Tour seven homes in Chapel Hill’s Franklin-Rosemary Historic District during the upcoming Holiday House Tour sponsored by the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill.
Among the featured homes is this house at 504 E. Franklin St., one of the city’s oldest standing dwellings. It was built in 1814 by William Hooper, the first professor of ancient languages at the University of North Carolina. In 1951, the house’s best-known residents, Georgia and Kay Kyser, moved in. Kay Kyser, a 1927 graduate of UNC, was a famous bandleader, featured on the NBC radio show “The Kollege of Musical Knowledge.” He also appeared in seven feature films, two of them with his wife. Georgia Kyser was a model and actress who co-founded the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill in 1972. The house’s current owner, Owen Mitchell, is a UNC graduate with a longstanding interest in local history and architecture.
Other homes on the tour include the Betty Smith House and the Horace Williams House, headquarters of the Preservation Society. This is the 40th annual holiday house tour.
The tour is 1-5 p.m. Dec. 8 and 9. Tickets, available online, are $25 in advance and $30 on the day of tour.
Info: 919-942-7818 or chapelhillpreservation.com
