KEYPORT, NJ – Several stately Victorians built in the 1800s and the second floor of a former downtown department store that has been restored to its 1889 luster and converted into an artist’s loft with gallery and living space will be among properties showcased on the annual Pearl of the Bayshore Candlelight House Tour.

Hosted this year by the Keyport Business Alliance, the tour will take place from 4 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, December 14, and will feature 12 stops open to the public for viewing. All will be festively decorated for the holidays. Advance tickets are on sale now for $15 each; tickets purchased on the day of the tour will be $18.

Tour highlights include:

• A circa 1872 gingerbread-embellished Victorian with long front and back porches. Most of the home’s distinctive woodwork has survived intact, and it has been lovingly renovated and restored over the past two years by its present owners, who have furnished it with Oriental rugs and period antiques.
• A well-preserved, classic Queen Anne Victorian was built in 1887 by Elias H. Conover, a prominent Keyport dry goods merchant whose custom and ready-made clothing store began operating as early as 1860 on Front Street. The house has been restored in the 20th century but retains much of its original rich detail, including stained glass windows in the foyer, colonial revival moldings, both front and back parlors, two working fireplaces, pocket doors, a formal dining room and butler’s pantry, and country kitchen with hearth.
• A former department store and what was once Keyport’s first theater has been restored inside and out, with a sun-filled, 4,000-square-foot loft space for working, living and a gallery on the second floor, which has a spectacular view of the water. There are French doors separating the living space from the working space, hardwood floors, exposed brick walls, 20-foot ceilings, two beautifully appointed baths and a modern kitchen.
• A Craftsman-style house built in 1909 by Henry A. Ackerson Jr., a lifelong Keyport resident who served as state senator, circuit court judge and Supreme Court justice. The library Ackerson added in 1924 has 56 cabinets that were restored by the home’s current owners at the start of the 21st century. The now 3,000-square-foot house sits on a park-like _-acre lot with majestic 100-year-old trees. It has two working fireplaces and custom moldings throughout.

The $15 advance tickets are on sale now at Keyport Army Navy, 14 West Front St.; The Front Porch Emporium, 36 West Front St.; McEwan’s Coffee & Lite Fare on the Bay, 27 West Front St.; Somethin’ Seasonal, 156 Main St., and Second Hand Prose, 8 Main St. Tickets also may be purchased by phone by calling Allen Consulting at 732-946-2711.

Parking will be available in the lot for Fireman’s Park at the corner of West Front Street and American Legion Drive, where tickets will be sold the day of the tour for $18 each. Two vintage trolleys will be on hand to transport ticket holders to stops on the tour, which will be held rain or shine.

Downtown stores will be open until 10 p.m. for holiday shopping, and some will be serving refreshments. For additional information on the Keyport Candlelight Holiday House Tour, log on to www.keyportonline or call 732-946-2711.