7th Annual Mahncke Park Home Tour - Celebrating Architectural Diversity…

The 7th annual Mahncke Park Home Tour held this past Saturday October 19, 2008 was a huge success. The architectural style of the homes on the tour was Craftsman bungalows built in the mid 1920’s. Defining features for this style are typically open rafter tails, tapered porch columns, wide eaves, eyebrow gables, triangular knee braces, front porches, numerous sashed windows with leaded glass, high ceilings and hardwood floors. Last year there were about 130 tickets sold, but this year we reached 240 attendees. It was a beautiful Chamber of Commerce day so everyone was out and about and coupled with another event at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens which is 2 blocks away it just seemed like a great day to go visit some of San Antonio’s coolest historic homes. My wife personally counted over 240 people that came through our home, which was one of the six on the tour. The reviews were outstanding and we heard time and time again how our bungalow was the favorite of many guests. The 6 homes showcased showed a lot of creativity and ideas that homeowners used to update these grand old ladies. Everything from modern twists on historic styling to even a new construction home that was built in the Craftsman bungalow style to mirror the neighborhood. The featured houses were on the streets of Carnahan, Allensworth, Queen Anne and Pershing.

The Mahncke Park Neighborhood Association did a great job of organizing the tour and a special thanks is in order for Julie Shank who made a lot of it all possible and go off without a hitch. Some of the increased traffic this year could be attributed to the continuing revitilization and interest in the area and also possibly the recent Riverwalk Extension Project which is putting Mahncke Park within walking distance to the nation’s 14th largest tourist attraction. This year’s corporate sponsors were: AT&T Cingular, Brannon Properties LLC, Deborah Myers Real Estate, Good Time Charlie’s, King Realtors, Phyllis Browning Company, Riverside AC & Heating, Tarrant Realty, The Lion & Eagle Antiques, The Yellow House, Treat Hair Studio, Weisehefty Design Build, Wilson Bellamy Brown & Wilson LLP, and Winn Estate Services. Proceeds from the home tour will benefit Lamar Elementary School, the Botanical Gardens, the Fisher House Sam Houston, The Mahncke Park Neighborhood Association and other neighborhood projects.