59th Hoover Tour of Homes taps into history
For nearly 60 years, local residents have opened their homes for others to tour as part of an annual tradition unique to Hoover High School that raises tens of thousands of dollars for graduating seniors heading off to college.
In what has become the Hoover PTA’s biggest fundraiser of the year, held rain or shine, last year’s Hoover Tour of Homes helped the PTA dole out $14,000 worth of scholarships to 20 graduating seniors.
This Saturday, during the 59th annual Hoover Tour of Homes, the event will honor its roots by featuring a home that was part of the inaugural 1957 tour, in addition to highlighting a few historic Glendale landmarks.
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Among the stops on the tour will be the Casa Adobe de San Rafael, where the Hoover High School Choir will perform holiday songs.
The adobe was built around 1870 and was home to former Los Angeles County supervisor and sheriff Tomas Sanchez and his wife, Maria Sepulveda, who, together, had 21 children — 19 sons and two daughters.
After retiring from public service, Sanchez spent much of his time at the adobe with his family until his death in 1882, according to a county document.
Participants will also tour the Doctor’s House for a glimpse of a Victorian Christmas.
Almost lost to the wrecking ball, the Glendale home that was built on East Wilson Avenue in 1888, and was moved to its present location in Brand Park in 1979 after residents mobilized against its destruction to make way for apartments.
The concerned residents not only saved the house, but they banded together to form the Glendale Historical Society and spent the next several years restoring the home until it was opened to the public as a museum in 1984.
The Brand Library will be another pit stop on the tour, along with the Cascadia Drive home of Glendale resident Lenna Tyler-Kast.
Another significant home on the tour is owned by Ellen and Robert Farewell on Grandview Avenue.
Ellen Farewell inherited the house from her late parents, Joseph and Betty Edwards, who lived there for more than three decades, according to tour organizers.
The Edwardses welcomed visitors on the first Hoover Tour of Homes in 1957, and for a second time in 1987, making the home’s appearance on this upcoming tour its third.
Tickets for the tour, which begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m., cost is $25 each.
They’re available at itsmyseat.com/HooverPTA or with cash or check payments at Art’s Meat Market & Village Deli, 1404 W. Kenneth Road.
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Kelly Corrigan, kelly.corrigan@latimes.com
Twitter: @kellymcorrigan
