Around the world

The magnificence of Victorian mansions on Millionaires Row's Historic District is brilliant any time of the year.

However, seeing the homes decorated for the holiday season and adorned with beautiful flowers and Christmas flair is a sight to behold.

As the snow approaches and the holiday season begins, so does the 12th annual Victorian Christmas celebration, which will be held Friday through Sunday.

Article Photos

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette
The 12th annual Victorian Christmas theme will be Christmas from “Around the World.” Shown in German clothing on Millionaires Row are, front row, from left, Jonathan Kohr with dogs Angus and Rommel; Andrew Lyon; and Launa Miller, all of Williamsport; and back row, Nan Young of Williamsport and Dr. Oscar Knade of Montoursville. Angus and Rommel belong to Doc and Chris Miller of Williamsport. Victorian Christmas will be held Friday though Sunday.

This year's theme is Christmas from "Around the World" and each mansion will be decorated with a Christmas tree from various countries. English, American, German, Scottish, French, Scandinavian and Russian music and decorations will beautify the experience.

Nan Young, co-founder of Preservation Williamsport, said each year the celebration is more spectacular than the year before and features a different theme and Victorian mansions.

The celebration begins Friday with the DuBoistown Garden Club's 47th annual Holiday House in Pennington Lounge at Lycoming College and a downtown holiday parade that starts at 6 p.m.

For the much-anticipated tour on Saturday, trolley rides to the Victorian mansions will be available from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday in order to transport guests to and from tour destinations. A tour map will be handed out during ticket purchases that is marked with pick-up and drop off points.

This year's homes will be surrounded with floral creations by Janet's Floral Designs, Nevill's Flowers, Special Occasion Florals, florist E. Liz Snyder and designer Launa Miller. Barbara Lamade, Mary Louise Kissell and Shirley Knade are decorating the international Christmas trees with handmade Christmas ornaments.

A live nativity may be viewed from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Park Place, 800 W. Fourth St.

In addition to the elegant mansion tours, several additional activities are planned for this year's event. A train expo, carriage rides, Victorian tea party and luncheons are all part of this year's Victorian Christmas celebration.

Thanks to the hard work of the organization, the world is starting to notice. Victorian Homes Magazine recently featured five Williamsport Victorian mansions and The New York Times visited in 2007, highlighting Millionaires Row and Preservation Williamsport in its Travel Section. Victorian Homes Magazine photographers also spent two days at the Rowley House Museum where they took pictures for the publication.

"The key to Williamsport's future lies in its past," Young said. "And all proceeds from the event support the organization's goal of raising monies to continue with restoration projects and to fund operations."

Not only does Preservation Williamsport shine a beacon of light upon our city during the holidays, the organization is leading the way toward a promising future by ensuring our city shines bright year round.

Due to the nonprofit organization's hard work and countless volunteers, neighborhoods now are lined with beautiful new Victorian street lamps and hanging baskets adorned with flowers. Gardens and parks, dormant for many years, also are being brought back to their original beauty.

Advance tickets for the Victorian Christmas tour are $12 and will be on sale at locations throughout the city, including the Community Arts Center, 220 W. Fourth St., and Lycoming County Visitors Bureau, 210 William St.

Tickets also are available the day of the tour at Lycoming County Visitors Bureau, 210 William St.; Genetti Hotel, 200 W. Fourth St.; and select homes and mansions.

For more information about Victorian Christmas events, contact Young at 326-1561 or visit www.preservationwilliamsport.org.

For tickets, times and prices, call the Lycoming County Visitors Information Center at 800-358-9900 or the Community Arts Center at 326-2424.

Homes that will be on the tour from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday will include:

The Victorian House at Penn College, One College Ave. - American.

The Victorian House on the campus of Pennsylvania College of Technology was designed and constructed by students, faculty and staff, with support from the business community, to serve as a modern guesthouse with Victorian charm.

Owner: Pennsylvania College of Technology.

Florist-decorators: Chris Fink, horticulture students and Lenore Penfield.

Campus house chairwomen: Linda Miller and Gail Landers.

The John Stopper House, formerly the Florence Crittendon Home, 1105 Woodmont Ave. - Scandinavian.

This spectacular 1905 house shows architecture features transitioning from Victorian to Craftsman. This home features tiger oak woodwork in the foyer, staircase and original dining room. Other highlights include a vintage baby grand piano, an antique upright piano, a Thomas Edison Standard Cylinder Phonograph and a nativity set from Israel.

Owners: Verne and Angelia Wepener.

Florist: Janet's Floral Creations.

Chairwomen: Ruthanne Crotty and Nan Young.

The White-Gamble Home, 835 W. Fourth St. - French.

This house features Richardson-Romanesque style of architecture, circa 1888. The house was a wedding gift to John Whites's daughter, Mary White Gamble, who was marrying William Emery. The house has 30 rooms, which feature beautiful oak woodwork and stained glass.

Owner: The McCormick Law Firm.

Florists: Karen Ruhl and Michelle Ronnelberg from Special Occasion Florals.

Chairwoman: Joan Cherrington.

The Lamade-Reynolds House, 830 Vallamont Drive - Scottish.

Guests will feel welcome in this magnificent traditional home, circa 1942, that features a gracious center hall with a handsome curving staircase to the second floor. The home also features a wood-paneled den.

Owners: Joseph Reynolds and Barbara Brown.

Florist: Nevill's Flowers.

Chairwoman: Dina Wilson.

Rowley House Museum, 707 W. Fourth St. - English.

Probably the most magnificent remaining example of the craftsmanship that exemplified Millionaires Row, this 1888 home was designed by Eber Culver and built on land bought by Peter Herdic.

It is recognized as one of the most outstanding examples of Queen Anne architecture in the state and features extraordinary Tiffany quality stained-glass windows that were featured in Victorian Homes Magazine. The cherry and oak woodwork is in excellent condition and the electric light fixtures are extremely rare.

On the second floor is a multimedia room formerly used as a chapel by the sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who taught at St. Joseph School across the street at Annunciation parish. It was opened to the public as a Victorian House Museum in summer 2007.

Owner: Preservation Williamsport.

Florist: E. Liz Snyder from Strawberry Basket.

Chairman: Bob Kane.

The Sanctuary, 1400 W. Fourth St. - Russian.

The Sanctuary, formerly known as Calgary Church, was constructed in 1925. It now is a set of apartments.

Later known as Calvary United Methodist Church, it was the site on the Plum Thicket Massacre of June 10, 1778, and the first cemetery established specifically to be a cemetery.

The massacre occurred at the point where West Fourth Street crosses the little stream that flows down Cemetery street.

At that time, a natural thicket of wild plum trees grew there, which yielded fruit of remarkable size and flavor for nearly a century after the tragedy. The road was merely a widening out of the old Indian trail through this thicket.

The boughs, with the leaves dried on them, were thrown into the bushes to form a safe place for the concealment of the savages.

Victims of that massacre were interred in the cemetery for a period of time.

Owner: Hutchinson Realty Development.

Florist: Karen Ruhl and Michelle Ronneberg from Special Occasion Florals.

Chairwomen: Kathy Campana and Natalie Pena.

Churches that will be part of this year's tour will include:

Covenant Central Presbyterian Church, 807 W. Fourth St.

Covenant Central Church was completed in 1910; built in the Romanesque-style using gray Avondale marble with a red tile roof. Of historical interest is the "Christ Window," the "English Bible Window" and the "Missionary Window," which were crafted by Frederick S. Lamb, in the studio of J&R Lamb of New York, member of the American School of Stained Glass Art.

Organ music will be performed throughout the day and light refreshments will be served.

First Baptist Church, 380 W. Fourth St. - This landmark church was originally designed and built by Eber Culver in 1854. It has been served by 21 pastors and six interim pastors in three different buildings all on the same corner of ground donated by Peter Herdic. Peter's wife was a member of the congregation. After being destroyed by floods, the original building was torn down in 1889.

The main sanctuary was completed in 1914. The church is an example of the Romanesque style of architecture, with mountain stone quarried from this area.

The present church is known for its beautiful sanctuary with the eight stained glass windows depicting Baptist patriarchs.

The jewel of all the windows faces West Fourth Street and depicts the baptism of Jesus. Designed in London and built in New York City by Young and Bonawitz in 1914, the windows were taken apart to be transported to Williamsport.

A 2 p.m. organ concert is planned.

Christ Community Worship Center, 436 W. Fourth St. - Originally Church of the Covenant, and more recently St. Paul Lutheran Church, this limestone structure has a center spire, bell tower and steeply pitched roof with stone finials.

The windows are pointed and arched. It has the largest expanse of Tiffany-stained glass in northcentral Pennsylvania.

The church also features an arched entryway with decorative insets.

Annunciation Church, 700 W. Fourth St. - Built in 1886 by Amos Wagner on land donated by Peter Herdic, the church was built to service the Irish Catholic community. It is an example of the Romanesque style of architecture. The sandstone came from the nearby Ralston Quarry.

The church has a multi-gabled slate roof and walls with colored belt courses. There are 43 arched stained-glass windows. The entryway and entry doors are semicircular. The bell tower is open with a decorative cornice and patterned stone. The center tower was capped when three workers fell to their deaths during construction. The interior has marble altars and Tiffany windows, including "The Accession of Christ" behind the main altar installed in the early 1900s. The church features significant use of marble and gold. The church seats 1,000 people.

Organ music will be provided to touring guests.

Trinity Episcopal Church, 844 W. Fourth St. - Built in 1875 by Culver and Thorn, the church was paid for by Peter Herdic, who donated not only the land but also the entire building to Trinity Parish for one dollar as long as the pews remain "forever free."

His father-in-law, Judge Maynard, presented the church with the first set of nine-bell Westminster chimes in America, the same as heard in the Big Ben Tower of London. An example of English Gothic architecture, the church is built with stone quarried from Bald Eagle Mountain at Muncy and brownstone from Hummelstown.

The church features pointed arches and windows, a steeply pitched colored slate roof and a 265-foot spire.