- November 26, 2024
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You’ve probably driven by the unique home on State Road A1A and marveled at the unusual architecture. A bottle-shaped chimney. A room high up on stilts. These features are just two of many intriguing aspects of the Root house, 95 Ocean Shore Blvd., and, for the first time, the public will be able to go inside for a tour.
The house is part of the annual Holiday Tour of Homes, a fundraiser for the Ormond Beach Historical Society set for Saturday, Dec. 8. All of the homes will be decorated for the holidays.
The tour will once again feature a mixture of modern and historic houses. There’s a house on Riverside Drive from 1904, the days of Rockefeller, and modern homes that have been renovated.
“The house at 1306 Oak Forest looks like HGTV,” said Elysha Petschauer, executive director of the society.
THE ROOT HOUSE
Petschauer expects the Root house, built in 1991, to be a big draw.
“There’s so much mystery about the house,” she said. “People have been talking about it since it was built.”
“There’s so much mystery about the house.”
ELYSHA PETSCHAUER, historical society director
The architecture of the Root house reflects the community, according to published interviews with the architect, Steven Harris, who designed the house for Chapman Root II, great-grandson of the man who designed the first Coca-Cola bottle. The room on stilts is reminiscent of a lifeguard tower; the chimney is similar to the bottles knocked over in an arcade game; the barrel-roofed living room suggests the Boardwalk fun houses; and the two-story pool house reflects the old Ormond Hotel. There’s much more, such as a guitar-shaped pool.
Another building on the tour that is often a source of wonder is the Ormond Yacht Club, 63 N. Beach St., which is visible from the Granada Bridge. Built in 1910, it features a coquina fireplace and a compass painted on the floor. But there are no yachts, since the boat house was destroyed in a storm in the 1920s. It’s now a nonprofit organization.
TAKING THE TOUR
The five homes on the tour — 127 Riverside Drive, 161 Riverside Drive, 95 Ocean Shore Blvd., 1211 Oak Forest Drive and 1306 Oak Forest Drive — are shown on www.ormondhistory.org. In addition to these homes, the tour includes the MacDonald House, 38 E. Granada Blvd.; The Casements, 25 Riverside Drive; the Anderson-Price Building, 42 N. Beach St.; and the Ormond Yacht Club.
Taking the tour will be a mixture of driving and taking a shuttle bus. Those on the tour can start at any location.
Parking is available at the Anderson-Price Building, which is “party central” with a holiday shop, treats, entertainment and a raffle. You can then drive to the two houses on Oak Forest Drive, where parking is available on the street.
Parking is also available at The Casements, which is next to the MacDonald House. From The Casements, the shuttle bus will run in a continuous loop to the two houses on Riverside Drive and the Root house.
