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Sedona VerdeValley Tourism Council

Jerome Home Tour


 The Riordan House is the oldest home on the 43rd Annual Jerome Historic Home and Building Tour. Built in 1898, it is now known as The Pink Lady House because of its lovely authentic Victorian paint scheme.
The Riordan House (photo by Michael Thompson)

 

The 43rd Annual Jerome Home and Historic Building Tour—Saturday, May 17, 2008, and Sunday, May 18, 2008--offers an inside look at eight remarkable homes and historic buildings in Jerome, Arizona—from a gypsy wagon and church to two contemporary ”dream” homes many years in the making. The tour runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days; tickets are $12 for adults, $6 for children and no charge for infants up to two years old.

Richard Johnson looks at architecture as an art form. He conceived his own house as a living sculpture, and has been building it organically, incrementally expanding it on all four sides so he can “keep his options open” and adapt to changes in his life. The overall theme is to have the interior spaces complement the external environment.

This Gypsy Caravan hails from Ireland, where in 1930 it was a wedding gift. The newlyweds lived in the caravan for six years until the groom fell and broke his neck while picking apples. The caravan did not see the road again until it was sold in 1994, restored and shipped to Arizona.
The Gypsy Wagon (photo by Donna Chesler)

Johnson, a potter, has also incorporated passive solar features, artistic elements that have personal meaning, such as broken pots turned into a patio wall, and geometric images of African masks that remind him of his travels. Also noteworthy are the porthole-like windows that give the elegant, contemporary-style building a nautical feel.  The windows were placed around the home to capture the best views—whether swaying reeds or trees or the dizzying panoramic horizon.

Johnson’s home—20 years in the making—is on this year’s Jerome Home Tour.

Exterior of Richard Johnson's contemporary house, showcasing the nautical windows.
Richard Johnson's Home (photo by Donna Chesler)

It is one of two structures on this year’s tour that make a modern statement; other tour stops are older, historic-era properties. These include the Phelps Dodge Administrative Office, which has been lovingly restored;  two Victorian-era homes; a 1904 cottage; an authentic 1930s Gypsy Wagon and the lovely Holy Cross Catholic Church, which will be a delightful surprise to everyone taking the tour.

Upon entering the church, one immediately notices the charming blue-and-white hammered tin ceiling and the tin walls, which gives the space warmth and character.  Other features inspired by the church’s early Spanish/Mexican influence include painted glass windows, a chandelier with hanging tin crosses, metal Stations of the Cross, and the lifelike figures of the Holy Family and saints.  There is a touch of magic realism in one image of Jesus Christ, who looks like he is stepping out of a side altar.

Also noteworthy are two depictions of the young Jesus—Santo Niño de Atocha and the Infant Jesus of Prague—and the many images of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

In addition to the church itself, which was built in the early 1900s, the tour will encompass the confessional anteroom with its life-size bust of Anthony Mary Claret ( a saint whose followers staffed the parish) and the monastic living quarters. The residence is now largely unused but offers a glimpse of what life was like years ago, when the church was part of a thriving congregation.

Holy Cross Catholic Church. Photo by Donna Chesler
Holy Cross Catholic Church (photo by Donna Chesler)

There will be a shuttle to transport tour participants from one location to the next, but the need to climb steps makes the tour inaccessible to wheelchairs. At the end of the tour refreshments can be enjoyed at Jerome’s famous “Spook Hall.” For more information, call 928-649-3847.

 

 

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