2010 SOTA Showhouse and Gardens

WEBSITE: www.sotashowhouse.org

SHOWHOUSE TICKETS
May 1 to May 23
$25.00 at the door and /or at the Allentown Art Museum

April 1 to April 30 - Tickets are $22
Gift Certificates to the Showhouse
$22.00 until April 30
Available for purchase at the Allentown Art Museum
Call 610-434-4333 ext 15 for more information

Off Site Ticket Locations
April tickets are $22. 00 (April 1 to April 30)
They are available at the sites listed on the website: www.sotashowhouse.org until April 30

GROUP TOURS
Your group of 5 or more (max. 15) can have a fascinating guided tour focusing on the history of the Showhouse.$25.00 per person – no refunds.
Arrangements can be made starting March 1.
Call Judy @ 610-965-0585

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HISTORY
Begun in the Roaring Twenties and completed in the Great Depression, Rose Hill was the most celebrated house in Allentown. It was the Morning Call newspaper’s third model home. This colonial revival beauty was the most modern, most expensive and grandest house the Morning Call ever built.

The 1930 model home featured every comfort and modern convenience available—portable telephones, a whole-house alarm system, two integrated radios, a sunken bath tub, a self-playing grand piano, outdoor fountains, a summer house, a chauffer’s apartment above the spacious garage, and much more.

Darbin and Debby Skeans, who bought Rose Hill in 2003, have lovingly brought this magnificent West End masterpiece into the 21st century. The house is once again a showcase for beauty, modernity, comfort and convenience.

Once the Morning Call’s Model Home of 1930 and now the SOTA Showhouse of 2010, Darbin and Debby Skeans and the Society of the Arts invite you to stroll through the lovely gardens and experience the beauty and charm of this elegant, colonial revival home.

The SOTA 2010 Designer Showhouse and Gardens will be open to the public from May 1st through May 23rd. The event is the premier fundraiser for SOTA (Society of the Arts) – which supports the Allentown Art Museum through its volunteer and fundraising activities. The organization sponsors a Designer Showhouse every two years.

For the first time in 80 years the public will be invited back to tour this historic home, described by Frank Whalen, local historian at The Lehigh Valley Historical Society and former historian for The Morning Call Newspaper, as “one of the most celebrated houses in the city’s history”. The home will be updated by many of the area’s premier interior design professionals, and the surrounding gardens will be restored to their original grandeur by a group of talented landscape architects and designers.

Proceeds from past showhouses have funded the SOTA Education Endowment Fund, Free Sundays, and other educational projects at the Museum. Showhouse proceeds have also provided for the acquisition of many beautiful and important prints for the Museum through The SOTA Print Fund. This year’s revenues will go toward similar projects, to be determined by the financial needs of The Allentown Art Museum.

SOTA is partnering with the City of Allentown and its Parks Department to showcase the newly renovated Malcolm Gross Memorial Rose Gardens, created at the same time as the construction of Rose Hill, and located only a block away on The Parkway. Adjacent to the Rose Garden is a charming Federal style stone house. This building was the original home of The Allentown Art Museum, and today houses offices of the Allentown Parks Department. For the duration of the showhouse the building will feature a Café’ and Boutique. All sales made in the boutique will benefit the Art Museum, and both venues will be open to the public with no admission charge.

LOCATED IN THE STONE HOUSE BOUTIQUE & CAFE SOTA'S ATTIC

RAFFLE
Themed baskets, on display in the Café, will be raffled. $10.00 for 10 tickets – sold in the Boutique
The drawing will take place on Sunday, May 23 – you do NOT need to be present to win!

BOUTIQUE; CAFE; SOTA'S ATTIC
The Boutique has talented artist and artisan’s artwork, gifts and small decorative items available for purchase.
SOTA’s Attic is filled with timeless pieces, trinkets, treasures and terrific junk.
Both are open to the public during Showhouse hours.
Located in the Stone House at 27th and Parkway Blvd. (next to the Rose Garden)
NO admission is required to enter the Boutique and SOTA’s Attic.

CAFE - serving cold drinks and goumet treats.
Location: The Stone House at 27th and Parkway Blvd.
Dates: Saturday, May 1 through Sunday, May 23