“Carriage Lane” 18th annual Holiday Home Tour

10 am to 8 pm Friday, Dec. 7 & 10 am to 6 pm Saturday. Dec. 8, 2007

Two talk-of-the-town restorations and six other sparkling locations will open their doors to
the public for “Carriage Lane,” the 18th annual Christmas Home Tour to be presented by the Taylorville Tourism Council. Scheduled for Friday, Dec. 7 and Saturday, Dec. 8, the pilgrimage will showcase triumphs of history achieved by imaginative local rehabbers who saved a 1911 carriage house on East Market Street and rescued a turn-of-the-centuryresidence on East Park Street. On the pilgrimage will be:

* Carriage house of Dan and Joyce Marsango, 402 E. Market Street.
Tour-goers will be the first to view the meticulous restoration of the formerly rundown structure, which once graced the grand mansion known in its later years as the Colonial Hotel. The mansion succumbed to the ravages of fire and the elements, but the revitalized, two-story, 3,000 square-foot carriage house is poised for a new century with three-brick-tick walls and “reserved” buggy parking.

Fancy fare will be serviced all day, both days, at the carriage house during the tour’s annual complimentary tea.

Tour-goers will feel they’re let in on secrets when they wend among seldom seem artifacts from the Christian County Historical Society Museum, including an 1864 coin minted for Abraham Lincoln’s re-election. Items will be on display both days at the carriage house, which soon will become the law office of attorney David F. Fines.

* Home of Donnie and Sherry Mathon, 614 E. Park St.
The rehab of this old house evolved over nine months as the couple guarded Old World grandeur and instilled 21st Century updates. Basking in the glow of three chandeliers are turn-of-the-last-century millwork, grand staircase, hardwood floors and fireplace. Tour-goers will visit first, second and third floors, totaling 4,000 square feet, and Donnie’s basement get-away, complete with heated floor, saluting NASCAR and Harley-Davidson.

* Home of Sam and Angie Calandro, 9 Laurel Court.
French doors open to a new glass-walled, slate-floored sunroom, warmed by a black granite fireplace. A dramatic living room and Tuscan kitchen evoke the family’s Italian heritage with style and sentiment.

* Home of Bev Graham, 700 West Main Cross.
Outdoor lights and fanciful figures create a winter wonderland around this 1905 classic home. With a decorated tree in every room amidst heirloom furnishings, original five-panel doors and stained glass windows, the interior showcases generations of toys and ornaments that peel back the decades.

* Home of Dale and Mary Etta Smith, 801 W. Pauline
Mary Etta’s bold and beautiful decorating style is a singular sensation. The marquee attraction will be a brilliantly decorated tree filling a bow window and known as the neighborhood’s “jewel box.” Brown, almost black living room walls; “out of Africa” bedroom and English cottage kitchen dazzle the senses.

* Home of Norman and Ruth Ann Ward, 3941 Kennedy Road.
Newlyweds Norman, a retired coal miner, and Ruth Ann, formerly principal of South School, chose this enchanting white cottage with red shutters as their retirement haven. The amazing Technicolor great room, garage turned yellow-dappled sunroom and Norman’s Kansas City Chiefs hide-away define their new lives.

* First Presbyterian Church, 116 E. Franklin St.
Hand-poured chocolates, homemade baked goods and other treats will be stocked at a candy shop out. Live music will be performed by local groups, The Backyard Gang and Harmony. Celebrating its 150th anniversary year, the church will open its gloriously decorated sanctuary, featuring golden angels, both days the same hours as the tour.

Priced at $8 in advance and $9 starting Dec. 3, home tour tickets may be purchased at the following:

Collage Rose Gifts and Crafts on the east side of the Taylorville Square
The Top Drawer in Springfield
Junction Garden Center
News-Palladium in Pana
Red Rooster Inn in Hillsboro
Ishmael Insurance Services in Nokomis.

Children 12 and under are free with an adult. On tour days, tickets will be sold at all homes and Cottage Rose.

A portion of tour proceeds are designated for reconstruction of the 1902 rotunda on the third floor of the Christian County Court House on the Taylorville Square.

* “Look for Lincoln” and you could win a $1,500 shopping spree from Taylorville Home Source

• Enjoy complimentary all-day Cookie Buffet.

• Fabulous door prizes.

For more information, call
217-824-9447.