"An annual house tour had begun in 1967 as a way to build pride in Oklahoma City's historic homes." That line comes from Historical Preservation, Inc.'s own history of the neighborhood. It undersells what the first tour was for. The people who opened their front doors that year were organizing to protect the neighborhood. The tour itself was part of that work.
On Saturday, October 24, and Sunday, October 25, from 1 to 5 p.m. both days, the 60th Heritage Hills Historic Homes Tour sends guests through five private houses. The Henry and Anna Overholser Mansion is closed for restoration and won't be on the route. That makes this year's tour closer to the 1967 original than most of the tours since.
Six Living Rooms And A Highway Fight
The tour started with a road. In 1966, Shirk asked leaders of the West Highland Parked Neighborhood Association, the Harndale Association and the Classen-Winans Association to meet about the State Highway Department's plan for a wide boulevard along 16th Street, from Broadway to Classen. According to Historical Preservation, Inc., the boulevard would have run "right through the heart of the neighborhoods." Forty neighborhood leaders came to the meeting. Shirk told them the only way to stop the highway was to organize and have the whole area designated a city historic preservation district.
Things moved quickly after that. Oklahoma City appointed its first Historic Preservation Commission on March 7, 1967, and four of its nine members lived in the area that became Heritage Hills. The same year, the public was invited into six private homes. They belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Frank Hightower, Mr. and Mrs. W. K. Veazey, Mr. and Mrs. O. Alton Watson, Mr. and Mrs. Frederick W. Hunzicker, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Ruffin, and Mr. and Mrs. Charles C. Coley. About 500 people bought tickets at $2 each.
Two of those first hosts, Dr. O. Alton Watson and Capt. Charles C. Coley, also sat on the new preservation commission. Over the next two years, city staff surveyed the houses from 10th to 23rd and from Broadway to Classen. On February 11, 1969, the city council passed an ordinance that gave the commission the power to approve or reject changes to home exteriors. On September 8, 1969, leaders of the three neighborhoods met at Capt. Coley's home and formed Historical Preservation, Inc. Its stated goals included enforcing the new zoning rules and building an endowment for long-range work.
So the people who started the tour were the same people building the legal protections behind it. Historical Preservation, Inc. says the effect of the designation was immediate. Longtime residents stopped leaving as fast, and buyers came in who saw that the ordinance would protect the neighborhood's character.
Five Houses, A 24-Year Span, And Nothing Public On The Route
For the 60th tour, every stop is a private residence, just as in 1967.
| Address | Year Built |
|---|---|
| 525 NW 15th Street | 1901 |
| 525 NW 14th Street | 1908 |
| 425 NW 16th Street | 1912 |
| 301 NW 18th Street | 1923 |
| 904 NW 14th Street | 1925 |
Sorted by build date, the route covers roughly the first quarter-century of building in the neighborhood. The house at 525 NW 15th dates to 1901, the same year Henry Overholser bought land north of the city for his own home. The newest stop, 904 NW 14th, went up in 1925. Three of the five houses are on NW 14th or NW 15th. The other two are farther north on NW 16th and NW 18th, and the stop on NW 16th sits on the street the 1966 boulevard plan would have widened.
Volunteers at each home will share historical details, architectural highlights and neighborhood stories. The format is the one the 1967 hosts used. Tickets are $30, up from $2 in 1967.
The Mansion Your Ticket Still Pays For
The 2026 tour benefits Historical Preservation, Inc. and the Henry and Anna Overholser Mansion. This year, guests are paying toward a building they can't go inside.
The mansion's website says it is closed for tours and events while Phase 1 of a preservation project is underway. That phase covers masonry, window restoration, roof restoration, and new gutters and flashing. The site estimates the phase will take about 10 months and says the funding comes from the Legacy Capital Financing Fund, which the Oklahoma Legislature created. The Oklahoma Historical Society owns the mansion and Preservation Oklahoma, Inc. manages it. The Historical Society says it expects to welcome visitors back in 2027.
The house is worth the long restoration. The Historical Society describes a three-story, French chateau-style home. W. S. Matthews, an architect trained at London's Kensington Academy, oversaw its construction and furnishing, and the decor included Brussels lace curtains, English carpets and French stained-glass windows. A gala reception opened the house in 1904, and over the years it hosted opera singers Ernestine Schumann-Heink and Amelita Galli-Curci. Inside, it still has its original furnishings, stained glass and ornate canvas-painted walls.
The organizers' notice puts it this way: "While we will certainly miss welcoming Home Tour guests inside the mansion this year, we are thrilled to see this important preservation work underway."
Instead of the mansion, the tour's center for the weekend is the Tour Hub, set up directly across the street from it. The hub will have tour information, refreshments, ticket sales and Will Call. The mansion's own visitor guidance says parking is on Northwest 15th Street. So for one weekend, the block around the scaffolding will be the busiest one in the neighborhood.
Tour Weekend, Block By Block
If you live in Heritage Hills or Mesta Park, tour weekend fills streets you use every day. Here's the schedule:
- Friday, October 23. The Twilight Tour & Diamond Jubilee Dinner opens the weekend with a home tour from 5 to 7 p.m., a cocktail hour from 6 to 7 p.m. and dinner at 7:30 p.m. The $150 dinner is sold out. To join the waitlist, email [email protected].
- Saturday, October 24, 1 to 5 p.m. Free tour parking is at St. Luke's Methodist Church, at the southwest corner of NW 14th Street and N. Harvey Avenue.
- Sunday, October 25, 1 to 5 p.m. Parking moves to the southwest corner of NW 15th Street and N. Robinson Avenue, still on St. Luke's property.
- Both days. Free Mercedes-Benz shuttles run between tour stops all weekend.
The change in parking matters more to people who live here than to visitors. On Saturday, tour traffic collects near Harvey and NW 14th, which is a short walk from 525 NW 14th and a few blocks from 904 NW 14th. On Sunday it shifts east to Robinson and NW 15th. Neighbors on those blocks should expect a different crowd pattern each afternoon. The tour map on the Historical Preservation, Inc. site shows parking, the Tour Hub, shuttle stops and all five homes.
The tour doesn't start until 1 p.m., which leaves the morning open. Mezzo Bakeshop opened in September at 1100 N. Walker Ave., in the former Brown's Bakery building. KFOR described it as a European-inspired café serving croissants, sandwiches and coffee. It's just south of the district and is the newest stop within walking distance of the route.
If you're coming from Uptown 23rd, allow extra time. The city's $9.3 million NW 23rd Street project, which runs from Western to Broadway, began construction on January 12, 2026, and was expected to take about 18 months. The most recent lane-closure forecast is from August, so check current conditions before you drive.
Sixty Years On The Same Streets
The 1967 tour had six homes, about 500 guests and $2 tickets, and the people who hosted it were also working to get the district designated. The 2026 tour has five homes built between 1901 and 1925, $30 tickets, and a hub across the street from a mansion that's under restoration. Each tour has relied on homeowners willing to open their doors, and that's how the ticket money ends up back in the neighborhood.
Kaci and Kylie at Kaiser + Drake Realty spend a lot of time inside century-old homes like these, assessing masonry, original windows and the work it takes to keep them in good shape. If you own a home in Heritage Hills or Mesta Park and want a practical read on a restoration project before you start, we're glad to walk through it with you. Work with Us.