Listing agent Gabriela Moreira of Mod Real Estate<\/a> wasn\u2019t surprised.<\/p>\n \u201cIt went into contract in a weekend, and that\u2019s typically the situation when you have a good neighborhood, such as South Land Park, with a midcentury modern home,\u201d she said. \u201cThey usually sell in one weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n This one also comes with pedigree. It was built in 1968 by the Streng Brothers and designed by architect Carter Sparks. Originally purchased for $58,000, the home is the kind of listing that reads like a checklist for midcentury devotees. And, Moreira said, this is the kind of property that tends to set buyers into motion quickly.<\/p>\n Bill and Jim Streng teamed up as Sacramento-area residential developers who over about 30 years built roughly 3,800 modern-style homes in the region. Carter Sparks was a Sacramento modernist architect and longtime design partner of the Streng brothers.<\/p>\n \u201cOffered for the first time on the market, this architectural gem features clean lines, expansive clerestory windows, exposed beams, and solar tubes throughout that bathe the home in natural light,\u201d the property listing states.<\/p>\n For Carolyn Hagler, who grew up in the home, those features aren\u2019t just selling points \u2014 they provide the background for a long family story.<\/p>\n Hagler said she was about 4 when the house was being built, \u201cand there was nothing around us.\u201d There are still pictures showing not another house in sight. Her family\u2019s lot backed up to what she remembers as \u201ca little private airstrip\u201d where small planes took off.<\/p>\n In a detail that still makes her laugh, Hagler said her father initially thought he was buying a similar home \u201cone street over,\u201d but didn\u2019t realize the mistake until after he had secured the lot. It turned out fine, she said \u2014 the family settled into Longridge Way \u2014 but it\u2019s the kind of human hiccup that\u2019s hard to imagine in today\u2019s hyper-mapped, app-driven home search.<\/p>\n Hagler remembers when she was young that the street itself was part of the childhood landscape \u2014 gravel, not like today\u2019s paved road. So the circle at the end of the cul-de-sac became her and her brother and sister\u2019s playground because there were no houses and no cars. Early on, she said, the backyard was \u201ca giant open space,\u201d and her family didn\u2019t even have a fence at first.<\/p>\n A levee separated the property from railroad tracks that were still in use then, Hagler said, and the kids would watch trains roll by. She remembered running out mid-bath when a train came through to wave as it passed \u2014 the kind of memory that pins a house to a specific time in Sacramento.<\/p>\n Hagler\u2019s father, Ronald Blubaugh, died in March<\/a>. When she was growing up in the house, he was a reporter for The Sacramento Bee. In 1972, when a plane crashed into Farrell\u2019s Ice Cream Parlor, the family was sitting down to dinner when they heard a loud boom.<\/p>\n A moment later, the phone rang. Her father looked at her mother \u2014 and they both knew that call was for him. He pushed back from the table and left dinner on the spot to cover the story.<\/p>\n After retiring as an administrative law judge for the state, Blubaugh dedicated his time to helping Sacramento\u2019s homeless community through Loaves and Fishes.<\/p>\n Moreira described the midcentury home as a \u201ctransitional\u201d model \u2014 still unmistakably midcentury, but with a roofline and proportions that hint at the stylistic shift coming at the end of the decade.<\/p>\n \u201cSo this model is known as the transitional model that the Streng Brothers built, it has a pitch roof, lots of clerestory windows, stacked brick fireplace, lots of windows, and natural light,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Inside there\u2019s \u201ca statement fireplace\u201d and a kitchen outfitted with high-end appliances.<\/p>\n The part of the property that Moreira lingers on is the lush backyard, which she described less like a yard and more like a refuge.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of my favorite parts about this house is the beautiful serene backyard,\u201d she said. \u201cIt has a ton of mature trees with a Japanese-inspired landscape, lots of Japanese maples. Here we got raised garden beds, a greenhouse, a built-in barbecue, water fountains, and it is just so peaceful and tranquil back here. I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n The towering oak that anchors the yard has its own family origin story, Hagler said. Near the house, she remembered, acorns would fall from valley oaks at nearby Alice Birney elementary school. She and her brother would bring the acorns home and \u201ckind of mess around\u201d by throwing them at each other.<\/p>\n One finally took root in the backyard. Her father transplanted the seedling to its current spot, where it grew into what she described as a \u201cpretty massive\u201d protected tree.<\/p>\n Hagler said the Zen-like backyard became her father\u2019s refuge, especially in later years when he was caring for her mother, Carola. The greenhouse and a small sitting area near the fountain, she said, were places he returned to for quiet and solace.<\/p>\n South Land Park brings its own modernist reputation. Moreira said the neighborhood is better known for another midcentury name that\u2019s not Streng or Sparks.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re in South Land Park, which is known for the Eichlers,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s an enclave of about 50-something Eichlers still standing. So the Streng Brothers homes are actually more rare here, so it would be just the occasional custom home that was put in here by the Strengs versus the development that was happening in the \u201950s by Eichler.\u201d<\/p>\n Hagler said the home became a gathering place over the decades \u2014 full of parties and concerts. Now living in Austin, Texas, she\u2019s a professional cellist and said the concerts were typically held in the front living room, where the home\u2019s openness and light made it a natural stage.<\/p>\n Hagler said it\u2019s hard to let go after her family owned it for 58 years, but she hopes the next owners \u201clove it as much as our family did\u201d and carry on what she called the home\u2019s \u201cgood juju.\u201d<\/p>\n Moreira said that rarity and nostalgia help explain why this segment of the market often behaves differently from the broader pool of suburban listings.<\/p>\n \u201cMidcentury modern homes sell like a hot cake in the real estate market,\u201d she said. \u201cThey go for a premium too. You can\u2019t compare a midcentury modern home with a regular, maybe ranch style home or a cookie cutter home in the same neighborhood, because these are more desirable.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople long for that nostalgia and uniqueness of a midcentury modern home, and not only that, it just feels good when you\u2019re living in them, all the glass, all the natural light that you get in them, the high ceilings, the post and beam, the charm is what really draws people in.\u201d<\/p>\n In this case, the fundamentals helped. The home offers 1,937 square feet on a quarter-acre lot on a cul-de-sac, and the listing calls it a \u201crare opportunity\u201d \u2014 not just for its design, but because it is offered for the first time on the market and has been well-kept.<\/p>\n The Streng Brothers home\u2019s courtyard and clean-lined facade set a midcentury tone before you even step inside the South Land Park residence. Gaby Moreira ShotArchives <\/p>\n
Clerestory windows and exposed beams pull daylight deep into the 1968 structure. Gaby Moreira ShotArchives <\/p>\n
A Japanese-inspired landscape with mature trees, water features, raised beds and a greenhouse turns the backyard into a retreat. There\u2019s also an outside grilling kitchen. Gaby Moreira ShotArchives <\/p>\n
A stacked brick fireplace anchors the living space with classic midcentury texture and warmth. Gaby Moreira ShotArchives <\/p>\n
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