2019 Holiday Tour of Historic Homes Benefitting the Olympia Historical Society & Bigelow House Museum
The Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum is sponsoring the Holiday Tour of Historic Homes. This year’s event is on Sunday, December 8, 2019 from noon to 4:00 pm featuring nine historic properties including the Bigelow House at 918 Glass Avenue NE.
This year marks 30 years of holiday historic home tours in Olympia and the 2019 event highlights outstanding examples of 19th and 20th century residential architecture representing important eras in the city’s history. Dating to the 1860s, the Bigelow House will have special holiday décor and musical performances on vintage instruments. Several homes on the tour are clustered near Olympia High School including Cloverfields, home to Hazard Stevens, son of first Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens. Also open will be the Woman’s Club of Olympia at 1002 Washington Street SE and the 1892 White House, now home to the Swantown Inn B & B and Spa.
Tour tickets are $25.00 per person and are available to purchase in advance at Artistry in Flowers at 300 Cleveland Avenue SE, Drees at 524 Washington St. SE and Thompson’s Furniture at 5407 Capitol Boulevard as well as online at www.olympiahistory.org. If not purchased in advance, tickets will be sold on the day of the House Tour at the Bigelow House and at the Egbert-Ingham House, located at 2708 Adams Street. Sponsors of the event are: Drees, Olympia Federal Savings, Mary P. Dolciani Halloran Foundation, Lifespan Construction, Paul Battan, Attorney at Law, and Swalling Walk Architects. Thanks also to Olympia Coffee Roasting for offering a free beverage to ticket holders on the day of the tour at its Wildwood store at 2824 Capitol Boulevard.
Net proceeds of the tour benefit the preservation and interpretation of Olympia’s historic Bigelow House and programming throughout the year by the Olympia Historical Society. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places and one of the state’s oldest residences, the Bigelow House is owned by the non-profit Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. The house has its original furnishings and has been restored to reflect Washington’s Territorial period, along with later period dining room and kitchen. It was the home of Daniel and Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow and their descendants for well over 100 years before becoming a museum.
For questions about the Home Tour event, email olyhistory@gmail.com. For more information about the Olympia Historical Society including membership form, go to www.olympiahistory.org.
