Preservation Sacramento will hold its 50th annual tour of historic homes in September, and one of the homes people can explore belonged to the notorious 1980s serial killer Dorothea Puente.The docent-led tour on Sunday, Sept. 20, spans the Old Washington School and New Washington School historic districts, between 12th & 19th streets and C and H streets.It features four historic homes and two commercial buildings that are not normally open to the public. The tour also spotlights the first mural created by the Royal Chicano Air Force collective of artists and activists. William Burg, the president of Preservation Sacramento, joined KCRA 3 on Friday to talk about the tour.He said the Washington school neighborhood in two historic districts is unique for its architecture and social history.Burg said all four homes on the tour are part of the Queen Anne Victorian architecture style that was popular in the 1880s through the early 20th century. “They tend to be those houses that look like a wedding cake,” he said. One of the homes on F Street was a boarding house that Puente ran. She was convicted of drugging, killing, and burying her tenants in the backyard. After their deaths, she collected their Social Security benefits. Puente later died in prison at age 82. Burg said that Puente’s historic property, despite its legacy, is now a “loving family home.” “I actually went to a wedding reception there,” Burg said. “A friend of mine got married and his aunt and uncle bought the house. Initially, they had decided they were going to try to just conceal the history of it, until a tour bus pulled up and people got out and started taking photographs.” He said the house has been restored and is now “a place where people live and part of the neighborhood. And that’s what we were trying to emphasize. It’s the potential for these places.” The tour runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets cost $30 for members or $40 for non-members, and can be purchased here. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel | Make KCRA a preferred news source in Google
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
Preservation Sacramento will hold its 50th annual tour of historic homes in September, and one of the homes people can explore belonged to the notorious 1980s serial killer Dorothea Puente.
The docent-led tour on Sunday, Sept. 20, spans the Old Washington School and New Washington School historic districts, between 12th & 19th streets and C and H streets.
It features four historic homes and two commercial buildings that are not normally open to the public.
The tour also spotlights the first mural created by the Royal Chicano Air Force collective of artists and activists.
William Burg, the president of Preservation Sacramento, joined KCRA 3 on Friday to talk about the tour.
He said the Washington school neighborhood in two historic districts is unique for its architecture and social history.
Burg said all four homes on the tour are part of the Queen Anne Victorian architecture style that was popular in the 1880s through the early 20th century.
“They tend to be those houses that look like a wedding cake,” he said.
One of the homes on F Street was a boarding house that Puente ran.
She was convicted of drugging, killing, and burying her tenants in the backyard. After their deaths, she collected their Social Security benefits. Puente later died in prison at age 82.
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In 1988, police found seven bodies buried in the back yard of 1426 F Street in Sacramento. The home’s landlady Dorothea Puente was later convicted of murder.
PHOTO: Rob Stewart/KCRA
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Barbara Holmes and Tom Williams will show off their renovated house during the Sacramento Old City Association’s Home Tour on Sept. 15.
PHOTO: Rob Stewart/KCRA
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Holmes and Williams bought the house in 2011 for $215,000 at a public auction.
PHOTO: Rob Stewart/KCRA
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A sign hanging off the front of the house jokingly warns that “Trespasser will be drugged and buried in the yard.”
PHOTO: Rob Stewart/KCRA
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A bottle in the yard is marked with a skull and crossbones and the word “poizin.”
PHOTO: Rob Stewart/KCRA
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In the back yard, a mannequin holds a shovel, wears a wig and a has a coat similar to the one Dorothea Puente was wearing when she was arrested.
PHOTO: Rob Stewart/KCRA
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Holmes and Williams have crime tape covering their bathroom shower curtain.
PHOTO: Rob Steward/KCRA
Burg said that Puente’s historic property, despite its legacy, is now a “loving family home.”
“I actually went to a wedding reception there,” Burg said. “A friend of mine got married and his aunt and uncle bought the house. Initially, they had decided they were going to try to just conceal the history of it, until a tour bus pulled up and people got out and started taking photographs.”
He said the house has been restored and is now “a place where people live and part of the neighborhood. And that’s what we were trying to emphasize. It’s the potential for these places.”
The tour runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets cost $30 for members or $40 for non-members, and can be purchased here.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel | Make KCRA a preferred news source in Google