Spring Tour of Homes Celebrates World War I in Montgomery

For the last several years, Landmarks Foundation of Montgomery/Old Alabama Town has offered the public tours of Montgomery homes—cottages and bungalows, Downtown lofts and townhouses, Frank Lockwood-designed homes, and Mid-century Modern homes. On Sunday afternoon, March 11^th, 1:00 until 5:00 four homes will be open for touring to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the entry of the United States into World War I. The Landmarks World War I Tour of Homes will feature homes built in the first decade of the twentieth century, a time particularly prosperous in Montgomery. Both Capitol Heights and the Garden District were popular new neighborhoods for Montgomery’s elite and middle class. The homes on the tour this year are:

• 103 North Lewis Street, Capitol Heights
• 2207 Winona Avenue, Capitol Heights
• 475 South Goldthwaite Street, Cottage Hill
• 1919 South Hull Street, Garden District

From the late 1890s until about 1915, Colonial Revival style homes were a favored style for up-scale new construction. In the South, Colonial Revival generally referred to an eclectic combination of neoclassical features such as those found in Georgian and Federal-inspired homes, which were more prominent in the Northeast. Neoclassical-inspired Colonial Revival houses were formal, symmetrical, and grand. One of the Colonial Revival homes on tour this year has extensive gardens with dependencies adding an extra structure to visit.

From about 1900 until the 1920s, bungalows of one or one-and-a-half stories were popular with the middle class as they were designed for informal living. Handsome decorative elements and open floor plans, as well as comfortable, simple furnishings communicated the message that bungalows were for family living. Their numerous windows, deep porches, and wide, overhanging eaves were well adapted to hot, humid summers in Montgomery.

The four houses on tour were not only selected for their architectural variety, but also for their diverse furnishings. These houses are not museum houses; rather, they are family homes, furnished with sentimental family pieces as well as personal collections that appeal to their owners.

Since 1968, Landmarks Foundations’ mission has been to preserve, interpret, and present Central Alabama’s architecture, history and culture. Proceeds of the tour will benefit the programs of Landmarks Foundation of Montgomery.

At another World War I event on Sunday afternoon, March 4 at 2:00 p.m. Mark Pace will present a lecture on Camp Sheridan at the Old Alabama Town Reception Center at 301 Columbus Street. Camp Sheridan was constructed in the summer of 1917 three miles northeast of Downtown Montgomery. In the camp, 30,000 troops of the Ohio 37th Infantry Division were trained before being sent overseas. The “Buckeye” troops left for France in June 1918 and the 9^th Infantry Division then arrived for training. The Armistice on November 11^th of 1918 ended the war. This lecture is free and open to the public.

The Landmarks World War I Tour of Homes on Sunday afternoon March 11^th will be start at 1:00 until 5:00. Tickets ($20) may be purchased online at landmarksfoundation.com.

Carole King (not the singer, just the hummer) enjoys midtown living from South Capitol Parkway in Capitol Heights where she has lived for 25+years. Carole has been the historic properties curator for the Landmarks Foundation that manages Old Alabama Town for 28 years and is passionate about neighborhoods, their architectural character, their people, and their preservation!

Tags: Carole King, featured, Home tour