Faithful indeed, because after two years on ice due to you know what, Ryan Place is bouncing back with its 38th Candlelight Christmas Tour of Homes presented on the first weekend in December.
This, the oldest of Fort Worth home tours, will take place on Saturday, Dec. 3, from noon to 9 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 4, from noon to 5 p.m. This year’s tour will include an impressive and varied roster of homes ranging over five decades in a rich variety of styles.
The Norman House
The Norman family undertook an extensive renovation to their gracious traditional-style home from 2020 to 2021, bringing their house up to current standards.
The primary bedroom and bath were built to ADA standards. New bleached, white oak flooring gives a fresh, contemporary punch to the 1930s vintage bungalow. The staircase exhibits contemporary architectural invention with its comely metal railings and glass panels.
The added second floor claimed from attic space serves as a rowdy family room when the Norman’s nine grandchildren visit.
The Teems House
The Teems home is a welcome and worthy inclusion in the home tour because in so many ways this unassuming one-story ranch encompasses so many facets of the Ryan Place Renaissance.
After the stock market crash of 1929, it got very quiet in this historic neighborhood. Very quiet. This, the first planned development in Fort Worth, faced the Great Depression with many unbuilt lots. Many visitors to the area assume that the 1950s ranch houses here were the result of teardowns, but they are, in fact, a result of the redevelopment of vacant parcels.
This 1952 build was purchased in 1974 for $17,000 at the very genesis of the Ryan Place revival and underwent a major renovation to bring it up to snuff.
By the time the Teems took on this house in 2021, it had become neglected and untended requiring a renovation lasting 14 months, the removal of 2,500 square feet of concrete, and 180 cubic yards of debris. Interestingly, for a house of this age, the Teems’ house has accumulated an astonishing collection of historical Fort Worth artifacts, including century-old stained glass from Quality Hill and 19th gates from St. Joseph Hospital.
The Gibbs-Jones House
This Classic 1928 Prarie Style bungalow underwent a deft redo by experienced renovator Terri West. Updated, but retaining the best of its vintage charm including period shiplap walls.
The Johnston Home
It can’t be a coincidence that one of Ryan Place’s most Hollywood handsome couples fetched up in one of the grandest houses on this year’s tour, designed by the original architect of Fort Worth’s most fabled theater-Casa Mañana, Joseph R. Pelich. This one is on our dog walk and this rather grand Georgian style was desperately in need of serious TLC.
The Classic black and white marble floors in the foyer is the perfect preview of a lovely and well-considered reno.
The Holland Home
Is this the third time I’ve written about this house? In 1911 it was newsworthy. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram announced the purchase and build of this, the first Ryan Place house in its September 19th edition.
You can read more about this special Prairie-style home and why it’s worthy of a spot on the Ryan Place Candlelight Christmas Tour of Homes here.
If You Go
Tickets are priced between $20 and $30 and are available online through Eventbrite. Tickets are also available for purchase on the days of the tour at St. John’s Anglican Church on Elizabeth Boulevard.
