When you live in a Philly row home, the sun could be hanging like a medallion outside, and the streets alight like a storybook photograph and you can enter your home and sit by the front window and almost be convinced it’s raining outside. Darn neighbors blocking your light! We jest.

QV homes

Some homeowners envision ingenious schemes for opening up their homes to the brilliance of natural light, like at this early nineteenth century Queen Village home, where the owners knocked down the back wall and replaced it with panels of windows that provide a view of the garden.

And while Philly has its row homes like the EL has its cars, it’s also got its architectural gems. At the Queen Village Neighborhood Association’s 34th Annual Queen Village Open House Tour this Saturday, one can visit renovated eighteenth and nineteenth century QV homes (including the home mentioned above), historic churches, small gardens, cozy alleys and more.

More QV homes

Queen Village has 800 historic buildings, like the Nathanial Irish House at 704 S. Front St. In fact, in 2013, somewhere along South Street, a marker will indicate it as the former divide of the Mason-Dixon Line. Ya’ll ever feel a southern charm down round there?

And who knows, you might get your next great design inspiration from this event. See you there?

–Lou Mancinelli