Lambertville home tour

On Sunday October 18th, from 11am until 5pm, the Lambertville Historical Society will host it’s 33rd Annual Lambertville Autumn House Tour, features beautiful homes and historic sites within walking distance of each other in the city of Lambertville.

The Autumn House Tour is a self-guided walking tour throughout Lambertville homes.  Here’s how it works:

  • Purchase a ticket either in advance or on the day of the tour (see purchase information below).
  • With your ticket in hand on the day of the tour, pick up the tour booklet either at Marshall House (60 Bridge St.) or City Hall (18 York St.) and begin your walk to sites throughout town.  Volunteer docents will help guide you through each site.
  • There is a map that suggests a route to the tour sites in town, although tour sites can be visited in any order you’d like.  The entire tour takes from 2-3 hours.

Free shuttle parking is available at the Lambertville New Hope Ambulance and Rescue Squad, just off Rt. 29 North, 72 Alexander Avenue, next to Phillips- Barber Health Center.

  • $20.00 in advance
  • $25.00 day-of-tour (cash & check only)
  • $20.00 for LHS members at all times

Or…. purchase tickets  in person at these locations:

  • Blue Raccoon – 6 Coryell St.
  • City Market – 74 North Main St.
  • Homestead Farm Market – 262 North Main St.
  • Lambertville Trading Company – 43 Bridge St.
  • Marshall House Museum – 60 Bridge St. (weekends only)
  • River Queen Artisans Gallery – 8 Church St.
  • In Stockton:  Stockton Fine Wines & Spirits – 17 Bridge St.
  • In New Hope:  Farley’s Bookshop – 44 South Main St.

Here’s a sneek peak at what you’ll find on this tour:

LHS House Tour

French Second Empire

One of the most stately homes in Lambertville, this residence was built in 1874 for one of Lambertville’s wealthiest families. It is a noteworthy example of high style French Second Empire architecture.  The second owner of the home spared no expense in its renovation.  Craftsmen from Europe came to lay parquet floors of black walnut, ash and oak reportedly costing $10,000.

 

LHS House Tour 2015Vernacular Cottage & Studio circa 1897, circa 1995, circa 2004

A secluded storybook cottage is tucked behind a studio, its much bolder and more visible companion. Both structures will be on the tour.  The cottage, designed and built only 20 years ago, sits in an enclosed courtyard on the foundation of an older structure too dilapidated to save.

LHS House Tour 20151879 Vernacular 

Built in 1879, the home is a mix of Federal and Victorian architectural styles common in Lambertville that is termed Vernacular.  The façade shows carved and cut trim work and ornamentation typical of Eastlake design, popular at the time.

LHS House Tour 20151874 French Second Empire

This elegant home was built in 1874 in the French Second Empire Style with slate, concave Mansard roofs and gabled dormers and paired brackets. It is unusual in that the front parlor is projected forward with the formal entry door at the side.  This accentuates the wrap-around porch.

LHS House Tour 2015Circa 1860 Vernacular

This gracious home first appeared on the 1860 town maps and dates from that era. It is a mix of Federal and Victorian styles commonly termed Vernacular.   It also has some Italianate influences.

LHS House Tour 2015Circa 1873 Italianate

In the middle of one of Lambertville’s most distinguished blocks, is this 19th century gray stucco half duplex home embellished with a simple but elegant Italianate-influenced porch.  It has graced this location since about 1873.

LHS House Tour 2015Circa 1888 Vernacular

The history of this circa 1888 Lambertville Vernacular brick building and its next door twin is largely varied.  Beginning as a single family home, it later joined with its neighbor to become part of a nursing home and was more recently restored and converted to apartments.   During the restoration all exterior and interior features were retained or returned as near as possible to the original state.

St. John The Evangelist St. John's Church LHS House Tour 2015Church – ACCESS AFTER 1 PM ONLY, 1892 – French Gothic

St. John the Evangelist has been a parish since 1840 and the cornerstone  for their current building, of French Gothic style,was laid in 1892.  St. John’s Church has had several renovations over its history. The most recent in 2013, sought to both ensure the structural integrity of the building for future generations through needed repairs and to create a sacred, meaningful space.
Union Fire Company and Museum - LHS House Tour 2015Union Fleet Wing Fire Museum

230 N. Main Street / Union Fire Company

This year we feature the Union Fleet Wing Fire Museum and the Union Fire Company.  Both the Union and Fleet Wing companies were incorporated 1864. The museum includes: displays of old ceremonial ribbons;  a collection of antique firefighter uniforms, belts, helmets, fire buckets, axes and night sticks; mid-19th century trumpets and horns for fire service and for events; and numerous photos which help demonstrate firefighting changes and demands through the years.

LHS House Tour 2015

Birdhouse Center for the Arts 
1875 Mule Stables

This property includes a  timber frame structure built about 1875 and started life as a stable. Although it served as an adjunct to the property’s main building, which in recent years served as a coffee house, furniture showroom and art gallery, It is now a music venue and studio.

House Tour sitePhilip L. Pittore  Justice Center
c. 1950

State of the art when opened around 1950, the Acme supermarket was outdated and undersized by the time it closed in 1997.  Lambertville purchased and renovated the structure to serve as the city’s municipal court and public meeting room.  Part of the store’s mid-century commercial signage adorns the lobby.  The building was rededicated recently as the Phillip L. Pittore Justice Center to honor the man who, as mayor, saw Lambertville through its difficult times.  Also home to the Acme Screening Room movie theater.

Marshall House 1816 James Wilson Marshall House Museum and Exhibits

The Marshall House Museum is the boyhood home of James Wilson Marshall, discoverer of gold in California in 1848, which led to the Gold Rush of California.  It also serves as the headquarters of the Lambertville Historical Society.  It features several informative historical exhibits.

 

LHS House Tour 2015City Hall  – A.  H.  Holcombe House  1870

Alexander Henry Holcombe built this gracious home in the popular French Second Empire Style in 1870 as a wedding gift for his wife, Malverna K.Merta. In the 1920’s the home passed from the family and became a social club.  An example of faded glory, this house has been Lambertville’s City Hall since 1950.  It housed the local library for a time, and, until 2001, it housed the police department in the basement.

This year’s sponsors include:

  • Wayne Brengel – Sasco Insurance
  • Russell Poles -Callaway Henderson Sotheby’s International Realty
  • The Bank of Princeton
  • Blue Raccoon Home Furnishings
  • River Signs
  • River Valley Realty LLC
  • Rago Art & Auction

We Are Supported By:


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