We're still working very hard and behind-the-scenes to bring you the first-ever Sacramento Mid-Century Modern Home Tour. Check out the tour's blog for a glimpse of some of the fantastic homes scheduled to be open on June 26, 2010.
Sneak Peeks: Sacramento Mid-Century Modern Home Tour
Hyper About Hypars
There are a couple of examples of hypars here in Sacramento, but probably the most easily recognized hypars in town are located at the entrance of the Sacramento Zoo. The Zoo is located about 2.5 miles up the street from our Eichler Homes neighborhood. This is what the structures originally looked like:
I've put together a Flickr gallery of hyperbolic paraboloid structures which include other Sacramento examples as well as Albert Frey's Palm Springs Tramway Gas Station, the Catalano House, and other architecturally significant MCM buildings. I've included examples of hypars on native buildings from Indonesia and Sulawesi (Toba Batak and Tongkonan), which strike me particularly as being similar to the Zoo structures.
Some of these structures, such as the Catalano House, have fallen victim to demolition. Per Joe Kunkel, who tried to save the Catalano House:
One by one, our country is losing its wonderful mid-20th century architectural designs, one after another, victims of a blind and unattentive public. A few get saved and preserved as monuments, like the Farnsworth House or the Kaufmann House or Fallingwater. But the vast majority get bulldozed and replaced with McMansions and parking lots. I cannot understand how or why this happens. But it does. Repeatedly.Hyperbolic paraboloids from the mid-20th century in Sacramento are a rare and dying breed. Other remaining examples include a couple of surviving Orbit gas stations and Country Club Lanes.
I hope there is enough interest in the Sacramento region to preserve and maintain our historic Mid-Century Modern architecture, including the Zoo entrance hypars. They have been there for 50 years and are a landmark. As such, they are part of our collective memory and provide a distinct sense of place. They harken back to structures of distant lands and tribes and serve as a reminder that the animals also come from unique and far away places.
Blast from the past -- 1958 + 1961 Eichler Ads: Cabot's Ranch House Hues
Last night I was talking with other Sacramento Eichler Home owners and the subject regarding original exterior and interior stain colors was discussed. That reminded me there is an interest among Eichler Home owners in knowing more about the products that were originally used on their homes. In this spirit, I'd like to share the following vintage ads I found:
Cabot's Stains were a semi-solid, oil-based product used on Eichler Home exteriors. They are still manufactured today in many colors.
"Cabot's Ranch House Hues - endorsements from leading builders such as Mr. Eichler are your assurance that with any Cabot product you get the finest quality, greatest economy, and longest life.
Cabot's Ranch House Hues
* cost only 1/2 as much as paint
* won't crack, peel or blister
* are easy to apply and maintain
* give years of protection
* can be used on all types of wood -- siding, shingles and trim
* need no thinning -- no priming
* need no sanding -- no scraping
Choose from 18 modern colors -- many exclusive with Cabot including Alcazar Brown, Mariposa Redwood, Mimosa Yellow, Spruce Blue."
The Eichler Home in the advertisement above is a rare custom home in San Mateo and was designed by Pietro Belluschi, AIA. For more information regarding this home, please visit a great article written by Meredith L. Clausen for CA-Modern by the Eichler Network.
For more information regarding paint colors for your Eichler Home, including reconstructed color palette charts, please read Tanja Kern's well-researched article for for CA-Modern by the Eichler Network.
From House + Home, March 1958, Page 7.
Cabot's Stains were a semi-solid, oil-based product used on Eichler Home exteriors. They are still manufactured today in many colors.
From House + Home, March 1958, Page 7.
"Cabot's Ranch House Hues - endorsements from leading builders such as Mr. Eichler are your assurance that with any Cabot product you get the finest quality, greatest economy, and longest life.
Cabot's Ranch House Hues
* cost only 1/2 as much as paint
* won't crack, peel or blister
* are easy to apply and maintain
* give years of protection
* can be used on all types of wood -- siding, shingles and trim
* need no thinning -- no priming
* need no sanding -- no scraping
Choose from 18 modern colors -- many exclusive with Cabot including Alcazar Brown, Mariposa Redwood, Mimosa Yellow, Spruce Blue."
From House + Home, February 1961, Page 151
The Eichler Home in the advertisement above is a rare custom home in San Mateo and was designed by Pietro Belluschi, AIA. For more information regarding this home, please visit a great article written by Meredith L. Clausen for CA-Modern by the Eichler Network.
For more information regarding paint colors for your Eichler Home, including reconstructed color palette charts, please read Tanja Kern's well-researched article for for CA-Modern by the Eichler Network.
Streng Home Neighborhood Round-up
The question of where Streng Homes are located pops up enough that I decided do a round-up of Streng neighborhoods. As I understand it, Streng Brothers homes throughout the Sacramento region were designed by Carter Sparks. Occasionally I have encountered a custom-built Streng home, but I'm only going to talk about Streng neighborhoods in this post.
Here are some great Streng Home resources:
1) The Eichler Network has posted a great article by Dave Weinstein regarding the Streng Bros. which provides a comprehensive look at the history and scope of their work. Poke around the Network's site as they have a great deal of information regarding Streng neighborhoods.
2) Steve Streng has a real estate website full of interesting and important Streng Home information, including floor plans. He also lists many Streng Homes for resale in our area. Don't miss his site if you have an interest in Streng Bros. homes.
A more legible version of the Streng Carmichael neighborhoods map below (click to go to larger version), courtesy Modern Valley:
3) The Beam Guy also has a great deal of Streng Home information on his site and lists the following neighborhood areas: "Davis, Woodland, Elk Grove, Carmichael, Citrus Heights, Fair Oaks, Orangevale, Natomas, etc. Several of the more well known include River City Commons, Evergreen Commons, Shelfield Oaks, Willhagin Estates, Williamson Ranch, and South Overbrook."
4) Click on each of the highlighted links in item #3 above for more neighborhood-specific information online.
5) For some great pictures of Streng Homes in our region, I also suggest you check out the pictures posted by the Streng Bros. Flickr group.
6) Last but certainly not least, for an overview of post + beam construction homes including Streng Bros. homes and Carter Sparks custom homes, I recommend visiting an excellent local site, Modern Valley, by JW, our in-town expert on Streng and Sparks homes. For a truly in-depth look at custom homes specifically designed by Carter Sparks, visit Modern Valley's Informal Archive.
Announcing the first Sacramento Mid-Century Modern Home Tour
The tour is still developing but will include several Eichler Homes designed by Jones + Emmons plus other homes and buildings designed by Sacramento area architects including: Carter Sparks, Leonard F. Starks, Rickey + Brooks, and other local builders and developers.
Please see the details at the Sacramento Mid-Century Modern Home Tour blog -- all updates and information regarding the tour from this point on will posted there.
We're really excited about this event and hope you will be too.
Another Sacramento Eichler Home for sale
Occasionally I find out about Mid-Century modern homes in the Sacramento region that are either for rent or for sale. I am not an agent nor am I affiliated with one. I am passing this information along as a public service to those who are interested and love MCM design and architecture as much as I do.
If you are looking for an agent who specializes in MCM homes here the the Sacramento region, I recommend Paloma Begin for further details regarding this home. Or you may find more information here.
Original Eichler Home cabinets, anyone?
While I'm working on intensive research and other Big Plans, thought I'd pass along these beauties (click on pix for direct links) -- reportedly straight from the "Original Model home" here in South Land Park Hills.
Per Schiff's Estate Sales in Sacramento, "These are original Eichler Kitchen Cabinets. They came out of the Original Model Home for Eichler in South Land Park, CA. There is an 18" built in cutting board and an opening of 26 13/16" for a sink. The counter top is formica. Measures: Bottom Cabinet 36 1/2" tall, 25" deep, 95 1/2" wide. Upper Cabinet 24" tall, 13 3/4 deep, 87" wide."
The matching tall cabinet/storage pantry from the same home is also for sale and measures: 80" tall, 13 5/16" deep, 45" wide.
I really love the multi-tone colors and that these are the real thing! Anyone looking to undo a bad remodel or re-authenticate their Eichler Home kitchen?
Let your fingers do the walking
I recently enjoyed going to the Sacramento Room of the Sacramento Central Public Library to research various homes and buildings in our neighborhood. One great way to find out more about the history of your home or a particular building is to consult the City Directories in your area.
While the old City Directories bear some resemblance to the phone books we receive once a year these days, they appear to be much more useful. Listings were available by name, address and phone number -- perfect for retrospectively cross-referencing with other documents for research purposes. Per the 1956 Sacramento City Directory:
"When you want to know:
-- where a person lives.
-- what his occupation is.
-- who lives at a certain number on a street.
-- where a street is located.
-- the correct spelling of a name.
-- the officers of a corporation.
-- the partners in a firm;
-- the solution to any of scores of problems that pop up unexpectedly to annoy and baffle you.
-- your can quickly find the answer in the City Directory."
In addition to being extremely informative, they also contain cool vintage advertisements. Surprisingly, some of these businesses are still around today -- and then there are others we wish still were!
As you can see they even used the old cool telephone exchange names back then. You know -- as an PEnnsylvania 6-5000?
Serving Suggestion: former restaurant needs TLC
It is hard to imagine (in its current state) that for 19 years it was also the home of the Raider Rooters Booster Club and visited frequently by Raiders team members for a weekly feast. Per R.E. Graswich, in a Sacramento Bee article dated May 1, 1998, "They toasted victory and vowed revenge, laughed and filled their bellies with beer and booze and chicken and baked potatoes and green beans and French bread."
Also per Graswich's article, restauranteur Hank Stroh owned many other Sacramento bars and restaurants: "Clunie Coffee Shop, Parkview Restaurant, Little Roma, Henry's Bottle Shop and Lounge, the Windsor, the Arcade, and others.... Among Stroh's armada of food halls and watering holes, Neptune's Table was his crown jewel. He bought it in 1967..."
According to my research, the building was designed by William Koblik and built ~1960. It was first occupied by The Red Rose, a cocktail lounge (with burlesque, per Patty Russell, a former dancer.) The Sacramento City Directory from 1962/63 then states the restaurant was home to "Raeders Gourmet Restaurant," later corrected to "Roeder's" in the 1965 Directory. In 1966, it was listed as "Vacant" and then it became Neptune's Table in 1967.
In the late 90's, Neptune's Table was simply "Neptune" under local chef David Soohoo. Afterwards, for a short period of time it became the Highlander, a Scottish pub/restaurant. However, since 2004 it has been unoccupied. I would love to see this space turned into a coffee shop/diner such as Pann's in LA (the coffee shop in Pulp Fiction) more on their food here; Latif's in Turlock; or Jimmy's in San Jose. Or how about a tiki bar/lounge/restaurant like they had in-the-day here in town, such as the Zombie Hut or Coral Reef?
I'd love to hear any memories of this restaurant or other constructive ideas on how to bring this building back to life. Any local restauranteur or investor willing to step up to the plate -- literally?
More Googie goodness: Eppie's Restaurant
Eppie's Restaurant, Sacramento, CA
This Eppie's Restaurant was designed by world-famous Googie architects Louis Armet and Eldon Davis from Los Angeles. It was completed in 1964. Apparently, per Mr. Armet's self-report to the American Institute of Architects for their directory, Armet & Davis received an award for this building.
Louis L. Armet (1914-1981) & Eldon C. Davis via GoogieArt.com
Per the current website for Armet Davis Newlove Architects "In the 50's and 60's the firm became internationally known for its "Googie" design style and built hundreds of restaurants that reflected the nation's emergence into the age of flight and its look to the future."
Rendering of Eppie's by Armet and Davis via GoogieArt.com
Per a Sacramento Bee article written by Jon Ortiz dated April 28, 2004, "The chain started in 1964, when founder Eppamianondas "Eppie" Johnson opened the first 24-hour restaurant at 30th and N streets. At its zenith, it boasted 20 shops stretching as far south as Fresno."
Sadly, this coffee shop/diner has been closed since 2004. However, restauranteur Eppie Johnson is still working hard. Mr. Johnson founded The Great Race in 1974, reportedly "The World's Oldest Triathlon", which generates "over $600,000 in donations for regional programs that benefit the physically and mentally disabled" per their website. More here.
Other posts in this blog regarding Sacramento's Googie architecture can be seen here, here, here and here.
Hope your weekend is filled to the brim with fun!
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