16th Home Tour draws over 1300

		The 16th Annual Holiday Home Tour this past Dec. 4th and 5th drew over 1300 visitors to Old North Knoxville. Plans are already underway for the 17th Home Tour, Dec. 2 and 3, 2005. Above are some of the visitors, entering the first house on the tour. Below is a photo through a wreath, looking out on the tour. Other tour photos here.

The final total may not be in yet (or at least at the time this newsletter is being put together), but it appears that this was another good year for Old North Knoxville's Victorian Holiday Home Tour. Early estimates have between 1300 and 1400 people attending this 16th edition of what is becoming a holiday tradition.

Some might say the weather was the reason for the generous turn out. It was a little on the unseasonably warm side both days, and while that may have helped, it alone wasn't the reason.

Some might say it was because we had an historic church with a grand pipe organ, which was played, and maybe even because we had carolers singing Christmas tunes. Certainly music and singing help get one in the mood of the holiday season and promote the holiday spirit, but that alone wouldn't have attracted the number of people who attended.

Some might say it was the inclusion of a George Barber house on the tour. While the work of this nationally known architect of the late 19th and early 20th centuries was in the news prior to the tour, it alone probably doesn't account the turn out. There were only homes, large and small on the tour that offered history and decorations of their own.

Some might say it is the hard work of the tour chair, tour committee, those who opened up their homes, and those who helped out. That would probably be closer to a good explanation why. It is a cliché to refer to the tireless effort of all the volunteers, but it is a cliché because it is true. 

It might also be that preservation of historic neighborhoods is now more than just a curiosity, it is a mainstay of the vibrancy of Knoxville and a viable contributor to the growth of Knoxville's economy. Maybe the Annual Victorian Holiday Home Tour is coming into its own, that its best days of celebrating the past are yet to come.

Thank you to all who helped this year and in years past. Work on past tours laid the foundation for the success of this tour. Work on the 2004 tour has laid the foundation for success of the 2005 tour. Thank you.