Above: An image from the 2007 Home and Garden Tour

2008 House and Garden Tour (WCNA website - go here for more info!)

September 6th and 7th
Printable Map (PDF)

“The 26th Annual West Central Neighborhood House and Garden Tour will highlight gardens, historic homes and other buildings from the 19th and 20th centuries in an effort to promote neighborhood revitalization and historic preservation. Also featured during the tour will be the West Central Arts Fest showcasing the talents of neighborhood visual and performing artists.

11am to 5pm
Free horse-drawn carriage rides

Advance sale tickets are $9 each - $12 days of tours (children age 12 and under are free)

Advance ticket sales begin August 25, 2008 at the following locations:
Neuhouser Nursery (8046 Stellhorn Rd.)
Neuhouser Garden & Gifts (4605 W. Jefferson Blvd.)
Antiques on Broadway (1115 Broadway)
Umber’s Ace Hardware stores (2413 Lower Huntington Rd., 2814 Maplecrest Rd.)
Home Grown Bead & Candle Shoppe (125 W. Wayne St.)

Ticket sales on tour days will be at:
Swinney Park near the Swinney Homestead (1424 W. Jefferson Blvd.)
St. Joseph Hospital parking lot (Broadway between W. Wayne St. and W. Washington Blvd.)

Free parking is available at:
Tennis courts at Swinney Park (near 1424 W. Jefferson Blvd.)
Washington Elementary School (Rockhill St. and W. Jefferson Blvd.)
St. Joseph Hospital parking lot on Broadway between W. Wayne St. and W. Washington Blvd.) on-street (no money needed for meters)”

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Hard work, love turn 1867 house into home
Couple will open West Central house to public for neighborhood tour
Link (NS)

“The Husars have lived in and worked on the cozy brick Italianate home for 19 years, crafting it into a home that suits their lifestyle and tastes. This year they’ll open up their home and garden to the public as part of the West Central House and Garden Tour.

Cindy’s childhood doctor’s office was in the West Central neighborhood, and she always loved the area and wanted to live there someday. “Thankfully, John was willing to live here, too,” she says.

They bought their home in 1990 for $47,500. Since then, they figure they’ve put $40,000 to $50,000 into it. Over the years they’ve “poured concrete, landscaped, painted and repainted, refinished some floors, installed more historic lighting, had most things replumbed” and reconfigured the kitchen. And that’s only a partial list.

The Husars’ decorating style complements the home’s age.

“I have called it ‘Grandma chic’ because I have incorporated many things from my grandma and things that John and I have purchased or found, such as an antique bubblegum-pink corduroy, claw-foot, camelback sofa,” Cindy says.

Antiques such as a gramophone with a large bell give the illusion of stepping back in time.

When the house was first built, the clip-clop of horses would have constituted traffic noise. Now trucks, buses and cars zoom by on the busy street. The Husars say the noise is not much of a distraction. “Unless you are actually on the front sidewalk,” Cindy says.”