New Home Tour/Project Help Commemorate HASM’s 40th Anniversary
New Home Tour/Project Help Commemorate HASM’s 40th Anniversary
SAN MARCOS, TEXAS – Preparations are well underway by the Heritage Association of San Marcos (HASM) for their annual celebration of the unique history and character of San Marcos. “Manors, Mancaves, Meadows & a Pigsty” is the theme for this year’s Heritage Home Tour during which eight distinct properties throughout the San Marcos community will be open to the public May 2 and 3 from noon to 5 p.m. This year, not all of them are historic, and most have never shown before.
To commemorate the organization’s 40th anniversary, the HASM Board has updated the Tour, and earmarked proceeds for a new project spotlighting San Marcos’ rich history. “The goal is to engage younger people in preserving and protecting our legacy,” said Cathy Dillon, Home Tour chair. “More than a century ago, this town had one of the state’s largest collections of stately mansions. Those beautifully preserved ‘big houses’ will always be the focus of the annual Heritage Tours. But history is an evolving process, so 2015 will also include interesting features and architecture from later decades.”
Four of the eight 2015 properties are true Mancaves, featuring everything from unique art, photography, and historic collectibles, to electronic gadgets, a garage full of racecars and restored ranch living at its finest. The remaining homes on the tour include two recently remodeled Victorians, a historic downtown gallery apartment and a mid-century modern home in a garden setting.
Also new this year will be the Tour’s starting point on the courthouse square, where tour goers can board limos and small busses to be driven right to the door of each of the four Historic District sites. (The four outlying sites will be, as in previous years, accessed by private car.) While en route, costumed docents will share short stories about the history of San Marcos.
The weekend’s highlight will be a May 2 Heritage Concert with the Texas Jamm Band, featuring members of George Strait’s Ace in the Hole Band. This group of legendary musicians made history by starting their careers in San Marcos before achieving country music immortality, and are “coming home” to perform here in public for the first time in years. Although George Strait himself won’t be with them, everything they play and sing is identical to what’s heard on best-selling Strait albums. In addition, band members have promised to share stories of their early
San Marcos days as well as of their millions of miles of touring the world.
With the proceeds of this year’s event, and the next two as well, HASM will begin placing historic markers on the streets in front of significant Historic District homes. This will ultimately lead to a self-guided oral history tour accessed through smart phones or car radios. Given San Marcos’ distinction of being named the fastest growing city in the US for the past two years, preserving and highlighting history is more significant than ever for the HASM.
Historic preservation is essential to and an ongoing part of the San Marcos community, known as the oldest continually-inhabited site in the Western Hemisphere following the discovery of Clovis Indian bones dating back 12,000 years.
Tickets for the Home Tour go on sale April 1. The cost is $15 if purchased in advance, either in person from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at the Chamber of Commerce or Main Street offices, or online at www.heritagesanmarcos.org. Tickets are also available for $20 on either day of the Tour. Seating for Saturday’s Heritage Concert is strictly limited to 350 attendees, and tickets for this event can be purchased only in advance, in combination with tour tickets.
GET A SNEAK PEEK
Following is a sneak peek at the upcoming “Manors, Mancaves, Meadows & a Pigsty” Tour:
- 117 N. Guadalupe, the home of Russ Hastings, is a loft in the Old Telephone Exchange building on the Guadalupe side of the square. The loft is a good example of the numerous projects currently transforming vacant upper floors in historic downtown buildings. During the tour, part of this space will be used as an art gallery.
- 902 Burleson Street, the home of Carl Deal, was built in the 1890’s on a hill overlooking the Historic District. This fascinating Mancave is a relatively unaltered Victorian, housing a large collection of photography, art and modern and historic specimens, plus an antique windmill, a chandelier in the trees and a panoramic view of San Marcos and beyond.
- 801 Belvin Street, the home of Mike and B.J. Paris, was built in the early 1900’s and is midway through a careful restoration. Though not yet finished, with its high ceilings and creative woodwork, it is already artistic and charming. It is being shown as a “work in progress” in celebration of its inspired creative ideas.
- 131 Blanco Street, the home of Barrie Breed, was built in the 1880’s, and is a deceptively large historic structure remodeled with extreme attention to detail through the years. It now incorporates numerous contemporary updates and the beautiful backyard landscape is of special note.
- 102 Rogers Ridge, the newly renovated home of John and Beth Graves, was built in the 1950’s by the founding family of iconic Aquarena Springs. Its hilltop gardens, pool and view of Spring Lake are as grand as ever, while new interiors spotlight the river and Aquarena history.
- 2420 Summit Ridge, the home of Mike Davis, is the newest house on the tour. Built very recently, the expansive Tuscan-style villa is a Mancave with a wonderful canyon view, as well as a collection of the homeowner’s favorite racecars in the front window.
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602 W. McCarty, the home of Mike McKinster, built in the 1980’s, offers yet another glimpse of life in a great Mancave. Nestled into picturesque woodlands, this handsome and unusual stone house features tasteful décor and abundant electronics.
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Four-0 Ranch at 711 W. McCarty Lane, owned by Mark and Linda Smith, was built in the 1930’s as the original SWTSU College Farm. Newly repurposed as an event center/bed & breakfast, its sprawling grounds include such inspired touches as sleeping quarters in a former stable, Howard Hughes’ private Airstream trailer, and a dining room created from the farm’s former pigsty.
For more information on the tour please call Cathy Dillon, Home Tour Chair at (512) 787-6294 or visit www.HeritageSanMarcos.org.
