centuries...Simple to Sublime

The Geneva Historical Society’s 2012 Tour of Homes: Spanning the Centuries…Simple to Sublime, features nine buildings—seven private homes, one bed and breakfast, and one church. They include a Tudor Revival, a Prairie style home, a rowhouse and a former schoolhouse. The homes will be open for viewing on Saturday, June 9, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. To conclude the day, there will also be an organ concert at Trinity Episcopal Church by Steve Kane, the church organist, at 4 p.m.

Tickets for the tour are $15 in advance and $20 the day of the tour. They are available at the Geneva UPS Store, Pedulla’s Liquor Store, Stomping Grounds, the Geneva branches of Five Star Bank and Community Bank, Long’s Cards and Books in Penn Yan, the Ontario County Historical Society, Rose Hill Mansion, and the Geneva Historical Society. On the day of the tour tickets will only be available at the Geneva Historical Society for $20. For further information, call the Society office at 315-789-5151.

The 2012 Tour of Homes is generously supported by Phelps Sungas, Red Jacket Orchards and Lake to Lake Real Estate. The Geneva Historical Society is located in the Prouty-Chew House at 543 South Main Street and is open Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
 
This year’s tour features the following sites:

• 9-11 Park Avenue: Built in 1796 using post-and-beam construction, this house was erected to be a residence for workers such as cooks, coachmen, and draymen at Charles Williamson’s Geneva Hotel. This is the oldest house in Geneva and existing materials from the building have been used in the renovation wherever possible. The renovation is now completing its sixth year and the owner has done most of the painstaking work on the two-story, eight-room home himself.
• 164 Washington Street, Three Tree Inn: The Three Tree Inn was named after the three types of trees on the side yard, namely the catalpa, mulberry, and mountain ash. This Tudor style Bed and Breakfast was built in 1929 as a family residence and retains the charm of a summer cottage at the lake.
• 290 Washington Street: Built in 1885, this Victorian has beautiful ornate chestnut woodwork and wainscoting throughout the dining room, living room, and hall. Among the features of this home are beautiful beveled glass windows on both living room walls, four sets of sliding pocket doors, and wrap-around porches on two levels.
• 365 Washington Street: A Craftsman-style bungalow built in 1910 that boasts the fanciful, but solid architectural detail of the genre. The interiors contain the same Mission-style elements, as in the rich paneling and coffered ceiling of the dining room.
• 380 Washington Street: Built in 1913, this home shows the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie-style architecture, with its exterior characteristics of strong horizontal lines, cantilevered roof lines, low-hipped roof, casement windows, and stucco surfaces. The house has been completely renovated and returned as close to the original plan as possible.
• 242 Nursery Avenue: Built in 1914, this bungalow is decorated in a contemporary style, with clean, unfussy lines and a modern color scheme. The dining set, a family heirloom, gives the space a retro touch, while the kitchen has an unusual beamed and light-paneled ceiling.
• 485 South Main Street: Built in 1831, this large building was once a tavern and was later divided into two properties. The first floor holds the offices of the American Landmark Festivals and the lower level the apartment of its director. The space still has the original wide pine plank floors and glass windows and the house has a spectacular view of the lake out the back.
• Prouty-Chew House/Geneva Historical Society, 543 South Main Street: Originally a Federal-style house, the headquarters of the Society has late Victorian additions like an oriel window, a mansard roof and parquet flooring. Current exhibits at the museum are Geneva’s Changing Landscapes, From Toddler to Teenager: Growing Up on Vacation, and How Railroads Shaped Geneva.
• Trinity Episcopal Church, 520 South Main Street: A magnificent example of 19th-century ecclesiastical Gothic architecture, this church was based on Richard Upjohn’s design for Trinity Church on Wall Street. The Geneva church burned in 1932 and was rebuilt and restored by Upjohn’s grandson, Hobart Upjohn.
• 2343 Melvin Hill Road, Phelps: This former one-room schoolhouse was built in 1870 and sits on an acre of land. The building has been gutted and entirely remodeled by the current owners, who recovered the original school bell and added a modern kitchen and bedroom addition to the house.