15th
Annual Grand South Grand
House and Garden Tour
Saturday and Sunday, April 19 & 20, 2008
11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The 15th annual Grand South Grand House and Garden
Tour will be held from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, Saturday and Sunday,
April 19th and 20th, 2008. The tour will showcase the architectural
and personal styles of grand living in five neighborhoods linked
by South Grand Boulevard: Compton Heights, Compton Hill Reservoir
Square, Shaw, Tower Grove East and Tower Grove Heights. Visitors
will have the opportunity to see inside homes and gardens many
only admire from the outside.
This fifteenth anniversary tour includes two
of our best known homes, a special celebrity home, a new “historic”
building, plus many more. Two of the most distinguished homes
on tour this year are the Magic Chef Mansion and the home of the
Director of Tower Grove Park. The Magic Chef Mansion is a colossal
home of over 12,000 square feet filled with period antiques. This
estate has been meticulously restored to a grandeur unparalleled
in the area. The Director of Tower Grove Park, John Karel, is
graciously opening his beautiful Italianate Mansion, located just
inside this lovely Victorian walking park. This home features
a third floor turret that offers a tree-lined vista of Tower Grove
Park and the Botanical Gardens.
Our celebrity home on tour was the star of the
first show of KETC Channel 9’s “Living St. Louis”
2007 season. In one, eighteen-minute program viewers watched Tim
and Caryn Dugan take a dilapidated two-family flat through a two-year
"Cinderella" makeover. From a first floor of small ugly
rooms with literally nothing to stand on the Dugans used the magic
of hard work and long hours to transform this building into a
rich finish of beautifully appointed rooms. Now the home is complete
and the Dugan’s are excited that St. Louis can come see
their finished beauty.*
Another very unique home is less than a year
old but looks like it was built in the early 1900’s. Designed
to replicate what would have stood on this once vacant lot, this
single family home’s exterior looks like a typical corner
store from the turn of the century; but once inside you will think
you have entered another time and place. The space has an open
floor plan and a contemporary design decorated with warm colors
purely to create an inviting comfortable home environment.
Beyond the wonderful selection of homes on tour,
this fifteenth anniversary of the Grand South Grand House and
Garden Tour will feature a wine tasting, delicious food and great
music, such as the 2nd Generation Swing Big Band performing at
the Magic Chef Mansion on Saturday. In addition the Water Tower
in Compton Hill Reservoir Park will be open for visitors for a
separate fee. The Compton Hill Water Tower, which stands on the
highest point in the city, offers a spectacular 360° view
of St. Louis from a vantage point just shy of the height of the
St. Louis Arch.
The Grand South Grand House and Garden Tour will
begin in Tower Grove Park just inside the main entrance on South
Grand at Pestalozzi. There is free parking and free shuttles to
transport participants throughout the tour. Tickets are $15 in
advance and $18 the day of the tour. Discount rates are available
for groups of 10 or more. Advance tickets can be purchased at
select locations: Gringo Jones Imports, Botanicals Design Studio,
the Missouri Botanical Garden in the Garden Gate Gift Shop, or
over the phone by calling 314.773.4844. Tickets can also be purchased
using PayPal by clicking on the "Buy Now" botton located
in the lower left-hand corner of this web page. (If you
purchase tickets through PayPal, please print out your receipt
and bring it to the ticket booth the day of the tour. You will
exchange your receipt for your tour brochure, which is your ticket
into the homes on tour.)
Anne Moore, Grand South Grand House Tour chairman,
welcomes everyone to South Grand. “The Grand South Grand
House and Garden Tour has successively grown in recognition as
one of the best house and garden tours in St. Louis. With its
classic historic housing stock and strong, vibrant neighborhoods
the tour draws visitors into the heart of St. Louis to enjoy the
best of grand living.”
To view the “Living in St. Louis”
archive show that featured the Dugan’s restoration, click
here.
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Magic Chef Mansion
Magic Chef Mansion
Front Hall
Tower Grove Park
Director's House
Storefront Kitchen
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