Wanna see how the other half live? Or at least check out some homes on the National Register of Historic Places?

Owners of these homes and buildings are obligated to have an annual open house for the public—so if you're into old buildings and free stuff, you win!

Finding out about the open houses has been the hard part. The Oregonian's Homes & Gardens of the Northwest (Thursday insert) has a Historical Home Tours section that runs every first Thursday of the month, but that section is not so easy to find in print or on the website.

Lucky for us, the Oregon Parks & Recreation Department: Heritage Conservation Division also has a listing in the form of a PDF. Not that that's terribly easier to find, but if you know the URL....