It’s that time of year again. Nonprofit Preservation Austin announced the return of its 2024 Homes Tour, featuring 10 homes across the city.
Architecture and history enthusiasts can join the tour, which is in its 31st year, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21. Ticket holders will take themselves on a self-guided architecture crawl.
The homes on this year’s tour — two in south Austin, four in east Austin, and four in northwest Austin — showcase more than a century of local history in the form of real-life, homeowner-occupied abodes.
Homes on display will cover a wide scope of design, including a log cabin built in the 1850s, a mid-century dwelling, and a property in the Guadalupe neighborhood that consists of two historical homes in one.
“You get to not only see the historic architecture but how homeowners have really shaped these spaces for themselves,” Preservation Austin Executive Director Lindsey Derrington told ATXtoday. "(The tour) makes historic homes so relatable and historic architecture so tangible for people, which is another reason why this event is so important.”
Preservation Austin also teaches courses on how to care for your historic home, like this home featured in last year’s tour.
Photo by Nils Juul-Hansen
The tour will also feature two homes from Rogers-Washington-Holy Cross Historic District, which was the neighborhood subject of the tour in 2021.
For the first time in the tour’s history, Preservation Austin will welcome guests with two parties. First, a kick-off get-together for VIP ticketholders at Southwind, 2411 Kinney Rd., on Tuesday, April 16.
The nonprofit will also host a block party at Rogers-Washington-Holy Cross, which Derrington said will be free and open to the public on Saturday, April 20, in celebration of the historically Black neighborhood.
Tickets for the tour start at $45 or $125 for VIPs. All proceeds from the event — Preservation Austin’s biggest attraction and annual fundraiser — benefit the nonprofit.