Here's an article I wrote for the Cape May County Herald about this year's Holiday Historic Home Tour.
Remember: tickets are all sold out, but guests of the inn can still book for Friday night (Dec. 6) or Saturday night (Dec. 7) and are guaranteed free admission wristbands, one per guest of the inn.
I also included photos of the newspaper version because I'm a sucker for print.
A Childhood Spark and Porch Conversations: The Roots of the Holiday Historic Home Tour
I’m one of a few neighbors that organize the Holiday Historic Home Tour. The idea for the tour began from casual porch and living room meetings. For me, it was rooted in my childhood. I grew up in a mid-Atlantic Edwardian home in Ventnor’s St. Leonard’s Tract. The house was originally built as a residence but served as a schoolhouse in the early 1900s. It had a distinct gambrel roof and a welcoming front porch we used all the time. My family lived there year-round throughout the 1970s up until 2016.
The new owners demolished it.
They replaced it with a “modern farmhouse”. The new house has an all-white facade, windows with black mullions, and a decorative front porch that’s not quite big enough to use. It lacks the characteristics of a "barrier island" house, but it serves its purpose.
Early Influences and Discovering the Historic District
As a kid, I’d walk to St. James Elementary (also since demolished) on Atlantic Avenue instead of the boardwalk. I liked looking at the old homes along that street. Maybe this planted the seeds of historic architecture fandom, even if I didn’t know it at the time.
In high school, I’d meet up with friends from Holy Spirit to shoot pool in Northfield or Somers Point. Afterwards, we’d carpool into Ocean City over the Ninth Street Bridge and park on 4th Street before walking the boards. It was easier to find a spot in the North End back then, even in summer.
All those years, I had no clue about the Residential Historic District. My driving route just barely bypassed it. It wasn’t until I took over Scarborough Inn that I discovered these homes, 30 minutes closer to Ventnor than Cape May.
Off-Season Attractions
As a lifelong Ventnor resident, I love these barrier islands in all seasons. Guests often ask, “What’s there to do at the shore in winter?”
My response is always, “The same things there are to do in most places—go for walks, breathe in fresh air, explore cute shops and neighborhoods.” It’s just that the air is saltier, and the views are oceanier. (If that’s not a word, it is now.)
While the beach and boardwalk are the main draws in summer, old architecture could be a significant attraction in the off-season. People flock to Cape May in December. That’s a relatively new phenomenon.
Connecting Through Social Media and Porch Parties
A few years ago, Richard Barth, a resident in the Historic District, started the Facebook group Ocean City Old Home Lovers. People post and comment on… well, old homes. I connected with neighbors that way. I even had family visit and ask to drive around and see these homes. There’s something about homes that really fires people up about architecture in ways that other building types don’t.
A few years into my tenure as innkeeper, I started hosting “porch parties” to recapture the front porch glory from my youth. It became a way to meet neighbors IRL. We’d have great conversations about architecture, history, and community.
Planning the First Tour
I became friends with Christine and Brian Lihou, who famously rescued their Wesley Avenue house, now known as The Genevieve—a name it had when it first opened as a hotel in the early 1900s. Christine, Brian, and I—along with two other neighbors, Maryann Pionegro-Smith and Sandy Summaria—met regularly to discuss how to drum up excitement about our town’s old buildings. We talked about reviving Ocean City’s walking tours. I shared a bucket list dream of trick-or-treating with a New Orleans-style second line (a goal I haven’t given up on).
These discussions evolved into a holiday home tour, which we decided should be free to encourage community participation.
Rallying Homeowners and Volunteers
Christine spoke with her neighbors and found more than a dozen willing to open their homes. As a residential architect, I totally get it. There’s a desire to share something you’ve put so much love and effort into. When I design a home, the downside is not getting to show it off to friends and family. Not unless I make an awkward drop-in.
Many homeowners who’ve preserved or renovated their homes would jump at the chance to show them off, at least for a night.
We also found a few dozen volunteers. Despite starting with minimal attention, the tour’s popularity skyrocketed. I promoted it through the Scarborough Inn website and social media, but when a local paper picked it up, the phone wouldn’t stop ringing. We capped the tour at 400 attendees. We could’ve easily drawn 2,000.
Tour Day
Last year, guests arrived at Scarborough Inn, where volunteers greeted them on the sidewalk, checked them in, and gave them admission wristbands and a cute map of the walking tour. Guests were welcome to enter the inn for a guided tour, wander at their own pace, or enjoy hot apple cider in the courtyard.
I spent part of the evening Onewheeling—yes, I’m one of “those”—around the neighborhood, checking for bottlenecks at the other homes. There were none. It’s in my nature to seek out drama and disaster, but I was disappointed that evening.
A Private Follow-Up Tour
We promised our hosts and volunteers a private follow-up tour so no one would feel left out. It was scheduled a few days after the public tour so everyone could rest.
We started with a post-mortem meeting at Scarborough Inn, where I braced for horror stories about disrespectful guests. Instead, I heard universal praise—visitors were appreciative, respectful, and genuinely interested in speaking with the homeowners, who became local celebrities for a night.
The private tour turned into a magical, community-driven, neighbor-bonding event. Some of the volunteers were locals who’d spent their entire lives in Ocean City but never knew these homes existed. It was a moment of rediscovery and appreciation.
Growing the Tour in its Second Year
Now in its second year, the tour continues to grow. I, along with my neighbors Brian, Chris, Maryann, and Sandy—who helped brainstorm last year's tour—and Richard, the founder of OCNJ Old Home Lovers, have co-founded a non-profit called Friends of OCNJ History & Culture. Joining us as co-founders are Nancy Notaro, a volunteer from last year, and our neighbors Alan Richter, Karen Merritt, and Bill Merritt. Friends OCNJ is officially co-sponsoring this year's tour with Scarborough Inn, with many of the same individuals from last year doing the groundwork.
As other paid holiday tours have emerged in Ocean City, it’s important for readers to know that the Holiday Historic Home Tour is free, provides interior access to participating historic homes, and focuses on the architectural charm of these homes. By all means, enjoy and support other local tours, but I don’t speak on behalf of those operators.
This year's tour is scheduled for Saturday, December 7, from 5 PM to 8 PM. As we continue to build our lineup of homes, ticket availability will be limited. By the time this article is published, all RSVPs may already be filled, but volunteers are guaranteed a ticket. Please email info@friendsocnj.org to be considered for one of our 50 volunteer spots as a docent, wayfinder, or musician. You'll have time to visit some of the houses, and you'll be invited to the private follow-up tour.
We will reserve some volunteer spots for students at Ocean City High School. Many of these students will be future decision-makers in our community, and I’d love for them to develop a connection to these homes.
The Past as a Key to Our Future
In an age where travelers have limitless vacation options, nostalgia is a natural resource that sets OCNJ apart. I’d like these future leaders to see our history and culture as economic assets, not obstacles to “progress.”
I don’t want to give the impression that all new architecture is bad. Only 99% of it is. Some contemporary designs are truly good, but many disingenuously mimic old styles or are designed in a vacuum, without considering their physical or cultural context. I recently heard an architect say, “You might hate my building today, but in 40 years, you’ll call it ‘historic.’” I’d put that number closer to 80 years.
While that statement might be true in a Darwinian sense—any building that survives nearly a century of speculative development is extraordinary—I’d hate to see more historic buildings knocked down and replaced with something that “may” become beautiful by 2100. Events like this home tour give these old buildings their own day in court.
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Sne Avichal is a registered architect and innkeeper of Scarborough Inn in Ocean City, NJ. Growing up in Ventnor, he attended Our Lady Star of the Sea and St. James for grade school, followed by Holy Spirit High School. He studied at Carnegie Mellon University and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, practicing architecture in Washington, D.C., the Vail Valley, and Manhattan. Passionate about local history and culture, he enjoys sharing stories about the unique charm of South Jersey's barrier islands.
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