Belleville historic home tour includes these midcentury-modern masterpieces

Nine houses in a range of styles from charming three-tiered forest homes to modest ranches will be part of a midcentury-modern tour hosted by the Belleville Historic Society on Sunday.

The tour begins at the Museum of Midcentury Architecture at 6 Oak Knoll Pl in Belleville at noon and will last until 5 p.m.

Tickets are $30 and are available online by following this link.

Some of the homes still have people living in them, some are in the process are being sold and others are still under construction.

Expect a mixture of interior design tastes, ranging from full modern maximalist to a mixture of contemporary and periodical pieces. One home even showcases a living room full of authentic 1950s furniture and decor, including an old cathode ray television.

Knollwood Drive

Ethan Edwards’ Knollwood Dr. home is a characteristically midcentury modern home. The modern and post-modern art lining the high, angled ceilings and the charming warm light feels like something designed by a member of the Talison Fellowship. Edwards originally moved into the house due to his health, and prior to that he lived in another midcentury home in Urbana.

Lake View Drive

This time capsule at Lakeview Drive is a treat for midcentury purists. Being aligned with what homeowner Adam Sidney calls “midcentury modest,” this house is decorated entirely from furniture and decor from the 1950s.

“This is exactly what a normal, middle-class family would have lived in back then,” Sidney said, pointing out the salmon colored walls and modest linen furniture.

A black-and-white cathode ray tube television even sits in the corner of the house.

Dahlia Lane

The stretchy ranch house on Dahlia Lane is an accessibility dream, which is what Sharrol Toenies wanted when she refinished it for her aging mother. With no stairs and a sprawling back yard, complete with oblong pool, this 1,800-square-foot house is roomy and tasteful.

It took Toenies 10 months and almost the actual cost of the house to refinish it, but the result are stunning.

“We thought we’d live in the home we built until we die,” Toenies said, “but this is our forever home now.”

McClintock Avenue

This ranch along the busy McClintock Street is a typical Charles E. King masterpiece, complete with dozens of original kitchen cabinets, a stained glass window and a massive stone fireplace. The open floor plan of the living room demands sociality, and owner John Caponi says he’s looking forward to eventually hosting musical parties at the location.

Caponi joking said there’s only one thing wrong with the house: “It looks so much like a museum that I’m afraid to touch anything.”

Washington Street

The home on Washington doesn’t try to be a period piece, but embraces modern design within the midcentury architecture.

Pat Hazen has a career in interior design, and those skills are in full-force at this maximalist home. A one and a third acre sits behind the house with an original 1930s gazebo and greenhouse, tucked underneath a massive gingko tree. The well-maintained house is all original; only the immaculate landscaping was done upon moving in.

“We did everything ourselves outside,” Hazen said. “That’s one of the things that sold it for us.”

Brook Hill Point

Mitchell and Candice Jackson aren’t sure who built their home, but its appearance has all the makings of any of the greats; massive oak trees surrounded by a charming forest, a bamboo field creating a natural wall, and a stilted patio giving what Candice Jackson calls a “cool treehouse vibe.”

The short wall dividing the living room and kitchen works wonders to make the home feel cozy, and the intentional design of the home is evident in pieces like the tube intercom that runs throughout the house.

The couple says they also had to put a lot of elbow grease into refinishing it, and the work is immediately apparent in this stunning home.

“I think we used, like, 50 gallons of paint,” Mitchell Jackson said.

Kil Mar Woods

The Charles E. King designed home in Kil Mar Woods looks like it came from a Scandinavian architecture magazine, which would make sense considering one of the owners is an architect. Tastefully curated with a blend of contemporary and midcentury interior design, the warm light and cliff overlook into the woods behind makes it a charming and attractive addition to the tour.

300 S. 74th St.

While this home is still under redevelopment, it still serves as a prime example of what a middle-class midcentury home would look like. Currently under construction by the West End Redevelopment Corp. , this home was slated as a project for WERC under the Illinois Abandoned Housing Rehabilitation Act.

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