Want to join our Garden Club?

Holly Oak Garden Club is for the residents of Hollywood subdivision of Homewood (Birmingham), AL.  We would love to have you join us!  It’s a great way to meet your neighbors, promote a sense of community and to stay on top of what’s going on in our area. Each month we have a featured speaker on many topics such as personal health and wellness, compost gardening, public safety. We’ve even had the mayor of Homewood come speak to us- and answer questions that we had about the future of our city.  It’s a far cry from my grandmother’s memories of her garden club in Hattiesburg, MS where she was surprised that the ladies discussed each other more than they discussed flowers. Now, you don’t have to be a master gardener or even have a green thumb to join. You do need to love your neighborhood and have a dedication to see Hollywood stay as a premiere place to live in the Birmingham area. 

We are a great collection of neighbors: young newly weds; stay at home mothers; professional women; retired residents; women who have renovated their home several times over the last 20 years- and some who have just moved in to their home.  We don’t make you wear pearls to every meeting. I have never seen anyone with white gloves. You can come from your morning workout and still get a hug from someone you haven’t seen in a while, or you can come in your yoga pants knowing that your biggest workout of the day is getting the kids out the door to school.  We just want to see your smiling face.

Don’t you want to join us? We would love to have you!  We meet once a month from September through May. We alternate meeting times from morning to evening, so there’s a time for everyone to make it to a meeting. If you would enjoy meeting your neighbors and improving our neighborhood, email our membership chair, Ashley Jennings (ashleyljennings@yahoo.com) and you can join us.

Another easy way to find out more information?  Ask anyone working the houses on our home tour on April 28!  

This is a home you don't want to miss...

I’m glad to be one of the hostesses with my friend Leah Holmes at 300 Yorkshire. This home is a beautiful white Colonial Revival at the corner of Yorkshire and Hampton Drive.  Hopefully you will be sure to travel to visit this home. There are so many great features to this house. It’s been lovingly renovated and has been photographed for several publications. In fact, on Friday before tour it will be filled with photographers for Birmingham Home and Garden Magazine.

While preparing for the tour, I spoke with the homeowner Ali Goodrich who talked of the history of the home. There are many features of the home that you will enjoy finding. In the front rooms, there are original hardwood floors complete with the wooden pins to construct the flooring. The side portico on the home- right off the dining room- was the green house of Mr. Crais who owned the home for over 60 years. The plants in the yard are from Mr. Crais’ greenhouse and are a living testament to a love of gardening and flowers. 

While touring this home, think of the placement of the house in the neighborhood. It’s located in the last area of Hollywood to be developed- in the 1950’s.  However, the Crais house was built circa 1925- when the first homes were developed in Hollywood- but this home is a good distance away. It was in an area by itself, away from everything else. It’s positioned at the top of a hill, and from the front porch you could see the Hollywood Country Club. Imagine this home standing all alone in the area- the first development over the mountain. 

The Goodrich family has a wonderful love for antiques and have filled the house with beautiful French antiques from New Orleans and Birmingham. Many of the pieces have a story with them- what it meant to Ali to purchase a first piece and to fall in love with antique shopping or to have pieces from a French church.  It is a pleasure to see Ali’s face as she tells these stories.

Please remember to come by 300 Yorkshire. It’s not in comfortable walking distance from the other tour homes, but I promise it will be worth the short drive to come see it!

Birmingham Home and Garden Editor's Notes

Looks like we aren't the only people who are excited about the home tour this weekend.  Here's what Birmingham Home and Garden had to say.

Tour is in just four short days!

Thanks to our sponsors

We would like to recognize our sponsors who have helped in many ways this year. Please thank them with your patronage: Infomedia, Barbara Wheeler at LAH, Cater Landscaping, Birmingham Budweiser, aloft Homewood.

Shaun Thomas at Sanctuary generously donated certificates for conditioning treatments, cuts, and styles to all of the homeowners. The talented Ken McBride created all of the architectural renderings of our homes which are on the promotional posters. 

Lastly, we would like to thank the homeowners who have warmly opened their beautiful homes this weekend for the tour. We know that many have spent close to a year putting special touches on their homes so that you can be inspired by their home and the historical value of the neighborhood. 

A few of your questions...

It’s tour week, friends!  Brooke Bell, our fabulous tour chair, is wrapping up the loose ends to get ready for Sunday.  Everyone is crossing fingers for beautiful weather this weekend!

We’ve had a few questions about logistics of tour on Sunday.

We have one home (300 Yorkshire) on the English side of Hollywood and three homes on the Spanish side- 11 Bonita, 224 Poinciana and 218 LaPrado Place.  The Spanish side homes can be easily toured by parking at Shades Cahaba School and walking to the homes.  You can park near 300 Yorkshire to tour this English side treasure.

There is no particular beginning or ending point for the tour. You may visit the homes in whatever order you wish. This is not a guided tour, but there are hostesses at each home to talk with you about special features and history of the homes. 

If you get thirsty, we will be selling bottled water at the homes as well as selling lemonade at 100 Hollywood Boulevard and 211 Yorkshire Drive (across the street from the tour home).

Projects of Holly Oak Garden Club

What do we do with the admission price from your home tour ticket?  Actually, a lot of good comes from that ticket.

Hollywood has beautiful triangles and circles which are planted and maintained by the Holly Oak Garden Club. If you have enjoyed the beautiful daffodils this spring, you can thank the Garden Club.

Christmas and holidays come to us when the Homewood Star is lighted in downtown and when the greenery and bows start showing up on the street signs in Hollywood.  You know who decorates the signs?  That’s right. It’s the garden club.

Children in this neighborhood are zoned for elementary school at Shades Cahaba Elementary School- which also serves as an entrance to our neighborhood. Garden club gives money every year to support school festivals at Shades Cahaba. Because we also love gardens and education, we give money to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

The 2013 home tour is our eleventh tour- and we organize tour every other year. It is also our ONLY fundraiser. 

Please help us keep improving our neighborhood. Join us for tour on April 28!

11 Bonita Drive – Can you hear me sigh?

Several years ago, when my husband and I were looking for a home, I told him that if 11 Bonita came on the market I HAD to have it.  It has been masterfully restored  with a beautiful garage carriage house, courtyard garden, lovely curb appeal on a corner lot. My favorite feature is the side room with a beautiful china collection displayed in the windows. It makes for a lovely sight, particularly at night when the room is lighted. I can just imagine the beauty of the home with my children running through the hardwoods, my cats lounging in the windows. Many people in Homewood/Hollywood know and admire this house.  In fact, the home is so popular it has been featured in a wide variety of publications and it has it's own blog.

Fortunately for my husband, it came on the market… about six months after we purchased our home. 

The home is now owned by Lisa Freeman and she has graciously allowed us to use the home on tour.  When garden club members signed up to help at houses on the day of tour, this was the most popular among the members. The shift work sheet filled quickly.  I’ll be working at my neighbors house, but after we close tour the members get to tour the homes. I’m pretty sure I’ll be running straight to 11 Bonita. 

Thank you Lisa for opening your show home for our tour this year!

Show us a little social media love

We may have a historic neighborhood, but we are following all the social media trends!  Follow us on Instagram at hollywoodhometour and like us on Facebook- Holly Oak Garden Club. See something you like?  Repost and share the love!

Watch the weather today

As I sit in my front room, I see nothing but a flat gray sky in front of me. Thunderstorm and tornado days always remind me of the April 27, 2011 storms. It was a harrowing afternoon and I distinctly remember the voice of James Spann saying that Homewood was in the direct line of the storms, taking the children to the basement, putting my 10 month old son and 2 year old daughter under our bodies and praying.  When we heard that the storm had take a slight turn and Homewood would be out of the path, there was a huge sigh of relief.

My family had no idea that another family in our neighborhood was not able to relax- as they were experiencing some of the worst. I only remember hearing sirens, and not knowing where they were going.

Shannon Murphy's home, featured in Birmingham Magazine this month, has been rebuilt with fantastic safety features.

We have made reference to this house several times and I know that right now the house is getting a lot of publicity. However, included in the article are important safety tips for your home.  You can see a large gallery of home photos in the article, but it's not the same as standing in the house.

Shannon's home (218 LaPrado Place) as well as other beautiful homes are on the tour this year.  Please purchase your tickets and come see some of the beautiful history that we have to offer in Hollywood.  Tour is April 28!

Windsor gate

Beautiful azaleas blooming in Lee Ann Allen's yard, framed by one of the entrance gates to the Historic Hollywood neighborhood. There's a bench in the middle for seating.  This gate is at the corner of Windsor/Yorkshire Drives.

A bit of white paint on it, but this storm drain cover reminds us of a time gone by... when the whole neighborhood was a city unto itself. Only a few of these remain. This one is close to 218 Poinciana Drive, and another is almost directly across the street. I hear that there is one cover by the flag pole on Bonita.  Anyone know where other "City of Hollywood" remnants are located?

Did you know?

After the editor of Over The Mountain Journal asked for some more information on the history of Hollywood and the home featured on the tour, I’ve been sending messages to Garden Club members and discovering the interesting tidbits of history- about the neighborhood and the homes itself.

Hollywood began in the 1920’s as a city.  Hollywood/Homewood is considered the first community “Over The Mountain”- outside of Birmingham. Hollywood neighborhood and homes were marketed as “Out of the Smoke Zone and into the Ozone”. 

It had one mayor- who resided at 109 Bonita- before the town joined Homewood. The first streets to be developed- Hollywood Boulevard, Bonita, Gran- had homes in the Spanish Mission and Spanish Eclectic style construction. When new homes were finished and put on the market for sale, the neighbors would do a light show and have chorus shows to feature the new home.

The Salie House (11 Bonita, and named for the resident architect of many of the early Hollywood homes), has beam work and elements replicated in the home from the Hollywood Country Club.  The Spanish Mission style home has been beautifully restored and has it’s own blog- check it out at 11bonita.com. And that spectacular turret in the middle of the home?  It's constructed from one tree.

Spanish Mission style homes are constructed to promote airflow through the house. The owners only needed to open the windows to get an east-west or north-south draft and the home cooled itself.  Can you imagine living in the deep south during the oppressive summers and being in a cool home- nearly 100 years ago? 

The Crais House (300 Yorkshire, owned by Charles and Ali Goodrich) was built around 1925 and is positioned at the top of a hill. At the time, you could stand on the front porch and see the Hollywood Country Club.  The current garden at the home contains plants from Mr. Crais’ green house- which is now the porch on the right side of the house.

The Hollywood Country Club was a sight to behold back in the day!  Most of the families in this historic district had live in maids and cooks during the 1920’s. On Thursday, however, it was cook’s night off- so everyone went to the Country Club for dinner.  The club had a sandy beach at the pool and was a wonderful gathering place. It burned down in the mid 1980’s and there is now a hotel on the former property along Shades Creek Parkway.

Have you noticed that Birmingham seems to get a large amount of lightning strikes?  It has to do with the amount of iron ore in Red Mountain- the backbone of the steel industry and Sloss Furnace- which gave rise to The Magic City.

218 LaPrado Place interview today!

This morning I had the pleasure of talking with Shannon Murphy, owner of 218 La Prado Place and Keysha Drexel, Editor of Over The Mountain Journal. Keysha is writing a feature story for OTMJ about Shannon’s home and about the Historic Hollywood Home Tour.  Look for the issue in your front yard on April 18!

The April 2013 issue of Birmingham Magazine has a home feature of this home, but there’s something so special about standing in the house and looking at the restoration, as well as to talk to the home owner. Shannon shared the very personal story of how her home was affected by the April 27, 2011 tornadoes.  The upper floor of the house destroyed after a lightning strike hit the house during the afternoon storms. We were all in tears just listening to stories of how Shannon's family had been in a safe place to protect the children, realizing the house had been struck by lightning, then seeing the home be flooded with fire hoses.  The emotion of the situation is so much more than many people can imagine.

However there were several moments that made me smile- because they are reassurances of why we love this historic neighborhood. Shannon spoke of neighbors helping remove contents of the house to salvage what they could- and how the neighborhood all pitched in to help that evening.  Neighbors were returning to the house to try to save items on the first floor so the family would not lose things like pictures. The smiles of the firemen rescuing her dog after she tearfully told her children that she knew the dog would perish in the flames. She spoke of how they were displaced for many months, but coming back to the restored home and returning to the loving neighborhood that they had been a part of since 2002. Shannon said they did an open house for the neighborhood to thank them for helping the entire family. She also said that she was happy to put the home on the 2013 tour because the tour generates funds for triangle maintenance in the neighborhood, as well as supporting Shades Cahaba School and the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.  It gets at the heart of why many of us love Homewood and Hollywood- it’s about the people and sense of community here that just can’t be found in every single neighborhood.

When you are at 218 LaPrado Place, think of the families who have grown up in this house.  Pay special attention to the upstairs children’s bedrooms. Inside the window benches are mounted fire ladders, so that in the event of a house fire- children will be able to escape.  Also look for the framed child’s drawing of guardian angels.  In the destroyed second floor of the home, one of Shannon’s daughters found this picture she had drawn years before- and it has the footprint of a fireman on the back of it. Through all the destruction, the guardian angels were still in the house and one of the precious memories which was salvaged. Amazing; it gave me chills to hear her describe the story.

Please read the feature in your next issue of Over The Mountain Journal, purchase tour tickets and enjoy our tour this year! Tickets can be found at Hunters Cleaners, Harmony Landing, Arceneaux Gallery and Sweet Peas Garden Center. You may also contact our ticket chair, Jennifer Kramer at dank_7371@yahoo.com or 879-6777 to purchase tickets.

Tour poster

These posters will be popping up in business windows soon. Such beautiful renderings of our featured homes.

Tour dates announced

Welcome to the new blog for the Holly Oak Garden Club's Historic Hollywood Home Tour.  The 2013 Tour planning is well underway and we are excited to present four homes on April 28, 2013.  The homes on tour this year are  218 LaPrado Place, 11 Bonita Drive, 300 Yorkshire Drive and 224 Poinciana Road.  Mark your calendar for this must see event!