Park Slope House Tour Wrap

So how was the Park Slope House Tour this past weekend? We couldn't make it but we heard from one reader who liked it. "They had a lot of old school period restorations with mucho detail, and the more modern renos were really well done," she wrote. "They also had homes from all over PS, not just the primo landmarked areas." Other reactions?

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Is it just me... or do house tours just seem like a really effective way to case a place for later burglary?

Then again, I was robbed blind and I didn't give anyone a tour. They just did the self-guided variety.

Posted by: tybur6 at May 19, 2009 9:56 AM

I think you answered your own question there, tybur6. Plus, few thugs would actually splurge $25 for the tour and look like they fit in with the architecture/design aficionados/geeks that normally go on these tours.

Posted by: bupe at May 19, 2009 10:32 AM

tybur6 has a valid point; a lot of people comment on the security issue during the tours. Still, it's generous, as well as an act of faith, for these people to open their homes like this. I've always called this tour "a well-orchestrated invasion of privacy" where people leave themselves open to catty comments about their homes from the masses, and this year was no exception. Most of the homes were very nice this year; there was only one out of 9 I would call less-than-wonderful (my friends used the word "tacky".) Several were beautiful blends of sleek modern and Victorian detail, but stylistically they ran the gamut from stark, open-plan minimalism all the way to an over-the-top Victorian masterpiece. Of course, that last one was owned by Clem Labine, the founder of the Old House Journal, so such enthusiasm for Christopher Dresser-inspired stenciling was to be expected. The distance between houses seemed to be a problem for some people, even with the shuttle buses provided this year. At least the rain held-off for most of the day. The oddest thing; usually each year there is one house where they ask you to remove your shoes, which isn't really unreasonable. But this year there were 5 of the nine houses asking us to remove them, which was tricky if the back yard was on tour too. Overall though, it was one of PSCC's better house tours of recent years.

Posted by: brikenny at May 19, 2009 10:32 AM

RE: casing houses on house tours; I've been working on our (PLG) house tour since 1975 and have interacted with people running other Brooklyn house tours almost as long through the old Brooklyn Brownstone Conference and, more recently, the consortium that puts out the postcards listing all the tours. AFAIK, this is an urban myth. I have never heard of such a problem ever actually occurring in Brooklyn. Perhaps international jewel thieves frequent the multi-hundred dollar house tours on the upper east side, scheduled at times riff raff like us are at work :-)

Posted by: Bob Marvin at May 19, 2009 10:48 AM

Um... Bob, most of the houses in the tours ARE multi-hundred thousand dollar houses...

Posted by: bupe at May 19, 2009 12:57 PM

I went on the tour and enjoyed it very much. Gorgeous homes. It did take a while to get to some of the further locations but the 7th ave. bus worked well for us. I especially liked the house on 14th St. It seemed so bright and liveable. My boyfriend liked the place on 11th St. He throught he could just move right in and fell at home. He also really loved the place on Berkeley but thought it seemed like a reception area.

I think this year's tour had fewer people than last's. Also, I noticed a tour group from LI and a fairly large group of old Russian speaking people. I hadn't seen this in other years, but I've only been 4 times.

The people who open up their homes are very, very generous. As far as other people casing the places, open houses of any type could conceivably serve as fact-gathering missions. But from what I've read of robberies in the area they're mostly electronics, jewelry, cash type swipes. The house tour didn't really clue us into whether or not the owners had good stashes.

Posted by: bessie2 at May 19, 2009 1:05 PM

Bupe, I think Bob means that the tours themselves cost several hundred dollars.

Posted by: Kris at May 19, 2009 1:06 PM

I stand corrected if that's the case, Bob and Kris. And not that I would go (and spend the money), but do these tours actually exist?

I think the Real Housewives of New York (ugh, can't believe I just admitted to watching that) give the 'lay public' a good idea of what those houses are like.

Posted by: bupe at May 19, 2009 1:12 PM

I didn't think the tour was that great. Some repeat homes and nothing really that interesting to me. The most interesting home was on Carroll with the American Basement. bessie2- the LI group is there every year, infact it is usually a much larger group with multiple buses, congesting the homes with long lines.

I don't have issue with folks not wanting you to trasp through their homes with your shoes on but they should have provided those blue hospital booties, to cover shoes instead of having to take them off. infact one house had them and 'forgot' to give them out so by the time you got to the door your shoes were way down the stoop and it was too late.

Posted by: bkny at May 19, 2009 1:19 PM

So, now on topic - we didn't make it to many houses, but my partner LOVED the kitchen of the house on 14th street. I admit, some of the touches were great - the huge skylight, the library ladder, the way the trash-bin was set up.

Posted by: bupe at May 19, 2009 1:32 PM

This is the third year in a row I've done the PS tour and I think I need a break. I was grateful the organizers decided to have two South Slope properties on tour because they were a nice change from the Victoriana Overload of the North Slope. The 14th Street place was really creative and the 11th Street house was a great example of taking some chances with color in a modern way, and not thinking you need to go the full William Morris wallpaper/gilt/stencil route to use color in a rowhouse.

The shoes-off thing made me cranky. If you're going to do it, (1) set up some folding chairs to make it easier; (2) open up more than just the parlor floor for viewing; and (3) let people keep their shoes on if you have hardwood floors or carpet. Get over yourselves, those surfaces are made to be walked on!

Posted by: zeebee_in_bklyn at May 19, 2009 1:49 PM

I enjoyed the tour, but the majority of the houses were not my taste. However, the house on 14th street was great! I talked to the owner who was an architect and got his card. I would like to work with him in the future (assuming I buy a fixer upper/needs work home).

Posted by: LP at May 19, 2009 3:14 PM

I expect Victorian detail and lots of Victorian decor in a house tour that takes place in a Victorian era neighborhood. I'd be really disappointed if there wasn't any. But since I like that stuff, I had a great time. I loved Clem Labine's house because of its excess and over the top exhuberance. I've seen the place in books and articles, and was thrilled to see it all close up. Would my house be like that, no, but he loves it, it shows, and I enjoyed walking through it. If I was casing the joint, he'd now be missing the light fixture that is over his dining room table. There'd be some missing Fortuny lights from a couple of other places, too.

I also loved the 14th St place. My least fave was probably the frame house, which was well done, just not my thing. Since I haven't been to too many PS tours, everything was new to me, and I just enjoyed walking around a great neighborhood.

I really don't think anyone cases houses on these tours. I agree with Bob. I even ran into Bob and his wife, coincidentally. As someone who has been on quite a few, and now runs one, the tours are full of old house lovers and people who want to get ideas for their own homes. The tours are resources, like for the reader who got the architect's card, and just fun. I'm grateful to all who opened up their homes. It's a lot of work, and a long day. Thanks.

Seriously

Posted by: Montrose Morris at May 19, 2009 5:20 PM

Whoops, thought I had erased the "seriously", which was meant for a comment I didn't make, after all. Carry on.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at May 19, 2009 5:27 PM

bupe,

I meant expensive TOURS. Look at some of the Manhattan tours here, especially the Greenwich Village one:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/garden/30webtours-001-002.html

Posted by: Bob Marvin at May 19, 2009 7:21 PM