A Message from the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans…
The first Holiday Home Tour was held in 1975 to raise money for the Preservation Resource Center and its budding programs. Held on the evening of Dec. 17, the inaugural tour was a candlelit stroll through four Garden District homes on First Street. Each home featured food, drinks and live music. The PRC’s December issue of Preservation in Print ran a feature on the tour, stating, “This Candlelight Christmas Celebration will surely become a new tradition for our historic city….” Considered a great success, the tour was attended by 400 people.
Now in its 33rd year, the Holiday Home Tour has greatly expanded, becoming one of the PRC’s top fundraising events. The PRC has preserved the charm and history of the original tour while adding to its size and scope. Today’s tour spans an entire weekend, giving tour-goers an opportunity to see seven Garden District homes over the course of two days at their own leisurely pace. It also features a holiday boutique, a professionally catered café and a ticketed patron party. Today, the tour attracts approximately 3,500 local residents and out-of-town visitors.
Just as the Holiday Home Tour has grown in size and scope, so has the PRC. Since its founding in 1974, the PRC has been working with communities, developing resources and implementing an array of programs to help preserve the architecture that makes our city unique. Our programs are ever-evolving to meet the needs of the present, but our mission remains the same: to promote the preservation, restoration and revitalization of New Orleans’ historic architecture and neighborhoods.
We at the PRC believe that preserving a city’s architecture is tantamount to preserving its soul. New Orleans would not be the city we love today without the past successes of the PRC, and it is critical that we maintain our staunch defense of the city’s rich architectural legacy. In post-Katrina New Orleans, it is particularly crucial that we rebuild in a way that is sensitive to our past, or we risk losing everything that makes our city unique.
PRC’s bricks-and-mortar programs –– Operation Comeback and Rebuilding Together –– have been major catalysts in the rebuilding of this city post-Katrina. In the past three years alone, PRC’s programs have restored 140 houses, valued at more than $7 million. At the time this issue goes to print, PRC’s Operation Comeback is working on 18 vacant and blighted properties, and 10 Katrina Cottages are in the works. And during the month of October alone, nearly 5,000 volunteers are converging under Rebuilding Together’s supervision to help revitalize five targeted New Orleans neighborhoods. Nearly 50 houses are currently in progress, and many more are in our immediate sights.
In addition to our bricks-and-mortar programs, we also promote preservation through advocacy, education, outreach and every other means at our disposal. We advocate at the local, state and federal levels to support desirable tax credits and historic zoning and to prevent inappropriate demolitions. We provide educational workshops, lectures and tours on topics ranging from stained glass to historical renovations to loan financing. We promote the preservation of our city’s cultural heritage by identifying and preserving jazz landmarks and restoring jazz musicians’ homes. We coordinate a façade easement program that offers tax breaks to owners of historic buildings in exchange for preservation of the buildings’ façades. We publish an award-winning magazine, Preservation in Print, that is the sole publication in Louisiana dedicated to news about historic buildings and neighborhoods. The list goes on, as the PRC continues to think outside the box in pursuit of its mission.
The Holiday Home Tour is just one of the many ways the PRC celebrates our city’s architecture and neighborhoods. Support the PRC’s good works by surrounding yourself with family and friends, taking a leisurely stroll through the Garden District, shopping at the holiday boutique and seeing up close the dazzling decorations on display in these beautiful homes. Join the PRC in celebrating our city’s history and architecture –– in the holiday spirit of the Garden District!
The proceeds from the Holiday Home Tour go toward PRC and its programs –– Operation Comeback, Rebuilding Together, Preservation in Print, Advocacy, and Education & Outreach.
WHO: Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans
WHAT: 33rd Annual Holiday Home Tour
Tour seven magnificent private homes in the Garden District.
Also, visit the tour headquarters to dine at the café, catered
by Palate New Orleans, or to shop at New Orleans’ premier
holiday boutique.
WHEN: Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 13 and 14,
from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
WHERE: The tour is self-guided through the Garden District.
Headquarters will be at Trinity Episcopal Church’s Bishop
Polk Hall, 1329 Jackson Ave.
HOW: Purchase tickets in advance by calling 581-7032 or visiting
www.prcno.org. On the day of the tour, tickets may be
purchased at the headquarters at Trinity Episcopal Church.
Ticket prices:
Purchased in advance:
$32 for non-members / $27 for PRC members / $25 for groups of 10 or more
Purchased on the day of the tour:
All tickets are $40.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Live performances by New Orleans musicians at each home on the tour
- A holiday boutique with a wide variety of vendors selling unique artisan wares
- A café catered by Palate New Orleans, a local caterer that celebrates the native cuisine and culture of New Orleans
TOUR OF HOMES
Honorable & Mrs. Olivier Brochenin
2406 Prytania St.
Sally & Richard Edrington
2325 Coliseum St.
Stephen B. Murray Jr.
2265 St. Charles Ave.
Julia Reed & John Pearce
1236 First St.
Camilo Salas & Jennifer Fallon
1206 Second St.
Janet & Leonard Tallerine
1323 First St.
Leland vanDeventer & Tommy Barzilla
1213 Fourth St.
