Vintage Aerial Photo of the South Land Park Hills Tract!

Via Dane Henas, a wonderful aerial view of our neighborhood from 1955! See if you can spot your house :)

Larger version for download here (5.2 file "EichlerAerial300dpi.jpg")

Many thanks to Dane and Jim Saggs for sharing this.

New MCM links

Been a busy week but I've started a collection of MCM links here on the front page left margin -- if you happen to know of a great one feel free to submit here in the comments section!

P.S. the entire documentary, "The American Look" (1958) seen above can be viewed in its eye-popping, glorious splendor here.

Photos of our house from our friend and contractor, John

Lovely snaps at the house recently by our contractor (and now friend), John DiDomenico, who has a great eye and has been doing construction work on the Eichler and our MCM ranch (stay posted for pictures of the ranch remodel which should be completed in the next month or so). I can highly recommend John, who has a keen appreciation for MCM aesthetic. He specializes in custom remodeling, has excellent craftsmanship and pays great attention to detail. You may reach him at (916) 765-2002.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Part I

We currently live up the hill from our Eichler in another mid-century modern home. Every day our kids beg for us to move into the Eichler, which is indeed tempting and will likely happen at some point in the future.

But for now, we live in our 1961 half-Jetsons, half-Flintstones custom ranch designed by Sacramento architects Rickey and Brooks. We have been renovating it since 2000 and are making slow but steady progress.



I entered some pictures of areas we have renovated into Rejuvenation's "Make Your Home Your Own" contest Please cast your vote if you like my entry and thanks for stopping by :)

Update: Congrats to Morgan from The Brick House for winning the contest! Morgan is another MCM fan and featured a post about our found slides at the Eichler. Always nice to see fellow MCM fans!

Blast from the past -- Zombie Hut!

I am transfixed with all things tiki, so of course am very sad I never got to visit the Zombie Hut, which used to be so close to our neighborhood at 5635 Freeport Boulevard (before it was bulldozed and replaced with a strip mall.) I imagine this must have been quite the happenin' exotic spot.


Some great sleuthing has been done by Amadscientist, who has written a Wikipedia entry regarding the Zombie Hut's history and includes images from their business card.


The Zombie Hut lives on as a reincarnation in Brooklyn, NY per several Sacramento Bee articles written by R.E. Graswich:

August 14, 2002: "The Next Big Thing in New York might be straight from Sacramento. We are talking about the Zombie Hut, a long-gone bar on Freeport Boulevard that featured bartenders in Hawaiian shirts, plastic tiki idols, pink umbrella drinks and Ed Leeteg's sexy velvet portraits of Polynesian maidens. This week, amid much fanfare, the Zombie Hut reopens - 3,000 miles away on Smith Street in Brooklyn, N.Y. "I was born and raised in Sacramento and worked as a busboy at the original Zombie Hut," said Tod Bullen. "I decided the time was right to bring it back." Since moving to New York, Tod has become a mini-tycoon in the Brooklyn restaurant scene, having partial ownership in several establishments. The new Zombie Hut, which opens Friday, is in Carroll Gardens, a gentrified Italian neighborhood known for its mob connections (Al Capone was married there). If the Zombie Hut is a hit, it's only a matter of time before some smart operator brings the concept back to Sacramento."

A post on Tiki Central from Psycho Tiki D lists this enchanting painting, "Native Dancer" original oil on silk, by Burke Tyree, 1964, as having been hung on the wall at the Zombie Hut.


A really great and in-depth history, as well as other excellent examples of Burke Tyree's velvet paintings can be seen on Minnie's Restaurant & Bar's website.

Another painter, Ed Leeteg, reportedly had several paintings at the Zombie Hut. Per another Sacramento Bee article from August 25, 1999:

"The former Sacramento sign painter, whose velvet tropical maidens are craved by collectors in Los Angeles and Honolulu, has re-exploded onto the Sacramento scene. Leeteg died in 1953, but a mention of his name right here stirred readers who recalled him hanging around the old Zombie Hut on Freeport. "He had four or five pictures there. He would sell them for a bottle of rum..."

A great article regarding Ed Leeteg is posted on Barracuda Magazine's website.

Mary Z. Johnson was a waitress at many local restaurants including the Zombie Hut. Per her May 7, 2008 obituary in the Sacramento Bee, she had quite a following according to her sister, Josephine Bodda:

"Funny and charming, she loved meeting people from all walks of life. She teased politicians at Dick and Eddie's downtown, joked with fishermen and tourists at the Crow's Nest in Isleton and dished with gay men who gave her pet names and insisted on sitting at her station in the Zombie Hut.

"She had a big gay following," said Bodda, who managed the Polynesian-themed restaurant on Freeport Boulevard. "All her tables would be full, but they would say, 'We'll wait for Mitzie.' Sometimes they would leave her a hundred-dollar tip."

Does anyone have any fun stories, pictures, artifacts or mementos from the original Zombie Hut to share?

Napkin via mcclatchy1958.com
Matchbook cover via Psycho Tiki D, Tiki Central Forum post.

Built-ins

One of the things that we absolutely love about our Eichler is that most of the era-specific built-ins (thanks to the original owners) are preserved and in excellent shape.

I'm posting pictures of them here today and would love to hear from anyone about the state of their built-ins if you have them. Are yours similar or different? Do you know any more about them?

I found Waldo!

In my quest for grasscloth to refresh our original closet doors, Waldo Bowers came through with four sample books that they kindly let me take home and study. While I could have purchased grasscloth online, I wanted to see the color and texture firsthand as well as patronize a local retailer. I had tried hunting it down at several local stores here in Sacramento, even a store that specializes in environmentally friendly products. Then I remembered Waldo Bowers, an old-school floor and wall coverings specialty store.


I wound up choosing from Pacific Designs International's Han Ban Do IX book, Pattern HBD 9045. This grasscloth is handcrafted out of tightweave all-natural jute fibers and is environmentally friendly.

The above is the final result of my quest, expertly installed by John DiDomenico (see more regarding John here).

Speaking of which, Waldo Bowers carries several environmentally friendly products that would look great in any Eichler or mid-century modern home: Marmoleum, Ionique, bamboo, cork and natural wood floors. They also have an impressive variety of vinyl composition tile from several manufacturers.

The official store entrance is on the 24th Street side, but in case you get lost, the regulars at The Jointed Cue pool hall next door on the Fruitridge side will set you straight!

Marsh-a, marsh-a, marsh-a

Taking a stroll with our dog around the neighborhood, I happened to run into a group of new friends and neighbors, fresh from their trip to the annual San Mateo Highlands Tour. Noting the nearby sump station, I asked if there was a creek nearby and was directed to the Reichmuth Park Nature Area, just across the street.

As I walked into the canopy by Sump Station 65 on Silver Lake Drive off of South Land Park Drive, my trepidation turned to delight as I discovered a wild wetland forest right in the middle of our urban neighborhood! I can't help but wonder if Joseph Eichler intentionally chose to build our neighborhood near this natural asset or if it was just a coincidence.

There is a beautiful trail which meanders and eventually leads to the grassy areas of Reichmuth Park. Along the way, we spotted wild blackberries, grapevines, cat tails, and even a fig tree nestled among the native oaks. We heard crickets, frogs and saw a shallow pool full of tadpoles. Even though we didn't see any, there are reportedly bunnies. And birds. Lots of birds. Apparently, per the Sacramento Audobon Society Reichmuth Park is home to many uncommon birds. The next scheduled SAS field trip is scheduled this fall, September 21, 2009 at 7:30am.

Near the bottom far left margin of this old 1908 Sacramento map, you will see an area called Munger Lake, where Reichmuth Park is currently located. According to Carlos Alcala, author of "Sacramento Street Whys: The Whys Guy’s Wise Guide to Sacramento Street Names" Reichmuth Park was "... named for Joseph and Amelia Reichmuth. At one time they owned the park, only it was under water and named Munger Lake, which explains why kids practicing soccer in winter tend to get very muddy there. The Reichmuths also had a 358-acre dairy...."

If you want to melt away the stress of urban living, I suggest a walk with your dog here. For safety reasons, I suggest you don't go alone.

My kids really loved the "secret" nature walk. Except for the wet shoe in the boggy water incident, but the shoe was washed and no harm done. This morning, my six year old son stated that he's pretty sure Master Yoda lives there but only comes out at night when it's foggy. Only the birds and the bunnies may know for sure.



UPDATE: Quite a while after I did this carefree little post, Valcom News reporter Lance Armstrong did a great in-depth article on the history of Reichmuth Park and the lake. Read his article here.

Don't take my Kodachrome away

I discovered a cache of old slides from the former owners, Dr. & Mrs. H in the rumpus/TV room. These show the house in the late 60's through early 80's. With kind permission, the original family has allowed me to scan and add these to this blog. This first picture is of the house in April, 1970.

Beautiful Mrs. H in the living room, January 1973

Dr. H in the dining room, December 1975

Their handsome son in the dining room, December 1975

Their lovely daughter & kitty, outside - August 1967

Living room, April 1979

Living room, April 1979

Living room, April 1980

Dining room, April 1979

Dining room, April 1979

Kitchen nook, April 1979

View from nook into living room, April 1979

Many thanks to the family for letting me share these wonderful pictures! And thanks to Bryan Darling from Home Movie Store (located nearby in South Land Park, right below William Land Park/Funderland) for digitizing these. If you have any old format images or movies from the past, I recommend taking them to Bryan -- he is also a mid-century enthusiast and does a great job.

Through the airwaves

Another near-original feature that I love is this Alliance Tenna-Rotor, Model U-100, which I'm guessing must have been purchased shortly after the 1962 remodel of our garage into a large den or rumpus room. A real upgrade from the old rabbit ears of the 1950's.

Per jitterbuzz.com, "...in suburban and rural areas where signal was weak, it was very important to have a properly aligned antenna. Thus, the external folded dipole (looks like a part of a trombone) antenna was erected on the roof. In some areas, even this did not suffice and folks went outside to rotate the antenna to catch a distant signal. For the more affluent, you could buy a Tenna Rotor sold by the Alliance Corporation in numberless commercials during the late night movies. This was a little box, shown below, that allowed you to orient the antenna from the comfort of your living room."


I really love how our unit was labeled for tuning into Sacramento and San Francisco TV stations! We haven't yet had the opportunity to find out if it still works.







I was surprised at the amount of information I found online regarding the Tenna-Rotor.




For instance, from I love antennas, a wiring diagram and installation instructions;




From webremote, a YouTube video demonstrating how it operates;




And even the manual if anyone is looking for it.

This concludes our regularly scheduled broadcast. Tune in tomorrow, same time, same channel.