The 2026 Palisades Village House Tour: One Day, Six Architectural Styles in Northwest DC

Key Takeaways

• The 12th Annual Palisades Village House Tour runs Saturday, October 17, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• Seven homes across Berkley, Foxhall, Kent, and Palisades represent six architectural styles, from a late 19th century Italianate to a sleek modern contemporary.

• Addresses stay confidential until the morning of the tour. Guidebooks with maps and step counts are distributed at check-in.

• Advance tickets are $40 through October 16. Day-of tickets are $45 at the Palisades Hub.

• Every ticket supports Palisades Village, the nonprofit that helps older residents in these neighborhoods age in place.

What the Palisades Village House Tour Is

Once a year, Palisades Village opens seven private homes to the public for a single afternoon. The tour is the organization's signature fundraiser, and it funds year-round programs that help older adults in Berkley, Foxhall, Kent, Palisades, Spring Valley, and Wesley Heights stay in their own homes: transportation, household help, wellness programming, and the kind of neighbor-to-neighbor support that does not show up on a spreadsheet.

For longtime residents and newcomers alike, the tour is also one of the few chances each year to see inside homes that are rarely open to the public. Northwest DC's housing stock in these neighborhoods spans more than a century of building styles, and this year's lineup is a useful cross-section of that range.

Six Architectural Styles, One Afternoon: What You'll See on the Tour

This year's seven homes represent a late 19th century Italianate, Tudor, Colonial, and Federal Revival houses, a 21st century four-square, and a modern contemporary build. Addresses are not released in advance, but the styles themselves are worth knowing a little about before tour day.

Italianate. DC's Italianate homes date to the decades after the Civil War, typically built with tall ceilings, bracketed cornices, and deep window surrounds. It's one of the harder styles to find intact this close to the river, which makes seeing one up close, rather than in a photo, worth the stop.

Tudor Revival. Popular through the 1920s and 1930s, Tudor Revivals bring steep rooflines, leaded glass, and masonry construction that has held up well across a century of DC weather. The style's smaller, more compartmentalized rooms are one of its most recognizable traits, and the tour is a chance to see how that layout actually feels in person.

Colonial and Federal Revival. These two styles make up much of the character housing stock in Foxhall and Kent. Symmetry, center hallways, and formal room divisions define both, and seeing them back to back on the tour is a good way to notice how two closely related styles diverge in the details.

Four-Square (21st Century). A four-square built in the current century is a different animal from its early 20th century namesake: same efficient, boxy footprint, but built to modern insulation, wiring, and mechanical standards from day one. Seeing a contemporary take on a century-old form standing among its older neighbors is one of the more interesting contrasts on this year's route.

Modern Contemporary. New construction in this style is where land value does most of the talking in these neighborhoods. With very little vacant land left in Berkley, Foxhall, Kent, or the Palisades, a contemporary build on the tour is a reminder of just how rare that kind of opportunity has become.

What Sets Berkley, Foxhall, Kent, and the Palisades Apart

These four neighborhoods share a few things that stand out regardless of architectural era: proximity to the Potomac and the Foxhall corridor, tree canopy and lot sizes that are hard to find closer to downtown, and a limited supply of buildable land. That scarcity is part of what makes a new construction project or a thoughtfully executed renovation stand out whenever one appears in the neighborhood.

Berkley's addition to this year's tour is worth noting for anyone who follows this part of Northwest DC closely. It signals that Palisades Village's footprint, and interest in touring homes there, continues to widen beyond the neighborhoods most closely associated with the tour in past years.

Tickets, Timing, and What to Expect on Tour Day

The tour runs rain or shine, with no refunds for weather, so plan accordingly. A few practical details:

• Advance tickets: $40, available through midnight on October 16 — view full event details and purchase tickets

• Day-of tickets: $45, sold starting at 10:30 a.m. at the Palisades Hub, 5200 Cathedral Ave NW

• Check-in: Guidebooks, maps, and step-count information for each home are distributed at the Hub starting at 10:30 a.m.

• Getting around: Because homes are spread across four neighborhoods this year, a car or bicycle between stops is recommended over walking the full route

• Age: Open to guests 10 and up

• Capacity: Limited to 500 tickets total

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the 2026 Palisades Village House Tour?
Saturday, October 17, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

How much are tickets, and where can I buy them?
Advance tickets are $40 through October 16. Day-of tickets are $45 and available at the Palisades Hub starting at 10:30 a.m. on tour day. Full ticketing details are available on the official event page.

Which neighborhoods are featured this year?
Berkley, Foxhall, Kent, and Palisades.

Are the addresses of the featured homes announced in advance?
No. Palisades Village keeps the addresses confidential until the morning of the tour. Guidebooks with the full list and maps are handed out at check-in.

Where does the ticket revenue go?
Directly to Palisades Village, which uses tour proceeds to fund programs that help older residents in the area age independently in their homes.

A Note for Anyone Watching This Market

A tour like this is also a reminder of how much variation exists inside a few square miles of Northwest DC, and how differently that variation plays out depending on what someone is solving for: character and craftsmanship, room to build, or a turnkey option with modern systems. If you're weighing a purchase or a sale in Foxhall, Kent, the Palisades, or a neighboring pocket of Northwest DC, a confidential conversation is a useful way to sort through the strategy behind that decision before you're standing in front of a listing.

Sarah Hake

Senior Vice President | Licensed in DC, MD & VA

[email protected] | 202.856.4777

1055 Thomas Jefferson Street NW, Suite L26, Georgetown