House & Garden Tour

The first House and Garden Tour took place on Sunday May 6, 1973, in the midst of contentious debate over whether the original homes in Takoma Park were worth saving. Ellen Marsh, a respected leader in Takoma’s neighborhood preservation movement, convinced a couple dozen of her friends that the best way was to let people tour their homes to see what would be lost. And the tour was born. 

A volunteer committee did the organizing until 2002, when Historic Takoma took it over. The Tour is Historic Takoma’s principal source of fundraising. Each spring, on the day of the tour visitors receive a booklet with a map and house descriptions and proceed with their own self-guided tour.  Each tour explores a specific neighborhood within a compact set of blocks. We hope you will join us for the next tour!

The success of the tour depends on volunteers to plan, organize, and execute the tour. Many skills are needed. Volunteer docents are a key component of the tour. If you would like to volunteer for a two-hour shift, please contact us here. If you are interested in helping with other aspects of the 2026 tour please contact us at info@historictakoma.org.