BLOOMINGTON - People "looking up" in downtown Bloomington had a chance to discover something new on Saturday, as the Tour de Metro celebrated downtown living with a tour of thirteen homes.

"People think about downtown as a business district and don't think about what is upstairs, said Erika Kubsch, executive director of the Downtown Bloomington Association, which organized the tour along with the Bloomington-Normal Sunrise Rotary Club.

"I call this the secret squirrel tour," said Tracy Riley, who is a realtor and renovates properties. "There is so much here that people don't know about."

One of the "upstairs" living options in downtown that was featured was an apartment above the Anthony Saluto Gallery on North Main Street, which is the home of Deborah Urewicz-Kocourek and her husband, Greg.

Kocourek and her husband moved from Chicago two years ago and Deborah, a hairdresser, says she loves the "hubbub" of downtown. Greg says he likes being able to walk to his job at Bloomington Junior High.

Deborah describes herself as an "advocate for saving the past," and the items she has "saved," including 1950's style hairdryers and fans, as well as items from the original Steak N Shake, decorate every room of the apartment.

Another home featured on the tour was Timothy Kent Nurnberger's, which is above his frame gallery on West Jefferson Street.

Nurnberger, who recently moved to downtown, said that besides the convenience of living above his business, he likes the "urban feel of downtown," as well as the "space." Among the features of the space that Nurnberger enjoys are the interior brick walls and a large, open third-story room with a skylight.

History is another thing that attracts residents to downtown, and Deborah Senger shared the history of the "Oaks" Mansion on Grove Street, with those touring the unit she and her husband Tom occupy.

The Oaks was built in 1859 by Asahel and Mary Enos Gridley, and according to Senger is the only remaining site in Bloomington where Abraham Lincoln slept. Deborah Senger, said she and her husband felt "drawn to the building," which has been part of their Spirits of Bloomington historical ghost tours.