A front garden, beyond the picket fence, occupies the original site of this 19th century house, which was moved to the back of the lot to accommodate a multi-family house that is no more.

The Providence Journal / Sandor Bodo

PROVIDENCE — Fox Point opens its doors. To be precise, 10 homeowners in the neighborhood welcome you this weekend.

The Providence Preservation Society conducts its 29th annual Festival of Historic Houses.

Think of it as a walk and gawk, since that’s what lots of people do. On average, Saturday’s tour, which is a fundraiser for PPS, attracts 1,100 participants.

“These are people who like to look not only at the outside of a house but the inside to get decorating ideas,” says Lauren Goldenberg, PPS development coordinator. “They like to see houses that are very different from their own.”

Pick your architectural preference: Greek revival, Colonial revival or Federal. All the houses on the tour were constructed in 19th century and, most importantly, they have been maintained into the 21st century.

“Every year we pick a different neighborhood. It’s a way for us to showcase the different parts of Providence and different historical houses that are being preserved,” Goldenberg says.

This is a self-guided walking tour, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with all the houses within about a half-mile loop. All the locations are disclosed when you purchase a ticket and pick up a map and guide at Brown University’s Maddock Alumni Center, 38 Brown St.

Some of the houses are simple; some are grand. On the outside, you can see handsome entrances with artistic transoms, corbels and cornices, pediments and pilasters. On the inside, you can see 19th century craftsmanship in such things as moldings and mantels.

Each house will have a docent or two to provide information and answer questions. Tomorrow night, you can also see preservation in progress and hear about the future or preservation in Providence.

The house tour kicks off with a special Patrons’ Reception. In attendance will be George Born, the new (as in, four days on the job) executive director of PPS. This is his first public appearance. “For people who want to hear his vision and his direction for PPS, it will be a great opportunity,” Goldenberg says.

The reception takes place at 10 Brown St., which was on a PPS house tour a couple of years ago.

It’s a very different house now; Angus Davis, who purchased the house in 2007, has spent more than a year conducting a renovation of the house, which he says is about 90 percent complete.

“There will definitely be an element of show-and-tell,” Davis says.

The grounds of the one-acre property, which were largely devoid of landscaping, have been amply planted. The stucco on the 1835 Greek revival has been repaired, its shutters replaced, and its porch restored. Inside, mechanical systems have been updated; plaster has been remediated; and every room but one repainted. The attic has been converted to a rec room, and the kitchen has been remodeled.

“It had a dysfunctional layout. It had all kinds of hanging lights and hanging pots. We tried to tone down the visual vertical clutter.”

Among Davis’ favorite house features are its large double parlor, its formal dining room with a carved mantel and walnut-inlaid paneled walls, and a butler’s pantry with original cabinetry and parquet floor.

Davis, who’s a longtime PPS member, grew up in a Revolutionary War-era house in Bristol, which was occasionally included in a house tour. “I think giving folks the opportunity to go on a house tour and see the work that goes into restoring an old home allows the public a deeper appreciation.”

Davis knows it’s easier for people to purchase new homes than renovate old ones, but he promotes the latter.

“You’ll end up with something that’s much better than you could buy new. They don’t build houses like this anymore.”

The Providence Preservation Society’s 29th annual Festival of Historic Houses is Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $30 if purchased by noon Friday, (401) 831-7440 or www.ppsri.org, and $35 the day of the tour. Registration, where tickets, maps and guides are acquired, is at Brown University’s Maddock Alumni Center, 38 Brown St.

The tour’s Patrons’ Reception is tomorrow, 6 to 9 p.m., at 10 Brown St. Admission, which includes a ticket to Saturday’s tour, is $75.

‘I’m going to take the bunk out of Bunker Hill. It’s long overdue’1

In praise of Roger Williams: “The principle he espoused is really the mother of all freedoms. Without this freedom of conscience, the other freedoms — press, speech and assembly — can’t truly exist.”

Appreciate Providence history. The second annual Independence Trail Tour is Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

Bob Burke, the founder and organizer of the event, will lead the free two-mile, 90-minute walking tour, which begins at his restaurant Federal Reserve, 60 Dorrance St.

“Our mission is to educate not only tourists but Rhode Islanders about the incredible heritage we have. It’s amazing the extent to which people in Rhode Island have no idea how incredibly significant our role was in the formation of this country and its absolute core ideals.”

Freedom of religion factors prominently. Roger Williams, who forged that freedom, founded Rhode Island.

“The principle he espoused is really the mother of all freedoms. Without this freedom of conscience, the other freedoms — press, speech and assembly — can’t truly exist.”

Last year, 800 people took the tour. This year, Burke has invited Boston media to join in and appreciate Rhode Island’s historical prominence. While Boston’s Freedom Trail has about a dozen stops, Providence’s Independence Trail Tour has about four dozen stops.

“I feel Providence is like Boston’s kid brother. A lot of kid brothers never get credit for their accomplishments. Occasionally, the kid brother hauls off and pops the big brother in the nose. This is us punching Boston in the nose.”

Rhode Island, Burke notes, was the first Colony to renounce allegiance to the crown, two months before the others. And it was the last of the Colonies to ratify the Constitution, about five years after the others.

“If Rhode Island had signed the Constitution with everybody else, there never would have been the most significant document in the history of freedom, the Bill of Rights. It is the premiere document pertaining to the individual rights of man.”

Rhode Island, Burke says, was the first state to free children born into slavery, in 1782, and the first to ban the selling of slaves in 1784.

And, most notably, Burke says, Rhode Island, not Massachusetts takes credit for the “shot heard around the world.”

“I’m going to take the bunk out of Bunker Hill. It’s long overdue.”

Last year, the Independence Trail Tour was conducted on May 4 to commemorate the date in 1776 when Rhode Island declared its independence from the English crown. This year, however, the tour has been moved to coincide with Gaspee Days, which celebrates the June 9, 1772, burning and sinking of the British warship, the Gaspee, in Narragansett Bay, off what’s now Gaspee Point in Warwick.

“Most people don’t realize the Boston Tea Party would not happen for another 18 months. In my challenge to Boston, I say that we were first in time and in significance.”

Those who take the tour, Burke says, will see, among other things, a marker indicating where Colonists departed in row boats to sink the Gaspee.

“Those who participate in this walk will make history. They can say they had a part in correcting American history.”

There will also be booklets available for people to take self-guided tours at their leisure.

brourke@projo.com