Center School's June 12 'Tour of Homes' showcases six eclectic properties

Date: 6/7/2010

June 7, 2010.

By Debbie Gardner

Assistant Managing Editor

LONGMEADOW -- If you have an interest in architecture, a passion for decorating or a soft spot for history, Center School has the perfect Saturday activity for you.

On June 12 from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the school's Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) will present its 20th Tour of Homes, offering visitors the chance to peek behind the front doors of a half-dozen Longmeadow homes ranging in age and design from a 1908 Colonial Revival to a 1933 Tudor to a 1950s ranch to a once-controversial 1970s Mexican-style hacienda.

A chance to view the contemporarily-styled home of Harold Grinspoon and Diane Troderman and the historic Brewer-Young Estate on Longmeadow Street are considered highlights of this year's tour.

Tickets are $20 per person in advance and can be purchased at Kiddly Winks on Williams Street and at the Longmeadow branch of Webster Bank. On the day of the tour, tickets, available at the hospitality booth at Center School, will be $25 per person.

In addition, visitors will be invited to purchase chances on raffle baskets at each home for $1 per ticket.

"In the past we've raised $20,000 [with the tour] so it's by far our biggest fundraiser," said Center School Tour of Homes Chair Elisabeth Therrien. "We hope to reach that much this year. We feel we have a great slate of houses, but we are also cognizant of the economy."

Among the highlights tourgoers will see this year are the original 1950s double oven, cooktop and other kitchen fixtures in the ranch, the ornate carved wooden doors of the hacienda, and the "spectacular gardens" and "eye for design" evidenced in the decor and appointments at the Grinspoon home.

And of course, Therrien said, the chance to peek inside the Brewer-Young Estate -- which is currently on the market -- is sure to be a draw.

"[They] contacted us . They are not having any open houses and thought this would be a good way to let the public see [the house]," Therrien said.

"The owners also wanted to support [the tour] because of the school," Realtor Anna Sogliuzzo told Reminder Publications as we viewed the interior of the Brewer-Young Estate. "We heard [it] was in danger of being cancelled [due to lack of participation by homeowners] and thought this would be a good opportunity for both parties."



A Walk Through History

Sogliuzzo said the Center School tour will give the public a rare opportunity to glimpse this historic "gem" of a home, a blend of Colonial Revival and Neo-Classical architectural styles, built in 1884 for First Church pastor Rev. Samuel Wolcott. Subsequently owned by Edward Brewer, a two-term Massa-chusetts legislator who made improvements to the home and lent his name to the estate, the current decor and grounds most closely reflect the era and taste of the home's most famous owner, Mary Ida Young, widow of Absorbine Jr. inventor Wilbur F. Young.

Young bought the 11-bedroom, three-story home in 1922 and lived there until her death on Halloween night, 1960. The interior, which the current owners restored where necessary with auction house acquisitions, include such historic accoutrements as embossed leather wallpaper in the foyers, Egyptian-themed murals in the front hallway, wrought iron hallway doors on the first floor and similarly patterned leaded glass doors on the upper floors, beautifully inlaid wooden floors, and intricately carved mantles surrounding the home's numerous fireplaces. The stained glass windows that illuminate the main staircase landing, the hand-blocked Zuber wallpaper on the upper floors a work of art in itself that is also found in the White House and the home's glass conservatory modeled after the famed 19th century Crystal Palace Exposition in London (the single-piece marble fountain at its center is powered by a pump in the home's basement) are just some of the distinctive features that make this house a must-see.



A Thanks to Everyone

Therrien extended her thanks to all the homeowners who agreed to open their houses for this year's fundraiser, and especially acknowledged the members of her committee, "a half-dozen women who have been instrumental [in pulling the event together] . we've been meeting every other week" for the whole school year, she said.

She also thanked the numerous florists who will be supplying displays in each home, Costco for providing refreshments for the Center School hospitality tent, and all the behind-the scenes workers that have helped make this year's tour a reality.

"It's quite an undertaking," Therrien acknowledged. "There are a lot of moving parts [to an event such as this]. I'm relatively new to town and this has been a great way to meet people."