Neighborhood Walking Tours

OCTOBER 2022 19 Enjoy a neighborhood walking tour

Special to The Enterprise

Free guided walking tours are small groups led by trained docents who are able to explain the architectural features and history of stops on the tour. Tours pass by homes but do not allow access. To see this year’s selection of five private residence interiors, purchase tickets for the Open Homes Tour at strollthroughhistory.com/tickets.

Each stroll lasts approximately 45 to 60 minutes. All terrain is flat on city sidewalks. Wear comfortable shoes and bring your camera. Stroll walking tours start at times and locations noted below.

“Lots of Time” or How Woodland’s Historic Neighborhoods Were Created — New tour

This 8:30 a.m. tour, led by historian Jim Lapsley, starts at southwest corner of Second and Cross streets.

Architecture is a form of fashion, and styles go in and out of fashion. Much of the reason for a neighborhood’s dominant architectural style depends upon when the land was subdivided into lots, allowing home construction. This fascinating tour walks though the three blocks of “Bynum’s 1871 Addition to the City of Woodland” bounded by Cross, Pendegast, Third and College streets.

One block on First Street was subdivided in the 1880s and is still largely populated by Victorians, while the block across the street wasn’t subdivided until the 1910s and has an array of house styles from the first half of the 20th century. The contrast in architectural styles from one side of the street to the other is striking, awaiting to be discovered by strollers. Take a deep dive into Woodland’s history as you stroll through different eras of architecture while discovering how Woodland neighborhoods were created.

College Street Pioneers and Preservationists

This 8:30 a.m. tour, led by historian Barbara Graham, starts at the southeast corner of College and Lincoln streets, at historic Woodland Christian Church.

College Street has a variety of upscale house styles, including Victorian-era Italianates, Queen Annes, Craftsman Bungalows, and the first Modernist home built in Woodland in 1912. Join docent Barbara Graham, who has intimately Sue Cockrell/ Enterprise file photo

Above, Strollers discuss the 1890 Queen Anne Victorian built by Seattle architect Edmund R.Lowe located at 458 First St.

Right, Don Easton will lead the “Woodland Painted Ladies” tour that will discuss “Using Color to PreserveCharacter.”

studied this neighborhood over the course of leading this captivating walking tour for many years, for a step back in time to experience Woodland’s formative years. Learn about these upscale, renovated houses and who lived in them during the early days of Woodland. From a United States Congressman, a bank president, an author and a Women’s Christian Temperance activist, College Street was home to incredibly interesting and influential people.

Fabulous First Street’s Architectural Treasures: Parts 1 and 2

Note: This tour will be divided into two parts to capture the grandeur and beauty of the entire street.

The 9 a.m. tour, starting at the corner of First and Lincoln streets, is led by Chris Holt, architect, artist and Woodland Planning Commissioner. The 10:30 a.m. tour starts at First and Cross streets in front of Gable Mansion, and is led by Mary Aulman, of the Yolo County Historical Society.

Richly diverse with a wide array of Victorians — including the California State Landmark Gable Mansion — First Street contains a stunning variety of well-preserved architecture spanning the period from 1860 to the present, epitomizing Woodland’s extraordinary cultural heritage and social history. The homes set along this beautiful tree-canopied street have been lovingly restored by many homeowners over the last 50 years, including the Victorian at 638 First St., winner of a Great American Home Awards Grand Prize for restoration work, and the fabulous Gable Mansion. This exceptional tour will capture Woodland’s extraordinary social and economic history embodied by its exceptional architecture.

Using Color to Preserve Character: Woodland Painted Ladies — New tour

This 9:30 a.m. tour starts at the northwest corner of First and Lincoln streets. It is led by Don Easton, professional house painter.

Authenticity in architecture expresses period, value, history and enhances its place in our community. Inspired by the colorist movement sparked by San Francisco’s “Painted Ladies” and the New England preservation and restoration society, Woodland-based house painter, Don Easton, has painted many of Woodland’s charming historic homes. He will lead a tour of several Victorians discussing exterior home colors

and the Craftsmanship Operating Procedures. Learn craftsmanship tips and techniques used then and now to preserve the integrity of some of Woodland’s architectural treasures.

Craftsman and Bungalow Heaven: Pendegast and Elm Street Tour — New tour

This 10 a.m. tour, led by architect Chris Campbell, starts at the northwest corner of Pendegast and College streets.

This educational tour winds its way along Pendegast Street filled with rustic Craftsman style houses and beautiful gardens, ancient oak trees and revival-style houses from the early 1900s, lovingly restored by their owners. Stroll by a historic school site that began with Oak Street School in 1889 and continues today as Dingle School — originally built in 1924 as Woodland Grammar School. An ancient oak on campus is now designated a city landmark. There is a colorful mural on the multipurpose building. The Dingle neighborhood features many fine examples of bungalows from the 1910-20 period.

Barns, Alleys, Oaks and Hidden Surprises — New alleys added

This 10 a.m. tour, led by Mark Aulman, starts at the corner of Second Street and Dog Gone Alley, just south of Main Street.

This fun tour is full of surprises that kids (and adults) will love. This stroll will begin at Dog Gone Alley, one of Woodland’s two downtown alleys, and weave its way into hidden residential alleys. Strollers will discover some of Woodland’s seldom seen places and observe several barns and carriage houses from the horse and buggy days. Towering native valley oak trees and other specimen trees planted by families from bygone days will be discussed.

Beamer Park Tour — New tour

This 10:30 a.m. tour, led by Jim Bohan, starts at the Beamer Arches at Third and Beamer streets.

Shortly before World War I, Bay Area developer, Hewitt Davenport, subdivided the old Richard and Rebecca Beamer homestead and hired prominent landscape architect, Mark Daniels, to design something different for Woodland: an upscale, master planned enclave with curved streets and round-about with fountain, an architectural gateway, a public park-and pricey home lots set among ancient valley oak trees. A private train was chartered from Sacramento to promote the grand opening of Beamer Park in June 1914. The complete build out of the Park took more than 40 years, interrupted by WWI, the Great Depression and WWII, and accounts for the broad range of housing styles. Several talented builders left their mark on Beamer Park, including William Fait and Joseph Motroni, whose works will be highlighted on this tour. Recent improvements to the public park and tree-scape will also be discussed.

Ken Trott leads the Barns, Alleys, Oaks and Hidden Surprises walking tour.

Crystal Vagnier/ Enterprise file photo

The Beamer House — an elegant colonial plantation style home at 9 Palm Avenue — is the oldest recorded home in Woodland, dating from 1860, and was built by Richard L. Beamer, a cabinet maker from Virginia. The Beamer Park neighborhood was established when the home’s acreage was sold in lots to the Keystone Development Group in 1914 by his son, R. H. Beamer.