Join the Westcott Center for Architecture + Design as we celebrate our region’s distinctive architecture and history with our annual Summer Tour Series.
The Summer Tour Series, now in its twenty-second year, examines the architecture, design, and history of the built environment in the Greater Springfield Region. The 2026 series totals fifteen tours, including walking tours, happy hour tours, family tours, and virtual tours. Architects, artists, curators, historians, and other local professionals guide each tour. This year’s series starts in May and runs through August.
Ferncliff Cemetery: Sacred and Symbolic (Walking Tour) – Saturday, May 23 at 10:00am
Gilded East High (Walking Tour) – Saturday, May 30 at 10:00am
Civic District (Happy Hour Tour) – Wednesday, June 3 at 5:30pm
Lenski Walk (Happy Hour Tour) – Friday, June 5 at 5:30pm
Belmont Meadows (Walking Tour) – Saturday, June 6 at 10:00am
Warder Free Library (Site Tour for Members Only) – Tuesday, June 9 at 5:30pm
Lenski Walk for Kids (Youth Tour) – Friday, June 12 at 5:30pm
Victorian SoFo (Walking Tour) – Friday, June 26 at 5:30pm
East High Street Churches (Walking Tour) – Saturday, June 27 at 10:00am
Springfield Burying Ground (Happy Hour Tour) – Wednesday, July 1 at 5:30pm
Wittenberg University (Walking Tour) – Saturday, July 11 at 10:00am
Frank Lloyd Wright and the Design of Domestic Life (Virtual Tour) – Tuesday, July 14 at 5:30pm
Downtown Victorian (Happy Hour Tour) – Wednesday, July 29 at 5:30pm
Springfield Public Art (Happy Hour Tour) – Friday, August 7 at 5:30pm
Springfield Burying Ground (Happy Hour Tour) – Wednesday, August 19 at 5:30pm
South Center Street (Walking Tour) – Saturday, August 22 at 10:00am
City Building and Market (Virtual Tour) – Tuesday, August 25 at 5:30pm
Hills and Dales by Mail (Walking Tour) – Saturday, August 29 at 10:00am
Ticket prices are listed with each tour. Westcott members receive discounts to most tours and free admission to Members-Only tours. Tickets are available online at WestcottHouse.org and at the Westcott House Museum Store, 85 South Greenmount Avenue, Springfield, Ohio. Please be advised that many tours will sell out. Advance ticket purchase is strongly recommended.
The Summer Tour Series, now in its twenty-second year, examines the architecture, design, and history of the built environment in the Greater Springfield Region. Historians, curators, artists, designers, and other local professionals guide each tour. The 2026 series includes Walking Tours, Happy Hour Tours, Family Tours, Members Only Tours, and Virtual Tours.
About the Series
Summer Tour Series program was created in 2004 by Kevin Rose, historian at the Turner Foundation, to build awareness of Springfield’s built environment. Then called the Summer Walking Tour Series, the program featured eight guided walks of popular neighborhoods and districts in Springfield, Ohio. The first tour, featuring the architecture and history of Wittenberg University, was guided by Tom Taylor on June 20, 2004. Over the next two decades, the Summer Tour Series would grow into one of the most successful architectural tour programs in the country. In addition to the popular walking tours, the organization added youth/family tours in 2007, happy hour tours in 2010, bicycle tours in 2011, site tours in 2013, coach tours in 2016, and virtual tours in 2020. The series has more than doubled in size over the past 20 years, now encompassing 14-20 guided tours in and around the Greater Springfield Region. A dynamic committee of community volunteers oversees the creation and management of the series.
About the Westcott Center for Architecture + Design
The Westcott House Foundation and Springfield Preservation Alliance established the Westcott Center for Architecture + Design in 2013 as a regional resource to promote creative placemaking strategies through programs on architecture, design, and the history of the built environment. Westcott members receive discounts and special invitations to all Center for Architecture + Design programs, as well as free admission to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Westcott House.
About the Education Committee
The Education Committee was formed in 2003. It manages Westcott’s community tours and educational programs, including the Summer Tour Series, Lecture Series, and History, Mystery & Murder Tours. Current committee members include: Marlies Hemmann, John Grubb, Phyllis Hill, Robin Inboden, Pam George, and Maddy Bailey. The committee is chaired by Kevin Rose.
Types of Summer Tours
The Summer Tour Series currently includes six types of tours, although the tours offered varies from year to year.
Walking Tours: Walking Tours feature remarkable districts and neighborhoods in the region. Tours last approximately one and a half to two hours.
Happy Hour Tours: Happy Hour Tours are sixty-minute walking tours of downtown, followed by a beer, glass of wine, cocktail, or soda at a downtown restaurant.
Family Tours: Family Tours are interpreted for families with children ages 7-12. Our trained and knowledgeable guides encourage a lifelong connection and appreciation for our region’s rich history and architecture. Tours run less than an hour.
Bicycle Tours: Bicycle Tours run approximately two hours and cover four to six miles at a leisurely pace. Tours utilize bicycle paths and side streets whenever possible. Bicycle required. Helmets are strongly encouraged.
Site Tours: Site Tours offer the experience of a guided tour through special, limited-access community landmarks. Tours last forty-five minutes to an hour. Site tours are often restricted to current Westcott House members.
Coach Tours: Coach Tours offer an in-depth examination of architecture and history topics in and around the Greater Springfield Region. They run approximately two and a half hours. They utilize a 30-passenger coach, so advance ticket purchase is required. Tours feature both interior and exterior of buildings.
Virtual Tours: Virtual Tours began in 2020 due to the pandemic but continue today because they present an excellent opportunity to share local architecture and history with audiences from around the globe, as well as to people who seek accessible programming. Tours are thirty to are forty-five minutes and are offered via Zoom and Facebook Live.
Accessibility
Our tours and programs are developed for a broad audience, including those with disabilities and decreased mobility. Tours move at a leisurely pace with brief periods of standing at tour stops. If entering a building or house, some stairs or inclines may be possible. All tours are assigned mobility levels between 1-3.
Mobility Level 1: Up to 6 blocks walking, mostly flat terrain, paved, stairs not likely. Wheelchair accessible.
Mobility Level 2: May be more than 6 blocks walking, some hills, mostly paved, some stairs possible. Please call or email about wheelchair accessibility.
Mobility Level 3: Considerable walking, various terrains, unpaved areas. All bicycle tours. Please call or email about wheelchair accessibility.
