On Sunday afternoon, December 19th, the Preservation League will sponsor its 1999 Home for the Holidays HOUSE TOUR. This year's houses are located in the historic communities surrounding Snug Harbor. The tour will begin at St. Paul's Catholic Church, 145 Clinton Avenue, corner Cassidy Place. Admission is $15 for individuals, $25per household and $8 for students or seniors. Admission includes a self-guided tour booklet, refreshments and a one year membership in the Preservation League. You may wish to mail your dues to the Preservation League by using the membership form in this issue and receive free admission to the house tour.

This year's tour includes a diverse collection of eight spacious homes built between the 1850s and the 1930s. The oldest and most historic home on the tour was built ca. 1859 on a portion of the property owned by Francis G. Shaw and then presented to his daughter, Anna Gould Shaw and her new husband the soon to be renowned newspaper editor, George William Curtis. Curtis was a dedicated abolitionist and supporter of Lincoln. It is said that in this house he hid journalist Horace Greeley from mobs of angry Southern sympathizers.

Also on the tour is a house constructed ca. 1886 by New York City developer Francis B. Kinney on a quiet one-block enclave distinguished by two brick gateposts and a landscaped center island. The house is furnished with family heirlooms, tables designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and works by Staten Island artists.

The Rectory of St. Paul's Catholic Church was built as a private home for George F. and Sarah Jewett Hicks ca. 1874 and boasts a distinctive Mansard roof punctuated by gabled dormers. Tour goers will view an exhibit of the plans for the construction of a new church building and adisplay of African artifacts gathered during missionary years.

A shingled Colonial Revival style house commanding an elevated site has only been occupied by three different families since it was built ca. 1907. A large dormer window on thenorthern slope of the gambrel roof lights the top floor artist's studio designed for the original owners' daughter. Visitors will see a display of rare Women's Suffrage memorabilia left behind by the former owner.

Another home also constructed before World War I displays a number of period features including oak woodwork, Lincrusta-covered dining room walls and the original electrical circuit switch box built into the stairhall wall. The owner will be displaying a collection of Chanukah Menorahs and art by Staten Island artists.

The tour also includes two period houses built in the 1930s; one designed in the French Norman style for the suburban development of Randall Manor and one in the Georgian Revival style for a corner lot in Livingston.

The houses, as well as the church, will be open from 1:00 till 4:00 p.m. The tour is rain or shine.