The 45th Annual Central West End Association House Tour took place this past weekend on Pershing Place. Jim and I were house captains at one of the 7 houses on the tour, and we rounded up a cast of 27 stellar volunteers to help. They kept tour-goers entertained with details about the exterior and interior of the historic home embellishing my cliftnote version with gusto. Those who took the tour on Saturday morning were lucky to hear what well-known preservation historian Esley Hamilton had to say about the 1897 home's architecture and its contribution to the neighborhood, as he held forth in the homeowner's kitchen.
The photograph above shows the ticket booth on Pershing Place long before the start of the tour on Sunday.
Amy Howell Mittelstadt, right, president of the CWEA, is photographed with Operations Coordinator Amanda Dever, left. Umbrellas, which were de regueur for both Friday night's Preview Party and Saturday's daylong tour, were replaced by warm jackets on Sunday as a cold front moved into the area. The dreary weather didn't dampen the spirits of those who attended the tour, many of whom reported that they make the CWE House Tour part of their annual spring ritual. A few tour-goers, who had wandered over from The Chase Hotel, felt lucky to have stumbled upon the event.
At the end of the tour on Sunday I was finally able to take a few photographs of the Fathmans' beautiful garden, above. They created beds filled with herbs, vegetables and flowers, where there had once been asphalt. Bird feeders are placed in every available spot throughout the large backyard.
Another section of the yard contains a Japanese garden designed by landscape architect Edith Mason 50 years ago. The evergreen garden provides year 'round beauty from the family's breakfast room.
It takes much more than a village – many of the 250 + volunteers were from the neighborhood, and many from other parts of St. Louis – to pull off an event of this magnitude. First and foremost that includes the homeowners, who very generously opened their doors to the public, and to their immediate neighbors who put up with increased foot traffic and living in a goldfish bowl for several days.
Many thanks to the tireless efforts of CWEA President Amy Mittelstadt, Co-Chair Frances Thompson, Committee Member Katie O'Connor, the CWEA Board, the ever-cheerful Operations Coordinator Amanda Dever, all the house captains and volunteers for their efforts in making this event a success. Thanks also to Derek Gamlin, proprietor of Gamlin Whiskey House and his crew, who did a fabulous job supplying Preview Party guests with delicious appetizers and "woo woo" cocktails.
Be sure to support the Central West End Association by becoming a member (here). The monetary commitment is equal to 4 or 5 morning lattes (membership starts at $25 – larger donations are encouraged). Your support helps preserve the history and historic standards of this great neighborhood. The House Tour is just one of many events the organization sponsors to draw attention to the neighborhood throughout the year.
CWEA, 4814 Washington Avenue, Suite 302, (314) 367-2220.