Historic Takoma
History Lives Here
History Lives Here
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, one of the new moms on Maple Avenue, 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. Just as in 1973 and every year since on the first Sunday in May 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. See for yourself by joining us for the next tour.
Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 pandemic, Historic Takoma was not able to conduct the annual tours in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
2023 Update – Historic Takoma appreciates the community’s many expressions of interest in reviving the House and Garden Tour. Although we are not able to organize the event for 2023, we look forward to the tour’s return in 2024. Thanks to all of you for your support.
Volunteer: The tour is all volunteer organized and volunteer docents are a key component of the tour. If you would like to volunteer for a two-hour shift, please let us know using the Contact Form and entering “HGT Volunteer” in the subject line.
Highlights from the tour booklets of previous years.
Index of houses and gardens that have been on the tours.