By Mariana Alvarado
Arizona Daily Star
Jefferson Park neighbors are inviting Tucsonans to travel back in time.
On May 7, George and Sharon Milan will open to the public their Craftsman bungalow built by Anna Lester in 1920.
Lester was the original homesteader and pioneer of Jefferson Park, the neighborhood north of the University of Arizona.
"We haven't done that much at all to change anything. Any kind of work that we have done in the house, we have tried to keep it as original as we could," George said.
The couple offered their house, at 1225 E. Lester St., for a historic tour to help raise money for Jefferson Park's nomination as a national historic district.
For $10, visitors will get a guided tour of the Milans' house, where docents will provide information and describe Lester's architecture.
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There also will be entertainment, an antique car show and a silent auction. A historian dressed in period clothing from the 1920s will lead three tours of the surrounding Lester homes, said Joan E. Daniels, president of Friends of Jefferson Park Inc.
"It's wonderful they are opening their house. People who have found out about it have told me they always wanted to come in," Daniels said.
The fundraising efforts are to retire the neighborhood debt to the city of Tucson for its portion of the $38,000 cost to nominate the neighborhood for historic status. The neighborhood has raised $12,000 through donations and fundraisers. Last year it held a garden tour to raise money.
To be named a historic district, more than half the homes in the area must be 50 years old or older.
"It's interesting for Tucson how many old homes it has," George said.
According to anecdotes, the Milans' house may have been turned into a convalescent center before the 1930s, and may have been used as a fraternity for University of Arizona students, George said.
During the tour, visitors will get to see the living room with its Mission-style furniture and original oak floors. The fireplace is not the original, but the rock is from the quarry at A Mountain.
George said visitors will also see the sewing room, which is nearly the same as it was originally, as well as the dining room. The pantry's cabinets are still adorned with the original 1920s knobs and drawer pulls.
The kitchen cabinets open through the ceiling into the attic - people used that space to store vegetables to keep them from rotting. The Magic Chef double oven was purchased in 1970 from a church, and a General Motors refrigerator is from the 1930s.
"We found the refrigerator and rebuilt it to bring it to our house in 1977," George said.
The Milans bought the house 35 years ago. Another home they liked better was outside of the city.
"We are so lucky we didn't get it," George said. "We are so lucky we got this place."
While the house requires a lot of upkeep, Sharon said, the couple is excited about the tour.
"There's really interesting information about the woman who built it - a lot of really neat stuff," Sharon said. "She's pretty amazing."
Contact reporter Mariana Alvarado at 573-4597 or malvarado@azstarnet.com
IF YOU GO
• What: Anna Lester Historic Tour and Festival to support the nomination of the Jefferson Park Neighborhood to historic status.
• When: 2 to 6 p.m. May 7.
• Where: 1225 E. Lester St.
• Cost: $10; free for children under 12 accompanied by adults.
• For more information: Contact Joan Daniels, jdchama@msn.com or go to www.jeffersonpark.info
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