53rd Annual Historic Building Tour to Show Off Alton's History and Architecture
You can visit over 20 homes on the Alton Area Landmarks Association tour on Oct. 4, 2025.
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ALTON - The Alton Area Landmarks Association will host their 53rd annual Historic Building Tour, allowing community members to tour historic homes in Alton.
From 12–5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, you can tour over 20 homes in Alton, from the McPike Mansion to Pfeiffenberger houses. This self-guided tour takes you through the historic district and allows you to visit the homes and learn from their owners.
“The house tours are a way of getting people into Alton and getting into the streets and neighborhoods that maybe they haven’t been on before to see historic homes,” explained Terry with the Alton Area Landmarks Association. “One of the basic tenets is that the way to save houses in Alton is to get people to come and buy them and move here and live here. So that’s the big push of the house tours, to get people to come and enjoy the house tour.”
Tickets to the Historic Building Tour cost $10 for AALA members and $15 for the general public. You can buy tickets online or come to Haskell Park at 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 4 to get your tickets there. Every ticket comes with a booklet that explains each house’s history.
Terry and Ann said that AALA has hosted the Historic Building Tour for decades. They emphasized that you can go in any order you wish, to as many houses as you want.
This year, every house on the tour has stairs. Terry and Ann invite those who cannot traverse the steps to stop by Hayner Library on Oct. 18 for an “armchair tour” slideshow of the homes.
Ann is especially looking forward to viewing a historic home that is currently undergoing renovations. She noted that it’s exciting to see these houses undergo transitions. She hopes the Historic Building Tour inspires others to consider purchasing historic homes in Alton and fixing them up.
“I think a lot of times artists and people who are very hands-on like to buy those houses,” she said. “One of the houses is $16,000. It was bought recently. So that’s super affordable, but then you’ve got to put in the sweat equity. But you’re going to have a beautiful house and make it just the way you want. Alton is full of those houses.”
Terry added that you can see the full range of Alton history on the tour. The architecture is especially fascinating to him, and he hopes people will enjoy seeing the variety.
“A lot of these tours are a variety pack of houses,” he said. “Big houses, small houses, houses that are in transition. Just like Alton itself, you’ve got the architectural history from 1830 to the present. You’ve got the full range of American architecture practically in Alton.”
Ann and Terry hope to welcome nearly 600 people on this tour. They added that they want to engage more young people to learn about Alton’s history and architecture.
For more information about the Alton Area Landmarks Association and their upcoming Historic Building Tour, visit their official website at AltonLandmarks.org. To purchase your tickets for the tour, click here.
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