A Real Honor

We had the distinct pleasure of showing the California State Historical Resources Commission some of the homes and points of interest on the Sacramento Mid-Century Modern Home Tour yesterday.

This morning, the three of us (aka Sacramento Modern) who put together the tour had the honor of receiving a resolution from the Commission during their quarterly meeting, which was held in the chambers of Sacramento's New City Hall.

Again, thank you to all who participated as a homeowner, sponsor, advertiser or volunteer for the home tour. We're proud to be highlighting and celebrating our mid-century modern treasures. We are honored to be considered a part of the larger preservation community and look forward to working further in this capacity.

Carter Sparks + Streng Bros. Homes = "Solution for contemporary living in the Sacramento Valley"

Streng Bros. Homes brochure, circa 1976

I was finally able to view and scan a primary source from 1976 regarding where Streng Bros. Homes were located in the Sacramento Valley. I've posted about this before, but wanted to share this brochure because it has shows specific home plans and specific neighborhoods. Absent in this group are the Streng Bros. Homes in Elk Grove and Natomas.

The homes listed in the brochure were designed by Carter Sparks, who stated:

"These homes express my solution for contemporary living in the Sacramento Valley. I have included broad overhanging eaves for shade, and open planning to create an easy flow between interior and exterior spaces. The use of natural materials unifies the homes with their surroundings. When these elements are combined, they form a pleasant blend of function and beauty that results in a better home in which to live."

According to the brochure, Streng Bros. Homes were built in the following locations:

Sacramento, North Area: Autumn Hill, Barrett Hills, Bellwood Heights, Clearfield, Cordova Meadows Estates, Crestridge Estates, Del Dayo Estates, Del Norte Oaks, Eastridge, Glen Oaks, Greenridge Heights, Homewood, Northridge Oaks, Oak Creek Estates, Overbrook, River College Square, Riverside Bluffs, Shelfield Estates, Shelfield Oaks, Sierra Oaks, Sierra Oaks Vista, Walnut View Estates, Wildflower, Whitney Woods, Wilhaggin.

Sacramento, South Area: Lake Greenhaven Shores, South Land Park Hills, South Land Park Riviera, Greenhaven '70, Riverside Estates, Noonan South Land Park Terrace, South Land Park Village.

Folsom Lake Area: Lake Natoma Heights, Lakewood, Hidden Valley, Lakeview Estates, Valley Pines, Arden Bluff.

Davis: Willowbank, Oakside, Elmwood, Westwood, Norwood, University Farms, Andersen Place, El Macero C.C. Estates.

Woodland: Walnut Manor, Gibson Estates.

Winters 

Hope this helps in your searches for these wonderful homes. See my previous post for additional details and suggestions.

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming

Ever feel like this?

I have to say, that home tour wore me out a bit. Been getting lots of inquiries about Sacramento Modern (SacMod), our new non-profit dedicated to promoting, preserving, and protecting modern art, architecture and design in the Sacramento region. We're also quite busy preparing to meet with some state preservationists this coming week. Despite the fatigue, still thinking up new ways to entertain and educate people around here. This is the best non-paying job EVER!

And now, back to more *stuff*:

Original letter to new Eichler Home owners in Sacramento

Say hello to a letter personally signed by Joseph Eichler to the Michaels family when they purchased their Sacramento Eichler Home. You may recall they also shared a huge brochure with us recently.

I think my favorite part is the page with the signature - because on the back of it Mrs. Michaels scribbled some notes to herself about babysitters and replacement glass. As a mom I can appreciate this.

See the other pages in that Flickr set for the rest of the letter, which speaks to the level of pride and concern Joseph Eichler had in his product. The letter accompanied other materials and manuals that helped Eichler Home owners care for their investment. These items came in a vinyl trifold case -- see another example here, from a previous post.

Happy weekend everyone!

2nd set of official photos: 2010 Sacramento Mid-Century Modern Home Tour

Here is the second set of official photos from the 2010 Sacramento Mid-Century Modern Home Tour taken by our friend Toni Okamoto.

We again thank all who participated, especially the homeowners, sponsors, advertisers, and volunteers. If you would like to participate by showing your home, being a sponsor or advertiser, volunteering -- or nominating a neighborhood, building, structure, or otherwise sharing relevant information and history regarding the Sacramento region's MCM art, architecture and design treasures -- please drop us a line at sacramentomodern (at) comcast (dot) net.

1st official photos: 2010 Sacramento Mid-Century Modern Home Tour

Here is the first set of official photos from the 2010 Sacramento Mid-Century Modern Home Tour taken by our friend John DiDomenico. More photos to follow soon; stay tuned!

For other perspectives, check out:
A blog post by Erin of Bows & Sparrows regarding her tour experience

Another blog post by Kimberly of Mid-Century Living regarding the tour

MidCenturyMadam's blog post regarding her experience

Rynobot's tour experience on his Flickr photostream

In the meantime, we invite interested and interesting people to join us. See our previous post about joining Sacramento Modern.

Join Sacramento Modern (Help)!

Sacramento Modern (SacMod) is looking for like-minded, hard-working mid-century modern and modern enthusiasts to carry out our mission to promote, preserve and protect modern art, architecture and design in the Sacramento region.

The home tour was the first of many events we'd like to plan that celebrate our area's modern heritage. We can't do this alone; we need your help. Here are some examples of what you can do:

1)  Join SacMod: be on our board of directors or be a member.

- If you are interested in being a board member, drop us a line and tell us a little about yourself: your interests, skill set, available time to commit. We encourage architects, designers, artists, event planners, volunteer coordinators, historians, organizers, accountants, cheery greeters, heavy lifters and go-getters.

- If you are interested in being a volunteer at a future event, drop us a line.

- If you cannot commit energy and time, consider joining as a member. We'll be offering memberships soon.

2) Nominate buildings, residences, structures, neighborhoods, architects, designers, builders, landscapes, and other local modern treasures that you believe should be featured in future events and/or highlighted by SacMod.

3) Share your knowledge. Let us know if you have any information to share regarding any local modern treasure (architecture, art, design, crafts, etc.) or any local artisan, designer, architect or craftsperson.

We look forward to hearing from you. Click here:    I'M IN!