HOMES FOR THE HOLIDAYS: This arrangement is at architect Max Hayden’s home on Mercer Street, among those on view at the annual Old Mill Hill Society Holiday House Tour on Saturday, December 6.
By Anne Levin
It has been 59 years since residents of Trenton’s historic Mill Hill neighborhood first opened their doors for the first Old Mill Hill Society Holiday House Tour. Since that inaugural afternoon in early December, the event has become a much-anticipated, annual holiday ritual for fans of residential architecture, history, and interior design.
Some 15 homes are on this year’s tour, which takes place Saturday, December 6 from 12 to 5 p.m. Along with the opportunity to see how residents of these homes in various styles, sizes, and ages decorate for the holidays, there will be food trucks, mocktails from Keep it Cordial, a film festival at Mill Hill Playhouse, and a reception at the nearby Lobby Club on Front Street.
Architects John Hatch and David Henderson first put their 1887 Victorian house on the tour soon after buying the vacant building 36 years ago, when it was still a work in progress. Over the decades, fans have been able to witness its transformation.
“Tourgoers got to see it all through the renovation process, starting when the house had lots of water damage and a collapsed rear roof, all the way through completion,” said Hatch. “And over the years, we’ve kept making changes, which has been fun for us and interesting for people to see. We get lots of questions both about the lovely original details and the modern changes we’ve made, including solar panels and lots of sustainable features. I think that’s what people love about the tour — seeing what people have done with their rowhouses, which look kind of similar on the outside but are very different on the inside.”
New to the tour this year is the home of another architect, Max Hayden, who moved to Mill Hill from Hopewell over a year ago. He agreed to open his house when organizers were putting together the list of participants.
“I’m doing it because they didn’t have enough participants initially and might have canceled it, and I feel it’s an important event to the neighborhood,” Hayden said. “I believe in Trenton. I’ve got relatives dating back to the 1700s here (my grandmother lived here as a child), and I worked here from 1984 to 1988. It’s the capital city, and it gets a bad rap. The house I’m renting was nicely redone in 2017, and it fit my furniture after moving from Hopewell Township. The neighborhood is great — a real interesting mix of people, and I really like everyone and living here. There’s a sense of humanity that I was missing on my nine acres — which I do miss — but a vibrancy and connection not as evident in the suburbs.”
A new feature of the tour this year is the Holly Folly Film Festival, presented by the Trenton Film Society and Passage Theatre at Mill Hill Playhouse (205 East Front Street), which is housed in a renovated church from the mid-19th century. The series actually starts on Thursday, December 4 with entertainment and trivia contests along with a screening of The Preacher’s Wife at 7:30 p.m. Friday’s film, at 5 and 7:30 p.m., is National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. On Saturday at 5:30 p.m., following a pre-show reception at 5 p.m., the film is It’s a Wonderful Life. The series concludes on Sunday with screenings of The Polar Express at 1:30 and 4 p.m. Visit passagetheatre.org for ticket information.
During the house tour or after, from 3 to 7 p.m., the Lobby Club at 17 East Front Street invites visitors to stop by for drinks at the bar and complimentary light bites. The club’s homemade cinnamon bourbon hot cider will be available for $10.
The holiday weekend continues on Sunday, December 7 at 4 p.m. when the Capital Singers of Trenton present “Cold Air…Warm Hearts” at nearby Sacred Heart Church, 343 Broad Street. Music is by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Jeffrey L. Ames, Robert Shaw, and Robert Bennett. Guest performers are from the Trenton Children’s Chorus, directed by Desiree Melegrito.
The house tour happens, rain or shine. Tickets are $20 (children under 12 free), and proceeds help finance grants to assist property owners with maintaining the district’s National Historic Landmark status. Visit trentonmillhill.org for more information.
“Our tour is a great way to kick off the season,” said Terry West, who chairs the event. “Our neighborhood is a special place, and we look forward to sharing our holiday spirit.”