Springfield’s 2013 Home & Garden Tour (and Bike Tour!)
Scheduled for this weekend, this year’s Tour features turn-of-the-century homes, a variety of diverse gardens, picturesque chapel, and a historic home restored into successful business.
For 35 years, the Springfield historic district has been showing off it’s unique character, architecture, and pedestrian friendly streetscapes through home tours. Once ground zero for Jacksonville’s poverty and blight, it’s now in the midst of a generational transformation, literally rising from the ashes to become a popular neighborhood for those seeking an eclectic, diverse, and semi-urban lifestyle. The 2013 edition of the tour highlights this transformation by not only hosting the traditional Home & Garden Tour, but also featuring a popular bicycle tour edition as well, organized by e2ride Bike Tours.
The two-day event shows off Jacksonville’s oldest, most storied neighborhood while raising funds to benefit the work of Springfield Preservation and Revitalization (SPAR), a 501c3 non-profit working to facilitate positive change in the historic district since 1974.
Home Tour: Saturday, 6/01/13, tickets sold 1pm - 5pm
Bike Tour: Saturday, 6/01/13, leaves at 2:00pm
Home Tour: Sunday, 6/02/13, tickets sold 1pm - 5pm
Self-guided and sprawling, the Home & Garden Tour and features original restored homes, including a 2013 Preservation Award winner, an array of gardens including permaculture, community, prayer labyrinth, and traditional flower gardens. Along the route, you’ll also be able to research the history of your own home, courtesy of the Jacksonville Main Library, admire the beauty of classic roadsters borrowed from the Historic Springfield Main Street Cruise, and enjoy local musicians performing live. The Tour check-in is City Kidz Cafe at 1303 N. Main Street, Saturday and Sunday, June 1st & 2nd, tickets sold 1pm to 5pm.
Discounted tickets are available now and are found online at https://www.sparcouncil.org or purchased in-person at Three Layers Cafe and Avela Day Spa in Springfield, Tres Leches and Fans & Stoves Antique Mall in Riverside, and Avonlea Antique Mall on the Southside. Tickets are $15 the day-of at check in.
The Bike Tour, hosted by e2ride Bike Tours, is guided and features all the stunning homes on the Tour, along with a number of other notable spots in neighborhood - think Civil War, chilling murder capers, old Hollywood stars, and infamous, bigger-than-life personalities. Always a fan favorite, the Bike Tour is Saturday, June 1st at 2pm, starting at Three Layers Cafe at 1602 Walnut Street. It’s free with purchase of your Home Tour ticket and your own bicycle, or rent a bike from e2ride. Make your reservation for the Bike Tour via https://www.e2ride.com
Come see why the Springfield historic district has been featured in Good Morning America, Southern Living Magazine, Florida Trend Magazine, Chicago Sun-Times, and mountains of local press in recent years.
For more information, contact SPAR at https://sparoffice@sparcouncil.org or call the SPAR office at (904) 353-7727.