House tour to benefit Heartland Symphony

The Heartland Symphony Orchestra seeks participants for the Brainerd Grand Old House Tour 2000.

This fund-raising event occurs once a year in Brainerd and is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 2. The tour allows participants to visit four homes and includes a brunch at the Congregational Church in Brainerd.

The tour will include the homes of Craig and Ty Rezak, Randy and Connie Christensen, John and Carol Kurtzman, and Maurice and Cindy Askerooth-Olson.

The Rezak house was built in 1922. This Craftsman home features oak and maple floors, a three-season porch, beautiful interior woodwork, and a library with oak walls that showcase the original ceramic tile fireplace. Simplicity is the key to this warm and inviting home inspired with a Mission design.

The Mission style is also prevalent in the Christensen home. Original light fixtures, maple floors and oak French doors are highlights of this home. The design includes both an open stairway and a servants' stairway. The Christensens have complemented this 1897 home with many antiques in each of the home's 14 rooms and two porches.

The Kurtzman home is an English Tudor built in 1936. The house has a library, formal dining and living areas, and seven bedrooms. The Kurtzmans have restored the home to its original grandeur. Its decor is pre-Civil War and John Henry Belter of New York designed the furnishings.

Fifty-eight windows grace the Olson house. A sunken living room, two fireplaces and natural hardwood floors are some of the unique features found in this home. Built in 1995 beside the Mississippi River, this Victorian house contains many features both in its structure and its furnishings.

Tickets for the Grand Old House Tour are available at The Brainerd Dispatch or the Great River Arts Association office in Little Falls. A portion of this fund-raising activity is tax deductible. For tickets or more information on the tour, contact the GRAA at 1-800-826-1997.