Historic Homes, Brilliant Architecture on Display at Lakewood Home Tour on Nov. 9-10

The 48th Annual Lakewood Home Tour is happening next weekend, on Nov. 9 and 10.  You can always count on seeing great historic homes as well as those by some of our most talented current architects. 

Hosted by The Lakewood Early Childhood PTA (LECPTA), the tour raises money primarily for Lakewood Elementary School, J. L. Long Middle School, and Woodrow Wilson High School. The all-volunteer group manages to round up a wide variety of some of the most interesting homes for the tour.

This year the event is chaired by Shelby Dolson, Lauren Harrison, and Juliana Rodriguez. Yes, it needs three chairs because home tours are a massive undertaking. I can attest to this because I’ve written the home tour brochure for Hollywood Heights for at least a decade. Even being on the fringes of a home tour, I have observed what it takes, and it’s truly a year-long process. The moment one tour ends, the planning for the next one begins. It takes a dedicated group of volunteers, and Lakewood has them!

One of the featured homes this year is a new build owned by Gable Roby, who has lived in Lakewood since she was 4 years old. Her parents moved here so she could attend Lakewood Elementary School.

She not only grew up in Lakewood, she also grew up volunteering on the home tour. When her children were young, she naturally joined the LECPTA. When she was asked to open her new family home for this year’s tour, she was more than game. 

“As a lifelong Lakewood resident, it was a huge honor to be asked and a full circle moment for me,” Roby said. “To me, there is no event that showcases the multi-generational pull like the Lakewood Home Tour. I was a home captain one year and saw my friends, their children, their parents, my mom’s friends, and my former teachers. Now, my children are getting involved in serving on the tour. The home tour pays homage to our roots and ties in the historic architecture with the new. It’s a dream come true that those memories will be made inside my house and be a part of our children’s lives. I want to instill an expectation of giving back. Lakewood is a village and events like the Lakewood Home Tour are when it is most evident.

To secure your tickets for this exciting event, head to LECPTA’s website.