Sat., May 19, 2012:  Annual Old North House & Community Tour and Homegrown Street Festival

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 19, 2012.  For photos from the 2011 Old North House & Community Tour and Home Grown Festival, click HERE and HERE.  For photos 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.

For the second year, the Old North House & Community Tour will include more than a traditional tour format to incorporate a street festival that will celebrate and put the spotlight on locally produced foods, goods, and services. The Homegrown Street Festival and our usual Old North House & Community Tour will take place on Saturday, May 19th 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, at least one LEED-certified home built by Habitat for Humanity, 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 HomeGrown Street Festival will show off the cool, public space at Crown Square, along the redeveloped former 14th Street Mall, and will feature a variety of locally produced arts, crafts, and other goods.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the 2012 Old North House & Community Tour and Home Grown Festival.  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.