Watch ONLINE via ZOOM from the safety and comfort of your home. A link with instructions will be provided two hours prior to this virtual lecture.
Take a Tour of Tourison: An Architectural History of East Mt. Airy
presented by Elise Rivers Esq.
Native Son Ashton Tourison, Jr. was a real estate developer who lived his entire life in Mt. Airy. After 20 years building dozens of houses and some notable institutions in the area, Tourison saw the potential to build a beautiful neighborhood in the farmlands on the east side of what he called "The City's Main Road to the Country," otherwise known as Germantown Avenue. Around 1904, he set his sights on developing "Sedgwick Farms," with his marketing plan describing "stone-built homes, planned on an architectural idea that makes each different from the other, yet in perfect harmony with all." Join us for the pleasure of viewing a pictorial history of stunning, unique homes that vividly tells the story of the evolution of East Mt. Airy created by Ye Sedgwick Farms Company. Together with his four sons, Tourison left a legacy of beautiful, enduring architecture that we can all appreciate and enjoy today.
Elise Rivers, Esq., M.Ac. worked in the field of historic preservation for five years, helping to save Union Station from demolition in Worcester, MA, as well as advocating for preservation while Assistant Director of Preservation Worcester, and as Executive Director of Landmark West, an historic preservation non-profit representing the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Her passion for beauty in architecture has never waned, and she was inspired to put together this talk on the architectural heritage of East Mt. Airy, after living in and loving her own Tourison home.
In conjunction with this presentation, Elise will be offering a walking tour on October 15 hosted by Mt. Airy Learning Tree. Register here: : Take A Walking Tour of Tourison
$15 | General Admission
$10 | Alliance Member
Students with ID, residents of the neighborhoods being presented, or individuals with financial difficulties free with email to vcheng@preservationalliance.com