FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 13, 2009
CONTACT: Molly Dannenmaier
Director of Marketing and Public Relations,
409-765-7834

35Th Annual Galveston Historic Homes First Impression Tour To Feature Beachtown Idea House And Soon-To-Be-Reopened Downtown Tremont House

For press-ready downloadable photographs and additional information about the homes on tour, go to http://www.galvestonhistory.org/ec-hht2009-pr.asp

Every year, one of the most popular special events associated with the Galveston Historic Homes is its Friday Preview Tour. This year, that tour is scheduled for Friday, May 1 from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. and is titled First Impression: A Sunset Celebration of an Island's Rebirth.
Five properties, some of which are not included in the regular Homes Tour, will be on this preview tour. Tickets are $60 per person, including refreshments and a 2009 Homes Tour ticket.

Photo by Robert Mihovil/Courtesy Beachtown.

The First Impression evening begins at Beachtown's Coastal Living Magazine Idea House with wine and hors d'oeuvres from 5:30 to 7:30.
Beachtown Developer Tofigh Shirazi worked with New Urban Guild architect Michael Imber to create a house that blends design based on historic Galveston architecture with cutting edge modern construction techniques.
The house reflects the charm and beauty of historic Galveston.
Atlanta-based interior designer Susan Bozeman balanced historic style with the latest in home decor for an overall design that appears to have evolved over time.

The First Impression evening will end at the soon-to-be-reopened Tremont House Hotel, located at 2300 Ship's Mechanic Row in downtown Galveston.
The historic hotel suffered extensive flood damage to its first floor during Hurricane Ike as did all Galveston's historic downtown buildings.
Scheduled to reopen in June, 2009, the hotel will be the venue for dessert and coffee for First Impression Tour patrons as they enjoy a sneak peak of the hotel lobby, which received seven feet of flood water during Hurricane Ike. Located in the lavish 1879 Leon and Blum building, the Tremont House is a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Historic Hotels of America program.

Three privately owned homes complete the First Impression evening.
Exclusive to the First Impression tour, the 1890 Ernestine Van der Linde cottage at 1715 Ball was the first house built in the 1700 block of Ball after a fire in 1885 razed the neighborhood. The house was built by German contractor William Pautsch, who replicated the detail ornamentation of the attached gable-fronted cottage in 1892 when he built the two neighboring cottages.

In 1893, Architect Henry R. Cooke designed 1805 Broadway for Galveston Wharves' general manager John E. Baily and his wife, Laura. This elegant Victorian house has stylistic elements reminiscent of the shingle covered houses in New England. The original contract between Cooke and Baily specified an eight-room house with three halls, a kitchen, pantry, bathroom, three brick chimneys, three mantles and grates to be built for a total price of $3,325.00. Its eight-foot elevation enabled it to escape both the 1900 Storm and Hurricane Ike with only minor damages.
Originally built at 613 19th Street, for Dr. Cary Wilkenson and his wife, Laura, this house was purchased by GHF and moved to its current location ( 1605 Avenue K) in March, 2007, to save it from demolition.
Featured last year as the "restoration in progress" this house features completed additions and rehabilitation and will be a highlight of this year's tour.

Advance tickets for the Galveston Historic Homes Tour, the First Impression Tour and numerous other special coach, walking and bike tours during the first two weekends in May, are now available on the Galveston Historical Foundation website www.galvestonhistory.org or by calling 1-877-77CLICK. For more information call 409-765-7834.

Click on this link for address and directions:
http://www.beachtowngalveston.com/contactus.htm