By Susan Kelty Law, Associate Real Estate Broker, Houlihan Lawrence

May 9, 2018:  Architecture buffs and families looking to pamper their moms on Mother’s Day weekend are in for a treat this coming Saturday, May 12.

The second annual Breakfast with Mr. Bates Historical House Tour will be held at two iconic William Bates masterpieces: 7 Valley Road and 16 Park Avenue.

Bates was the esteemed architect who designed over 35 homes for William Van Duzer Lawrence, the original developer of Bronxville’s Lawrence Park artist colony on “the Hilltop.”

The tour was organized by Houlihan Lawrence agents Susan Kelty Law, Rita Steinkamp and Megan McSherry, who are listing agents for the homes. Houlihan Lawrence is proud to play a part in the tour as the company celebrates the 130th anniversary of its founding by the very same William Lawrence.

The walking tour will start promptly at 10:00 am with coffee on the sweeping stone porch of 7 Valley Road and will be led by local architect and Bates expert Anderson Kenny.  A member of the board of The Bronxville Historical Conservancy, Kenny was instrumental in helping the Hilltop Association locate the replica bricks used to restore part of Park Avenue’s legendary “yellow-brick road” three years ago.

The event will include a brief interior viewing of the first floor of 7 Valley with its dramatic two-story entrance hall, octagonal paneled library, and magnificent dining room with floor to ceiling stained-glass windows and minstrels’ gallery. The tour will then wind up Valley Road, taking in the intricate exteriors of many other Bates turn-of-the-century homes, including 51 Prescott, another charming Bates home currently on the market, to the tour’s conclusion on the iconic “yellow-brick-road” at 16 Park Avenue.

At 16 Park, visitors will be intrigued again by Bates’s intricate millwork, oversized fireplaces, and dramatic main staircase flanking the expansive front hall. And they will see how the owner/designer has tweaked the original details in a way that keeps this period home fresh and relevant. At the conclusion of the tour, light refreshments will be served and a raffle of BXV glassware will be held on the front stone patio of 16 Park.

“We at Houlihan Lawrence feel it is so important to keep Bronxville’s amazing period homes relevant to today’s buyers," said Susan Kelty Law.  “And these homes have one more key attraction for New York City transplants who are reluctant to give up their on-foot lifestyle. Come to Bronxville, keep walking, stay healthy, and get home in time to see your kids play their sports. That is the beauty of Bronxville and why I came back here to raise my own family.”

The walking tour is free and open to the public. Park by 9:45 am at the free lot behind Houlihan Lawrence at 4 Valley Road and the agents will escort visitors up the hill to 7 Valley Road.

The tour starts promptly at 10:00 am. For additional information, call Susan Kelty Law at 914-659-5856, Rita Steinkamp at 914-646-5196, or Megan McSherry at 917-446-2221.

Pictured here (L to R): Megan McSherry, Susan Kelty Law, and Rita Steinkamp.  

Photo courtesy Houlihan Lawrence  

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