Hundreds of people braved the rain Sunday to tour the quiet Forest Hill Avenue neighborhood during the 14th annual Homes Tour.
Dozens of people walked through 106, 115, 116, 119, 140 and 142 Forest Hill Ave., admiring the renovations and old architecture still prominent in the homes. Groups of umbrellas sprinkled the six homes' yards, and shoes were sprawled across porches as people attempted to keep the rainy weather outside of the houses.
This is the first time the Historic City of Jefferson had to handle rain during the homes tour, HCJ President Donna Deetz said. The organization had to move trolleys into the area to provide shelter from the elements, she added.
However, the rain did not hurt the event's attendance, Deetz said. HCJ sold more than 500 tickets ahead of the event, and at least 70 percent of those ticket holders had already come through and toured the homes by 2 p.m., she added.
A long line of colorful umbrellas extended from Lisa LeMaster's house at 140 Forest Hill Ave. as people eagerly waited to walked through the cozy home. LeMaster has lived on the street for five years.
"I love this street, so it was just really exciting that they wanted to showcase Forest Hill Avenue so I was happy to join in on it," she said.
Forest Hill Drive was platted in 1922 and called Forest Place. It was located on pastureland owned by local architect Fred Binder, who dreamed of a park. Binder Park, off Rainbow Drive, was named after him, and Memorial Park was previously named after the architect.
Every house in Jefferson City has a story, and the annual Homes Tour is one way to encourage people to learn about those histories, Deetz said.
"It's important for us to hold on to those stories because that's what Jefferson City is all about," she said. "Going into these homes, hearing the stories, hearing the history of the homes and hearing the stories of the people who live there now, that's adding to our history as we go along and it's really important for all of us to know about."
While Debbie Bernsen's Forest Hill Avenue house was not part of the Homes Tour, she took the opportunity to support her neighborhood by touring her friends' homes.
"We're all a very neighborly group here. We do a lot of things together, and I just wanted to support them and show that we appreciate them helping out the Historic City of Jefferson, which I think is a very important organization," she said.
The proceeds from the tour will help pay for HCJ projects, like rehabilitating the Jefferson City National Cemetery's old Caretaker's Cottage and turning the Tweedie House at 601 E. High St. into a public research library.