Sat., May 18, 2013:  Annual Old North House & Community Tour

Every year in May, Old North St. Louis Restoration Group hosts a neighborhood-wide house & community tour to show off the warmth of the community, the richness and character of the architecture, the beauty of the community gardens and greenspaces, and the dynamic revitalization in progress. This year's tour is scheduled for Saturday, May 18, 2013.  For photos from the 2012 Old North House & Community Tour and Home Grown Festival, click HERE.  For photos from 2011, click HERE and HERE...from 2010, click HERE and for scenes from our 2009 tour, click HERE.

We invite friends of Old North and all who care about urban neighborhoods to come see why Kaid Benfield of the Natural Resources Defense Council referred to Old North as "one of the country's very best revitalizing neighborhoods," and why the U.S. EPA's Office of Sustainable Communities selected Old North for the Overall Excellence winner of their 2011 National Awards for Smart Growth Achievement. As further evidence that Old North is developing a reputation as a good model for sustainable community development, the U.S. Green Building Council's Missouri Gateway chapter presented one of their 2013 Growing Green Awards (in the "Community Champion" category) to Old North St. Louis Restoration Group.

For the third year, the Old North House & Community Tour will include much more than a traditional tour.  In addition to the self-guided tour, the day's events will also celebrate and put the spotlight on the great, local, and independent businesses up and down the 2600 & 2700 blocks of N. 14th Street, along with some good music and dancing in the street. The Street Festival and our usual Old North House & Community Tour will take place on Saturday, May 18th from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

The tour will feature the great diversity of housing styles that make Old North a community where almost everyone can find a place that suits their budget and lifestyle. Stops on the tour will include historically rehabbed houses that once were abandoned shells, a variety of green / sustainable elements that have been incorporated into new and old homes, community gardens (including the 13th Street Garden, which grows food for the North City Farmers’ Market and is home to the Old North Chicken Coop), the Old North Grocery Co-op, and new businesses at Crown Square. The street Festival will show off the cool, public space at Crown Square, along the redeveloped former 14th Street Mall.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the 2013 Old North House & Community Tour.  For information about this opportunity to support the neighborhood's revitalization, click on the downloadable Sponsorship Information Form on the right side of this page.

Tour tickets are available in advance for $10 and will be available on the day of the tour for $12 per person. You can purchase tickets in advance one of the following two ways:

1. With a credit card using PayPal. Click here to order tickets online.
   After clicking on the "add to cart" button below you will be prompted to enter in the number of tickets you would like and then purchase them through the PayPal service. Note: We will not be shipping out tickets. Instead, they will be waiting for you at the registration tent, at St. Louis Avenue & N. 14th Street, on the day of the house tour.
2. Come by the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group office with cash/check or send a check to:* 

Old North St. Louis Restoration Group
2700 N. 14th. Street
St. Louis, MO 63106

If you are interested in helping on the day of the tour as a volunteer, click on the downloadable form to the right give us a call at (314) 241-5031 or e-mail the office at info@onsl.org.

*Be sure to indicate the number of tickets you would like.