New Bedford Preservation Society’s Annual Holiday House Tour

To herald the holiday season, residents of New Bedford’s historic neighborhoods will once again be opening their beautifully restored homes for the New Bedford Preservation Society’s signature fundraising event – the 21st Annual Holiday House Tour. The elegant parlors of the magnificent Rotch-Jones-Duff House will be featured along with the historic Nathan and Polly Johnson House and several private historic residences, some of which have never before been open for the tour, all beautifully decorated for the holidays. Feel the presence of the past in the varied 19th century architecture and interiors which are as diverse as the owners. This year’s candlelight tour will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, December 8th, with the December 9th Afternoon Tour from 1 to 5 p.m. Both tours start at the Wamsutta Club, 427 County Street, tour headquarters, where an elegant pre-tour brunch will be held on Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 1 p.m., along with a holiday raffle and silent auction of beautiful gifts, art, antiques and handcrafted items.

Pre-tour brunch reservations ($17) can be made (but are not required) by calling the club at 508.997.7431. Advance, discounted tour tickets will go on sale mid-November at the following locations: the Arthur Moniz Gallery, the Surrey Shoppe and New York Shoe Repair in New Bedford; Baker Books (at 2 McCabe Street), Davoll’s General Store and The Ultimate Touch in Dartmouth; at Periwinkles in Fairhaven and in Marion at the Marion General Store. For further information, please call the New Bedford Preservation Society office (388 County Street, New Bedford) at 508/997-6425. Visit us on Facebook or at www.nbpreservationsociety.org for a look at homes featured on previous tours.

All proceeds will benefit the work of the society in its efforts to maintain and promote historic preservation in New Bedford. To those ends, the Society has undertaken several major projects including historical building markers, bi-annual historic house tours, historical cemetery tours, summer walking tours, a tree-planting program (Re-Leaf), the publication of self-guided walking tour brochures, lectures, and other efforts.