Silk wallpaper, twin houses, iconic mansion: Historic Tacoma homes tour is back
After a five-year hiatus, the Tacoma Historical Society is reviving its historic homes tour – a rare opportunity for people to see some of Tacoma’s oldest homes from the inside.
Featuring six homes and a church, the tour will take place May 3-4 through Tacoma’s Stadium District. The homes range from the iconic and recently renovated Rust mansion to the twin Fitch and Achilles houses, which were designed to look like mirror images of each other.
Bill Baarsma, a former Tacoma mayor and president emeritus of the Tacoma Historical Society, said the group decided to bring the tours back this year to celebrate the city’s 150th anniversary.
This year’s tour will feature the Rust Mansion – named for William Ross Rust, the namesake for the city of Ruston – which Baarsma said will be open for public viewing for the first time ever during the tour.
“Fortunately, the Rust Mansion was never torn down, thankfully, and these other houses, the owners have just lovingly restored them and are excited to give people the opportunity to tour them,” he told The News Tribune.
The historical society’s 26th iteration of the tour also includes a stop at the First Presbyterian Church which, while not a home, fits in as the church is also celebrating its 100th anniversary, Baarsma said.
Historical society board member Elaine Hilton said she expects the tour to sell out, and the historical society had nearly 200 volunteers sign up to be docents. People are particularly excited about the possibility of finally seeing the Rust Mansion from the inside, she told The News Tribune.
“If you live in the North End, you can drive by these beautiful Victorian homes, older homes, but unless you know those people, you don’t get to go inside,” Hilton said. “People are just intrigued, just intrigued to be able to see them.”
Real estate developer Ashley Burks’ restoration of the Rust Mansion includes a handful of novelties like silk wallpaper, imported Italian marble and French tapestries, Hilton said.
The mansion isn’t the only well-known stop on the tour. Baarsma said the Hurley House, built in 1891, was featured in the 1992 thriller, “The Hand that Rocks the Cradle.” The house’s basement, includes a tunnel that leads to an underground archery range and bowling alley. The Franke Tobey Jones House will also feature a reenactor in costume at the house who will welcome participants into the home and share facts about its history, he said.
“Of all the tours that I’ve been involved in, I’ve participated in at least 10, this lineup of homes is pretty extraordinary, probably the most extraordinary,” Baarsma said.
Tickets to the historic homes tour and more information can be found at tacomahistory.org/hometour. Early-bird prices are available before the event kicks off on May 3, with member tickets at $30 and non-member tickets at $35. Day-of ticket pricing is $40 for members and $45 for non-members.
