One of the many lovely homes that will be featured this month during the HYP Home Tour in Bellevue Park.
In Harrisburg, there are a few annual events that you can mark your calendar by: the holiday parade, the summer festivals and, each May, the HYP Annual Home Tour, organized by Harrisburg Young Professionals.
This year, the Home Tour, for the first time, travels up to Bellevue Park, a leafy, rustic enclave of large homes and beautiful gardens that outsiders rarely get to see.
If you’re unfamiliar with this neighborhood, Bellevue Park was laid out in 1910 at the height of the “City Beautiful” movement. Renowned landscape architect Warren Manning designed the neighborhood’s layout, including the “reservations” (common green areas) and ponds that fill in the spaces between home lots and along roads. The area features winding lanes, wooded streets and many natural elements.
For this year’s event, guests will get to tour 17 homes, each with a one-of-a-kind story. Each home will be partnered with a unique food and drink sponsor from the local area. There also will be an after-party, with food and live music, held at the Bellevue Park Community Center.
Proceeds from Home Tour benefit the HYP “Home in the City” program, which provides $1,000 grants to qualified HYP members who are purchasing a home in Harrisburg. In 2016, the organization provided $9,000 to HYP members through the program.
“This has been one of our longest-running events, and, by far, the most impactful in the Harrisburg community,” said Joe Tertel, 2017 HYP president. “We have the opportunity to bring hundreds of individuals to an area in the city that they may not be aware of. From these types of events, we hope to bring awareness to the uniqueness of architecture and history that our city provides.”
The 2017 HYP Home Tour takes place on Saturday, May 13, noon to 5 p.m., in Bellevue Park. For more information, including how to purchase tickets, visit www.hyp.org.
Author: Lawrance Binda
