Everyone is well aware of the home remodeling, restoration and rebuilding craze that has been a national phenomenon for many years running. And, over the past few years, it has finally manifested itself in Riverside.
But is this phenomenon really something new? Or is it just more visible lately?
Those are the questions that the Frederick Law Olmsted Society’s biennial housewalk, scheduled for Sunday, May 21 in Riverside will seek to answer.
Riverside, itself a national historic landmark for its landscape architecture, has been a work in progress ever since its conception in 1868. People have wanted “bigger and better” since they dwelled in caves.
How has Riverside’s population managed changing familial and economic circumstances? Some have restored their place of dwelling to a period in time and to a standard of exactitude. Others have sought to update and modernize while retaining something of their home’s earlier ambience. And still others have decided that the best thing to do was to simply tear down and start over.
This year’s housewalk, titled “Riverside Rejuvenated” will explore these questions and allow us, through the generosity of the homeowners and the Olmsted Society volunteers, to see firsthand and to appreciate the efforts that are going into keeping our village a special place to live.
What follows is a preview of the homes that will be featured on this year’s housewalk, which will take place rain or shine. All but one of the homes can be found bordering Riverside’s Scottswood Common, named for General Winfield Scott, in the village’s First Division.
It’s a part of town where some of the oldest homes have met with the recurring penchant for property owners to want to expand, update and rebuild.
