5/17-18: Jerome home tour
Some towns merely grow old. Others age well. There's a difference, a balance between preserving the past and being stuck in it. Jerome has found that balance. You can see it in the homes and storefronts; the narrow, hilly streets; the shops, restaurants and galleries.
The 49th annual Jerome Historic Home & Building Tour offers a chance to look inside homes and hear the stories behind them.
"This year we've got a couple of new homes to sort of complement the historic classics that everyone comes to the home tour for," tour coordinator Deni Phinney said.
One of the modern homes has solar panels, water-harvesting features and equipment to make biofuel for the owners' cars.
"At the other end of the spectrum we have really an amazing house this year that up until 2013 was a complete wreck," Phinney said.
In 1953, the Riordan home was devastated by a mudslide that buried rooms and took out walls. The house was unoccupied for about 60 years.
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"Most of the roof was missing. The back wall was sort of all caved in," Phinney said.
Today, the home has been restored. Brass markers in some of the rooms indicate how deep the dirt was.
"The really awesome thing about that house was that the soil preserved the original woodwork," Phinney said.
The tour includes plenty of walking on Jerome's hilly streets and many stairs, so participants should wear comfortable clothes and shoes. Vans will drive visitors to each location, where docents will explain the history of the home and other details. Many homes offer nice views of the Verde Valley.
The tour also will feature an old rooming house where miners slept in shifts around the clock.
"That house is about 2,000 square feet and, if you can imagine, it was broken up into 12 sleeping rooms." Phinney said.
The miners used outhouses in back and bathhouses in town.
Mayor Nikki Check will open her home — "it's a wonderful little miner's cottage" — as well as the house next door, where bootleggers once produced the best moonshine in town, according to local legend.
Jerome has always had a mix of miners, moonshiners, engineers, doctors — a diversity of income levels and cultures that still exists.
"I think a big part of what makes Jerome appealing is that we've almost stopped time. We've really held onto the simpler side of life," Phinney said.
"I think what draws people to the town now is that the town has retained that simple, laid-back style."
Jerome Historic Home and Building Tour
When: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, May 17-18.
Where: Selected homes throughout Jerome.
Admission: $10-$20.
Details: 928-634-2900.
New this year: Visitors can buy tickets online in advance, instead of in Jerome on the day of the tour. Go to www.eventbrite.com and type 49th Annual Historic Home & Building Tour in the search window. Bring your ticket to Spook Hall, 250 Hull Ave., and get a wristband to join the tour.