Home Tour to offer up-close look at local historic homes

MARTINEZ, Calif. See the homes of the stars. Thats the refrain in Hollywood. But in Martinez, its the homes themselves that will be the stars of the upcoming Martinez Home Tour on Saturday. In Hollywood, its hop on a bus, drive by the home, listen to the tour guide talk about the movie star, and move on. But the Martinez Home Tour will allow visitors to actually walk through seven unique homes from the 1920s while homeowners or docents explain the features of the house.

Every house on the tour this year is a star, said Carol Russell of the Home Selection Committee. And the homes are within walking distance of each other in the Arlington Way neighborhood.

An example is Marc and Amelia Hunters meticulously restored 1923 Craftsman which was featured in American Bungalow magazines winter issue, a first for a Martinez house. But the other homes are all gems too, said Carolyn Boone Duncan, Home Tour Chair. Visitors might well conclude that other homes on the tour are deserving of national attention also.

The homes this year have spectacular kitchens, observed Barbara Lucero, who is also on the Home Selection Committee. Three of the vintage homes, such as the 1928 Spanish Revival belonging to Mayor Rob Schroder, have modern gourmet kitchens that were designed to fit in with the rest of the house. Other kitchens are nearly original or were designed to appear so. In the kitchen of the 1920s English Cottage on the tour, restored by Jack Vosney, the cabinets are new but were made to appear old by painting them with many layers of paint and stains until the appropriate look was achieved. In the 1927 Hetzler home, the tiny vintage kitchen is fully functional and features an eye-catching hammered copper sink. The 1928 Gliatto house still has the original Wedgewood stove, so carefully maintained over the years that it needs no restoration. It even retains its matching salt and pepper shakers.

The unique personalities of the homeowners can be seen in the houses. A daughter in the Hetzler house insisted on painting her entire bedroom with vines and flowers even on the ceiling. Jack Vosney built a cottage in the garden that has wall paper which he created from articles in an 1881 magazine. The Gliatto house features vivid colors both outside and inside with every room of the home painted a different color by its owner, a former artist.

As for the owners of the homes on this years tour, none are movie stars, but many are well known in the community. For example, Candice Gliatto is the owner of Citrus Salon on Main Street. When asked what was unique about her house, Candice replied: My house is full of art. We rotate the art at the salon. And after every show I buy a piece of art by a Martinez artist to display in my house.

Corrine Christiansen has her own 1922 Craftsman house on the tour. As a teacher at the New Leaf Academy, Christiansen was named the 2012 Educator of the Year in Martinez. She added an inlaw unit to her home in which her mother lives. Craftsman features such as hardwood floors and wainscoted walls were utilized to make the addition appear as if it dated from the same period as the main house.

When asked what visitors would find interesting about his Spanish Revival home, Mayor Rob Schroder replied with a chuckle, They will have the opportunity to see the skeletons in my closet.

Also on the tour will be all four floors of the 1930 Art Deco Masonic Temple, the 1890 Martinez Museum, the 1882 John Muir House, the 1849 Martinez Adobe and the Shell Refinery Museum.

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Home Tour to offer up-close look at local historic homes