Round Lake Home Tour returns June 10

Sep 29, 2023

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Proceeds from the Round Lake Home Tour will be used to maintain and improve the historic Round Lake Auditorium.

The Round Lake Auditorium was built in 1884.

The historic Davis Ferris Tracker pipe organ inside the Round Lake Auditorium.

This home on Covel Avenue is one of several that will be part of the Round Lake Home Tour.

The renovated turret in a classic Round Lake Victorian home.

Round Lake Home Tour attendees will have opportunity to peek inside recently-renovated homes in the historic village.

A decades-old blacksmith barn in the village of Round Lake is being transformed into Barn Alley Arts studio by resident Janet Patenaude.

The feature wall inside Barn Alley Arts created with salvaged wood.

Barn Alley Arts in the village of Round Lake in the midst of its transformation from blacksmith barn to art studio.

Community workshops and classes will be offered at Barn Alley Arts.

Nestled between the Northway and the ball-shaped lake for which it's named, the village of Round Lake is a pictorial enclave of whimsical gingerbread-style cottages, revived homes and quaint commercial ventures reminiscent of a fanciful, erstwhile era.

Adapted from French and Victorian architectural styles, many of the homes in the Saratoga County community feature delicate latticework, elaborate millwork, stained glass and ornamental elements. A tight-knit hamlet, homes here sit close to one another on compact lots that roil around the village's core, the iconic Round Lake Auditorium.

The self-guided walking tour will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 10.

Tickets are $30 and can be purchased in advance or at the event. Visitors who purchase tickets in advance may visit tents at any of the designated parking lots to pick up wristbands for admission and maps with their Venmo receipt. Tickets may also be purchased on the day of the tour at these tents with Venmo or cash.

Parking is only available in designated lots which are easily accessed from the main road (George Avenue) and will be clearly marked with red directional signs.

To purchase tickets or for more information, visit https://www.roundlakeauditorium.org.

The public is invited to explore the quaint village and its trove of storybook-like homes during the Round Lake Home Tour from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 10. Attendees will even have the opportunity to peer into the past and peek inside nearly 20 private residences, including tiny cottages, stately Victorian-era homes, converted art studios, brand-new builds and dwellings in the midst of restoration.

This will be the first tour of homes in the village since 2007. Longtime resident Lydia Hoffman resurrected the event to raise funds for the auditorium, a performing arts center and gathering space which houses one of the only — perhaps the only — Davis-Ferris Tracker pipe organs in the world.

"There has been a lot of improvement activity in the last few years, and we thought that might be a good approach to reviving this event," says Hoffman. "Round Lake is mostly made up of interesting and historic homes and fortunately many are owned by people willing to open their doors to benefit the auditorium."

It was a revival of another sort that established this bedroom community. In 1868, members of the Troy Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church selected the site for a "camp meeting." Bells would rouse worshippers asleep in tents rented for $3 a season. They would encircle a speaker stand to hear rousing sermons, sing songs and pray. As many as 20,000 devotees would descend upon Round Lake every summer for the religious revivals.

The village was owned and governed by the sectarian Round Lake Association. In time, shops, schools and hotels were constructed, petite cottages replaced tents and an open-sided tabernacle was built in place of the speaker stand. In 1884, around the time that season-long interest in the religious pilgrimages began to wane, the auditorium was built.

The voluminous, post and beam auditorium features a pyramidal gable roof and clerestory windows. As many as 2,000 people would fill the cavernous space for readings, lectures and performances. Today, new seats comfortably accommodate 300 visitors who enjoy theater productions, live music, open-mic nights, movies and more in the acoustic space.

"It is the literal and figurative center of the village," reiterates Hoffman, a former attorney.

The structure's most unique feature is the Davis-Ferris Tracker organ, a three-manual pipe organ that sits in an annex at the rear of the venue's stage. Built in 1847 for a church in New York City, the grandiose instrument was transferred to Round Lake in 1888 by Giles Beach, an organ builder from Gloversville. Still in its original state, having not gone through any significant alteration, it is one of only a few objects to achieve the status of National Historic Landmark.

All the proceeds from the June 10 home tour will be used to repair structural issues and enhance the auditorium's interior.

"Unfortunately, these wonderful assets require almost constant, very expensive maintenance which is a considerable burden for a village our size," says Hoffman. "On the plus side, the need to constantly fundraise has resulted in a lot of great activities and a very strong sense of community which is increasingly rare in our world."

For many decades, residents leased lots from the Round Lake Association. There was no sense of ownership, or pride of ownership, says Hoffman.

"Long after the heyday, people still didn't own their properties and there was no incentive to improve them," says Hoffman.

The Round Lake Association finally dissolved in 1968 and Round Lake was incorporated as a village. People were granted deeds and started improving their properties.

"Some for good and some for ill, because the '70s were not a high point of design," Hoffman laughs, but seriously she adds, "It really was probably the last possible moment to save some of these buildings."

Today, roughly 800 residents call Round Lake home. The village is governed by a mayor, Gary Putman, and a board of trustees. There are several committees, including the AP3 (Association to Preserve/Protect/Plan Round Lake) that Hoffman leads. The non-profit plans and supports events that celebrate the history of the village and maintains the area's historic assets.

The area still exudes an encampment vibe, largely due to the narrow, wagon-wheel design of the area's roadways. Properties don't offer much private outdoor space, but residents enjoy several public parks and green spaces, as well as the Zim-Smith Trail that slices through the very western end of the village.

"It's full of history and culture," says Hoffman. "It's kind of self-selecting. Only people who want to live this way, live this way."

A variety of architectural styles that pull from Gothic and Victorian eras of design that were erected still endure, many splashed in colorful, vibrant hues. Nearly all flaunt a front porch, many adorned with wind chimes and other eccentric, quirky decor.

Round Lake is utterly unique, says Hoffman.

"Truly a village raised my children," says Hoffman, who has lived in three different homes in the village over the last 30 years. It is an intimate community, one that is rich with personality.

"I think my favorite part about living here is the diversity of ages and income," she adds.

It's hard not to notice the hum of power saws and hammering that swirl with the soft breeze and bird songs. Round Lake almost feels like it is stuck in time if not for the conspicuous and continual revitalization.

One of the homes on the June 10 tour is a grand Victorian perched on a flat-top hill near the lake. When Cindy Van Wyk purchased the home in 2016, the 4,600-square-foot former bed and breakfast was in serious disrepair. It was a disaster, to put it simply, says Van Wyk.

"It was creepy," says the Clifton Park transplant. "There were parts of it going to the upstairs that were just really scary."

Inside, she gutted and renovated the kitchen, rebuilt the home's turret, made several structural repairs and polished its intricate hardwood floors and many stained-glass windows, among many other upgrades. Outside, she repainted the exterior's clapboard siding and scalloped shingles, and is in the process of refining the main front porch.

Renovating the home has been a passion project. She's tackled a lot of the work herself. There were times she would be painting until the wee hours of morning. It's ongoing, but exciting and really fun, says Van Wyk.

Down the road, Janet Patenaude and her partner, Paul Block, is in the process of transforming an old village blacksmith barn that has been in her family since the 1970s. About 10 years ago, she raised it while the old wooden floor was replaced with a cement one. The original floor was actually several layers of wood. A new sheet of flooring would be placed atop another whenever the horses chewed up the floor with their hooves.

As much of the original structure as possible was salvaged and repurposed. Old floorboards were used to create a feature wall. Old ceramic lamps were repurposed. Fencing that flanks the property was pulled from the original barn.

The redeveloped art studio, Barn Alley Arts, will soon open to the community and will be one of the stops on the Round Lake Home Tour.

"I do believe everybody is creative and so I’m going to try to enhance that with different classes," says Patenaude.

There are a lot of artists and creative residents in Round Lake — musicians, painters, potters and others — says Patenaude. This project is part of a greater, continuous effort to further revitalize the historic village and develop an arts district, one that can serve as a destination for residents throughout the region.