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Night at the Opera

October 16, 6:00pm
Something special.

Join us for the final general meeting of the year, October 16, 2013, where we will take a visual trip through the history of the California Bungalow.

The meeting will take place at 6:00pm at the Orange Masonic Temple — in the room that historically served as the Orange Opera House.

Architect Richard H. Dodd, an Orange County native who has been chronicling the history of Orange County architecture and will present: The Bungalow Era in Orange County: the Embodiment of the Arts and Crafts Movement.

Public parking lots will be available on Olive St and at Maple and Lemon. Lite fare will be provided.

Image from the Holiday Home Decoration Contest.

Deck the halls

Sunday, December 15th, 6:00pm

Get ready for the Holidays! It’s time for the Holiday Home Decoration Contest.

All Old Towne residents are invited to deck the halls and decorate your house in this annual tradition. Awards are given to Best Block, Most Old Fashioned, Best Use of Lights, Most Original and Most Beautiful. Judges will be cruising Old Towne to view the festive homes beginning at 6:00pm on Sunday, December 15, 2013.

Join in this fun and joyful contest and add a bit of holiday spirit to the season.

See last year’s winners, OTPA on Facebook

Image from the 2013 Historic Home Tour.

2014 Home Tour

A special message from us to you.

The 2013 Old Towne Orange Historic Home Tour was an event not to miss! Over 1000 tickets were sold for our special 2-day event with tourgoers arriving from neighboring cities such as Riverside, Corona, Newport Beach, Irvine and parts of L.A.

Special thanks to Bobby & Lori Babcock of RWB Party Props, homeowners: Jeff & Sandy Frankel, Mike & Bonnie Gracia, Bob & Marva Hitchcock, Wayne Gensler & Glory Johnson and Joe Peters for opening the doors of their wonderful homes and commercial building for all to enjoy. And enjoy they did.

I’d also like to thank homeowner, Sandy Frankel, for not only having her home on the tour but handling the publicity and doing a stellar job; first time Floral Coordinator, Gayle Ray, worked with many florists around town to provide each home with one (or more!) arrangements that always add just that right ‘special touch’; Gary Zdenek for his fantastic graphic design abilities; my husband, Steve, and Jonathan Neal for providing support wherever and whenever needed. And, boy was it needed!

A centrally-located Will Call with parking is an essential component when planning the home tour, so we are very grateful to the Orange Public Library for allowing us to set up camp for the weekend. I know our visitors appreciated it as well. And, of course, thank you to Al Ricci for the Ricci Realty trolley driven by “Tony”. Tony and the trolley were, as always, a big hit.

With the significant efforts put forth by committee members: Glory Johnson (homeowner on the tour), Mike Ochs, Diana Zdenek and Annalisa Goode (who also doubled as a Lead Docent); Lead Docents: Aaron Alduenda, Peggy Calvert, Nancy Luna and Mary Matuzak, this event would not have been possible.

A very special thank you to Mayor Tita Smith and to the councilmembers whom support our historic district, not just during home tours, but each and every day.

Warmest regards,

Wendy Bennett

2013 Home Tour Chair