Annual Historical Homes Tour goes virtual Saturday in Galveston
Dwayne Jones and his crew of staff and volunteers at the Galveston Historical Foundation were antsy, feeling like they ought to be busy with plans for their annual Historical Homes Tour as they normally would any spring. So Jones decided, why not go virtual? Video calls are being used in a variety of formats for work meetings, happy hours and even mini concerts, so it’s hardly a stretch for a homes tour to go online.
For nearly 50 years, area families have spent Mother’s Day weekend touring other people’s homes, and they’ll be able to again this year even if it’s in a form that conforms to the new boundaries dictated by the coronavirus pandemic, Jones said.
From 1-5 p.m. Saturday, the GHF will conduct four home tours live on its website — galvestonhistory.org — and at Facebook.com/galvestonhistory. In between each of those tours, Jones and others will give talks.
Jones will talk about the island’s architecture and history; renowned architectural historian Stephen Fox will talk about the work of Houston architect John Staub, who designed three homes on the island; and a third presentation will be given by Plein Air Southwest, the juried art competition and show. This is the 48th year for the GHF Historical Homes Tour, but Jones said that they could have an in-person tour later in the
year if health conditions allow. The event usually draws up to 5,000 visitors, depending on the weather and the homes on the tour.
“What’s important is that the tour connects people to our island and our history and come back here,” Jones said. “Sometimes it makes them want to buy a house here and have their own experience living in Galveston.”
Tom and Nancy Daly’s second home in Galveston — the William and Mary Margaret Moody III House — is one of the four home on the tour. Docents will lead tours in some of the homes, but the Dalys are taking on the task themselves.
Other homes on the tour include two homes on the 900 block of Winnie, the James and Louise DeForest House (1883) and the McKinney-McDonald House (1890). The DeForest home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and is considered one of the island’s best examples of Victorian
architecture to survive the Great Storm of 1900.
The Charles and Estelle Miller House (1899) is the fourth home for the event, and it’s one that had suffered damage in a fire and was purchased and renovated by the GHF’s Residential Revolving Fund. Approximately 30 percent of the home had to be reconstructed, and it required a new roof and foundation stabilization; when the extensive renovation is done, the home will be sold.
The Dalys’ main home is in Braeswood Place in Houston, and they use their Galveston place for weekend visits for themselves, their children and grandchildren.
Designed by John Staub and built in 1938 for Bill Moody III and his second wife, the home sat vacant for a decade before the Dalys bought it in 2015. It hadn’t been touched in a long time, prompting the Dalys to replace wiring and plumbing, do some exterior masonry repairs, replace the kitchen and completely remodel three of the home’s six bathrooms. (Three others got partial makeovers.)
“It was a beautiful but neglected building and was going to be a challenge, and I bit at the bait,” said Tom Daly, a retired architect, of buying the house and embarking on an extensive renovation. “It’s a good example of his work — not as extravagant as some of his big Houston houses, but it’s all beautifully done.”
Daly described the home as a “1930s Hollywood house” with Art Deco features, including a grand staircase inside.
“It was built in 1938 for a whole different world, with servants and formal living and dining. The kitchen was created for the cook — not for the people who lived there,” Daly said. “It was created as an upper-middleclass fancy house for people who lived with help. It not only had to be fixed materially, but reworked a bit to our kind of life today.”