Community Corner
Tour Features Look at Private Estates
See some fabulous homes by taking "Rooms with a View" tour Saturday.
Here's a chance to see if the grass is really greener in your neighbor's yard.
Historic Bethlehem Partnership will host its 19th annual Rooms with a View tour from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 4.
The tour will showcase nine unique homes and estates in Bethlehem and Saucon Valley, featuring a range of architectural and landscaping styles, said Jan Musser, administrative assistant for Historic Bethlehem Partnership, a non-profit historical preservation group.
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The nine homeowners will be genial hosts, Musser said.
“They are on board with us,” she said. Each home on the tour will be fully staffed, and tour participants will have a chance to inspect the homes room by room, as well as patios, gardens and surrounding grounds, Musser added.
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Among the stops on the tour will be a Prohibition-era speakeasy -- with the password provided for free. The tour will also stop at Kemerer Museum Garden for a light lunch.
Tour guests “will enjoy outdoor beauty … and indoor grandness, including culinary inspiration in the kitchens, architectural creativity in the hallways, and gorgeous design in the bedrooms and parlors,” according to a Historic Bethlehem news release.
The annual house tour has become one of Historic Bethlehem's biggest events, Musser said. New homes are featured each year, so repeat tour guests will not be bored.
Planning the house tour takes time and care, Musser noted. “It's a lot of work,” she said. “We have a full staff working every day on it. They start to find houses three to four months in advance. … At the end of the day it's about raising money to keep Historic Bethlehem alive.”
A preview event, featuring hors d'oeuvres and light music, will be held from 6-8 p.m. tonight.
Tickets for the tour are $20 for Historic Bethlehem Partnership members and $30 for non-members when purchased in advance. All tickets purchased on the day of the tour are $30. Admission to the preview evening is $75 and includes Saturday’s tour. Tickets may be purchased at the Historic Bethlehem Visitor Center. Call 1-800-360-TOUR or visit www.HistoricBethlehem.org.