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Free guided walking tours are small groups led by trained guides who are able to explain the architectural features and history of stops on the tour. Tours pass by homes but do not allow access. To see private residence interiors purchase tickets for the Open Homes Tour.
Information is available at the Stroll Heritage Plaza Information Booth
Each stroll lasts approximately 45 – 60 minutes. All terrain is flat on city sidewalks. Wear comfortable shoes and bring your camera. Stroll walking tours start at times and locations noted below.
2023 Stroll Walking Tours
BUNGALOW and CRAFTSMAN TOUR: NORTH FIRST & SECOND STREET – New Tour
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While Woodland’s wealthy business and professional classes were building their large houses south of Main Street, working class people were housed in a creative mix of folk Victorian cottages, bungalows and period revival houses to the north. This shady tour strolls up First Street to Beamer Street and returns via Second Street taking in a variety of classic smaller houses, today populated by artists, writers, gardeners, renovators and many other homeowners who have lovingly restored many of these houses.
11 AM Tour starts at N/W corner of First and Court streets (by Woodland Public Library)
Docent: Julie Dachtler, Stroll Through History Committee
WHAT’S THAT STYLE? New Tour
Woodland is renowned for its beautifully restored historic houses built in a wide array of styles encompassing 160 years of history. Residents from yesteryear crafted a beautiful small town carved out of an oak forest, creating attractive tree-lined neighborhoods and charming houses. Beginning in the 1960s, ambitious young preservationists seeking an authentic sense of place began renovating these unique homes, big and small, with a few dollars, frequent trips to Cranston’s Hardware, and the sweat of their brow. This “early bird” tour, filled with birdsong from Woodland’s tall and shady urban forest, will stroll from Frist Street down Pendegast and over to Mid Century Modern neighborhoods. We will observe changes in housing styles precipitated by architectural innovation, historical trends, and technological and social changes. Learn the basics of Victorian, Shingle, Prairie, Colonial Revival, Mission, Craftsman, Bungalow, Ranch, and other styles. Strollers will be greeted by “historic” architects and builders who designed and constructed houses and their original “owners” telling their remarkable stories. See up close why Woodland is the “Jewel of the Valley” and a “City of Trees.”
8 AM tour starts at 745 First Street (near Craig Street)
Docent: David Wilkinson, Woodland Historian and Author
“LOTS OF TIME” OR HOW WOODLAND’S HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS WERE CREATED
Architecture is a form of fashion, and styles go in and out of fashion. Much of the reason for a neighborhood’s dominant architectural style depends upon when the land was subdivided into lots, allowing home construction. This fascinating tour walks though the three blocks of “Bynum’s 1871 Addition to the City of Woodland” bounded by Cross-Pendegast-Third-College streets. One block on First Street was subdivided in the 1880s and is still largely populated by Victorians, while the block across the street wasn’t subdivided until the 1910s and has an array of house styles from the first half of the 20th century. The contrast in architectural styles from one side of the street to the other is striking, awaiting to be discovered by strollers. Take a deep dive into Woodland’s history as you stroll through different eras of architecture while discovering how Woodland neighborhoods were created.
8:30 AM tour starts at southwest corner of Second and Cross streets.
Docent: Jim Lapsley, Historian
COLLEGE STREET PIONEERS AND PRESERVATIONISTS
College Street has a variety of upscale house styles, including Victorian-era Italianates, Queen Annes, Craftsman Bungalows, and the first Modernist home built in Woodland in 1912. Join docent Barbara Graham, who has intimately studied this neighborhood over the course of leading this captivating walking tour for many years, for a step back in time to experience Woodland’s formative years. Learn about these upscale, renovated houses and who lived in them during the early days of Woodland. From a United States Congressman, a bank president, an author and a Women’s Christian Temperance activist, College Street was home to incredibly interesting and influential people.
8:30 AM Tour starts at S/E corner of College & Lincoln streets (historic Woodland Christian Church)
Docent: Barbara Graham, Historian
FABULOUS FIRST STREET’S ARCHITECTURAL TREASURES: PARTS 1 AND 2
Richly diverse with a wide array of Victorians, including the California State Landmark Gable Mansion, First Street contains a stunning variety of well-preserved architecture spanning the period 1860 to the present, epitomizing Woodland’s extraordinary cultural heritage and social history. The homes set along this beautiful tree-canopied street have been lovingly restored by many homeowners over the last 50 years, including the Victorian at 638 First Street, winner of a Great American Home Awards Grand Prize for restoration work and the fabulous Gable Mansion. This exceptional tour will capture Woodland’s extraordinary social and economic history embodied by its exceptional architecture.
Note: This tour will be divided into two parts to capture the grandeur and beauty of the entire street.
Part 1– 9:00 AM Tour starts at corner of First and Lincoln.
Docent: Chris Holt, Architect, Artist, and Woodland Planning Commissioner
Part 2—10:30 AM Tour starts at First and Cross streets in front of Gable Mansion
Docent: Mary Aulman, Yolo County Historical Society
BARNS, ALLEYS, OAKS AND HIDDEN SURPRISES
This fun tour is full of surprises that kids (and adults) will love. This stroll will begin at Dog Gone Alley, one of Woodland’s two downtown alleys, weaving its way into hidden residential alleys. Strollers will discover some of Woodland’s seldom seen places and observe several barns and carriage houses from the horse and buggy days. Towering native valley oak trees and other specimen trees planted by families from bygone days will be discussed.
10 AM Tour starts at corner of Second Street and Dog Gone Alley (just south of Main Street)
Docent: Mark Aulman, Woodland Tree Foundation
BEAMER PARK TOUR
Shortly before World War I, Bay Area developer, Hewitt Davenport, subdivided the old Richard and Rebecca Beamer homestead and hired prominent landscape architect, Mark Daniels, to design something different for Woodland: an upscale, master planned enclave with curved streets and round-about with fountain, an architectural gateway, a public park-and pricey home lots set among ancient valley oak trees. A private train was chartered from Sacramento to promote the grand opening of Beamer Park in June 1914. The complete build out of the Park took more than 40 years, interrupted by WWI, the Great Depression, and WWII, and accounts for the broad range of housing styles. Several talented builders left their mark on Beamer Park, including William Fait and Joseph Motroni, whose works will be highlighted on this tour. Recent improvements to the public park and tree-scape will also be discussed.
10:30 AM Tour starts at Beamer Arches at Third & Beamer streets
Docent: Jim Bohon
Downtown Tours
DOWNTOWN WOODLAND: STONES, ROTUNDAS, BRICK & IRON, MURALS, ARCHITECTURAL TERRA-COTTA, MEXICAN TILE & MORE – New Tour
Take a Stroll down Main Street America within Woodland’s exceptional historic Downtown, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Visit several beloved architectural showpieces along the way that are key icons of Woodland: the Valley Jewel. Rich in architectural elements and history spanning over a century, themes explored on this tour include the architectural Stones of Woodland, the Carnegie Library Rotunda, cast iron storefronts brightly painted, early movie theaters, Gladding-McBean architectural terra cotta buildings inspired by the Italian Renaissance, a new colorful mural celebrating Woodland’s vibrant culture, the influence of Spanish & Mission architecture and much more.
11 AM Tour begins at Heritage Plaza, Main & Second streets
Docents: David Wilkinson, Woodland historian and author & Tom Stallard, Downtown Woodland developer