The first tour of the season is offered Saturday, and programs will run through the middle of September.
Organizers said many tours will sell out and recommended advance ticket purchases. Tickets range from $5 to $22, depending on the tour and if you are a Westcott member.
Kevin Rose, historian at the Turner Foundation and now also executive director of the Hartman Rock Garden, created the Summer Tour Series in 2004 to build awareness of Springfield’s landmarks and districts. Then called the Summer Walking Tour Series, it featured eight guided walks of popular neighborhoods and districts in Springfield.
Tom Taylor guided the first tour on June 20, 2004, and it featured the architecture and history of Wittenberg University.
“Over the next two decades, the Summer Tour Series would grow into one of the most successful architectural tour programs in the country,” Rose said in a release.
Youth tours were added in 2007, followed by happy hour tours in 2010 and bicycle tours in 2011. Site tours joined the lineup in 2013, then coach tours in 2016, and virtual tours in 2020 with the COVID pandemic.
Rose noted the series has more than doubled in size over the past 20 years, now encompassing 16-20 guided tours in and around the greater Springfield region.
He credited members of a committee of community volunteers who oversee the creation and management of the series. They include Marlies Hemmann, John Grubb, Phyllis Hill, Robin Inboden, Pam George, Marta Wojcik and Maddy Bailey.
The Summer Tour Series last approximately one and a half to two hours.
The tours:
Westchester Park (Walking Tour) – Saturday, June 8, at 10 a.m.
Springfield Burying Ground (Happy Hour Tour) – Wednesday, June 12, at 5:30 p.m.
Downtown Safari (Youth Tour) – Saturday, June 15, at 10 a.m.
Mast Castle (Members Only Tour) – Tuesday, June 18, at 5:30 p.m.
College Hill South (Walking Tour) – Saturday, June 22, at 10 a.m.
Mosgrove Building (Members Only Tour) – Wednesday, June 26, at 5:30 p.m.
Springfield Beautiful (Bicycle Tour) – Saturday, June 29, at 10 a.m.*
Springfield Public Art (Happy Hour Tour) – Wednesday, July 3, at 5:30 p.m.
Springfield Burying Ground (Happy Hour Tour) – Friday, July 5, at 5:30 p.m.
Ferncliff Cemetery: Sacred and Symbolic (Walking Tour) – Saturday, July 6, at 10 a.m.
Civic District (Happy Hour Tour) – Wednesday, July 10, at 5:30 p.m.
Victorian SoFo (Walking Tour) – Saturday, July 13, at 10 a.m.*
Lenski Walk (Youth Tour) – Wednesday, July 17, at 5:30 p.m.
The Broadmoors (Walking Tour) – Saturday, July 20, at 10 a.m.
Springfield Public Art (Happy Hour Tour) – Friday, August 2, at 5:30 p.m.
Perrin Woods North (Walking Tour) – Saturday, August 24, at 10 a.m.
Gilded East High (Walking Tour) – Saturday, August 31, at 10 a.m.
Mast Castle (Members Only Tour) – Wednesday, September 4, at 5:30 p.m.
Downtown Victorian (Happy Hour Tour) – Friday, September 6, at 5:30 p.m.
The Woods (Walking Tour) – Saturday, September 14, at 10 a.m.
*Denotes a new tour. Westcott members receive discounts to most tours and free admission to Members Only tours. Tickets are available online at WestcottHouse.org and at the Westcott House Museum Store, 85 South Greenmount Ave.
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