Calling all fans of Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins, and Ralph S. Mouse—we have a midcentury modern dream home for you.
That’s right. The house where Beverly Cleary (your favorite childhood author and ours) raised her family is for sale at 1091 Creston Road in Berkeley, CA.
The four-bedroom home is listed for $1,849,000.
More than 91 million copies of Cleary’s books have been sold. She died in 2021 at the age of 104.
“The Clearys were the first owners of the home and lived there from 1956 until 1968,” says listing agent John Seravic. “My clients, the Zinn family, bought it from them and are the current owners.”
The home was designed for the Clearys by modernist architect Roger Lee.
The 2,056-square-foot house sits in one of Berkeley’s most coveted neighborhoods, just minutes from downtown.
Aside from its claim to literary fame, the home offers plenty of natural light and gorgeous vistas of the San Francisco Bay Area.
“There are amazing views from just about every part of the property,” says Seravic. “The lot size is enormous and mostly flat—something that’s rare in the hills.”
The level property makes for a truly functional backyard space, with room for the perfect al fresco dining experience right outside the kitchen door. In addition to its modern appliances, the open-concept cook space retains many of its original details, including the boomerang, Formica counters; chrome cabinet pulls; and gray-stained, redwood walls.
“It’s a time capsule to a bygone era,” says Seravic.
Another fun fact? The heights of both the Cleary and Zinn children remain marked in the main-bedroom door jamb. And there’s even been a recent addition.
“Marianne Cleary [Beverly’s daughter] happened to see the house on the market and came by the open house—so we updated her height on the jamb,” Seravic reports.
Source: realtor.com