On a peeling bookshelf at 1139 Judson Ave., copies of The DaVinci Code and Harry Potter books sit next to classics by Anna Sewell and Jane Austen.
A few doors down at 1207 Judson, a flat-screen TV overlooks the master bed.
At 1119 Judson, a new-looking Dell laptop sits prominently in a home office next to a set of iPod speakers.
On the inside, the houses look like any others would on any other suburban street. But unlike some of the newer homes springing up around the city, these homes have long histories – they were built in the late 1800s.
The three Judson homes, and four more on Hinman Avenue, were part of the Evanston Historical Society’s 31st Annual Mother’s Day House Walk on Sunday, where local homeowners opened their doors to their neighbors and showed off some of the city’s oldest residences. The seven houses have been significantly renovated in recent years but still preserve their historic character.
Eden Juron Pearlman, the director of the Evanston Historical Society, said the house walk usually attracts about 600 participants and between 150 and 200 volunteers.
“Evanston is a pretty unique community,” she said. “Evanston is very based on tradition, preservation, architecture – and this is a way to highlight all those things.”
Each year the society chooses different homes and prepares a booklet with information about each of them. Pearlman said people enjoy the house walk for a number of reasons – some like peeking inside their neighbors’ houses, while others come for remodeling ideas for their own homes.
Pearlman said one aspect that made this year’s walk particularly special was the proximity between the homes.
“Most people, their idea of a good time isn’t going to one house, getting in their car and going to another; so we like to have the house walk an actual walk,” she said. “What makes this one particularly interesting is looking at how 20th-century people live in late 19th-century homes.”
The level of modernity varies among the houses on the tour. Many of the homes now have stainless steel appliances, while others retain mementos such as grandfather clocks.
Evanston resident Julie Karnes came to the house walk with her husband and friends.
Karnes, who lives in a late-1800s house about a block away, said she was hoping the tour would give her ideas for the work she’s doing at her own house.
“It’s neat to get to see all these old and beautiful houses,” she said.
Other residents came from farther away, such as nine-year-old Molly Gentile, a north Evanston resident, who toured with her mom, Susie.
“She wanted to do something Mom wanted,” Susie said. “It was a good mother-daughter thing.”
Reach Matt Presser at [email protected].
