Historic Hyde Park Neighborhood Association

6th Annual Home Tour to Help VFW

The Historic Hyde Park Neighborhood Association Board of Directors has announced that a portion of the proceeds from the 2008 Home Tour will go to help the VFW rebuild their Post on Morrison Avenue, which was nearly destroyed by fire last year. “Earmarked funds will be offered for a specific purpose,” said HHPNA President Dallas Coffield. “The Board feels that use of these funds for landscaping and exterior repairs, combined with some volunteer landscape design and labor, would benefit both the VFW and the District.”

The 2008 Home Tour will be held Saturday, March 1, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. , and begins at Kate Jackson Park. Tickets are $20 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Advance-sale tickets will be sold for $16 beginning February 9 at

The Garden Party (2832 S. MacDill)

Casa Nova (3119 Bay to Bay)

Magnolia (303 Magnolia Avenue) a Source for the Home in Hyde Park Village

Blue Moon (4203 W. El Prado Boulevard).

In the Home Tour Committee meeting held 1/24, co-chairs Rosemary Henderson and Barbara Deakin led a review of the status of each of the Home Tour subcommittees. “Ad sales for the tour brochure are a bit ahead of last year’s pace,” Barbara said. “Interviews are being conducted now for the brochure house write-ups, photos will be taken soon, and the poster and handbill layouts will be submitted before the first of February. For these publicity pieces, we’ve got another great original watercolor done by our local neighborhood artist, Kathy Durdin, that features an interior scene from one of our tour homes. As in previous years, the St Pete Times is sponsoring our tour by providing some printing and advertising services.”

"We plan to have 8 homes this year," Rosemary said. "The Home Tour has always been fun for the homeowners. I would encourage others to consider participating in future years, especially if your home has an interesting story to tell about its history or how it was restored."

The distinctive homes featured on this year’s tour reflect the diversity of the architecture styles in the Historic District. Some of the homes on this year’s tour include a Colonial Classic, lovingly updated including a recently completed kitchen renovation; a Renovated Craftsman so meticulously restored to historic renovation guidelines that the house is eligible for ad valorem tax credits – the “gold standard” of renovations; a 1920’s Mission painstakingly reconstructed to its original look and expanded to create additional style-compatible modern living space; a Tropical Bungalow Retreat - a spacious and charming bungalow-style house, converted back to a single-family house after many years as a 2-flat, with a lushly landscaped pool area that transports visitors to the islands; a Key West 4-square, the pink neighborhood landmark featuring a tin roof, wrap-around front porch, breezeways, a secluded pool area and a widow’s walk with commanding views of the Bay; and a 4-story Mediterranean Townhouse, modern in every way but with a revival exterior style.

Publicity is a challenge this year, as in past years. “While trying to keep expenses for the Tour to minimum, we are always trying to find ways to get the Tour word out and to get our homes featured in local publications,” Barbara explained. “ With the help of one of our sponsors, the St. Petersburg Times, notices and ads for our Home Tour attracts visitors from various markets, i.e. Tampa, Brandon and St. Petersburg,” she continued. Any one with connections to local publications who might be interested in doing a feature story on the Tour should contact Darlene Hester, 908-2337. Volunteers are still needed for the day-of-tour for ticket sales, home monitors, and water sales. If you are interested, please contact Del Palmer at 253-0750 (qqslow@yahoo.com).

For more information, visit the web site at www.ehydepark.org or call Barbara Deakin at 251-5399 (geomustang1408@aol.com) or Rosemary Henderson at 253-5777 (rosemaryhenderson@yahoo.com).

The Home Tour Committee getting "down to business"

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