Home For Sale in Martinez Looks Back to a Simpler Time
- Bob Lilley
- Apr 7
- 2 min read
Once upon a time, as the population of Contra Costa County increased steadily, there was a healthy appetite for adorable bungalows to house newly formed adorable families. Finding homes for sale in Martinez was not a lot different from finding a home in many of the surrounding cities: it was a place to start a life of your own, on your own.
This charming vision of that simpler time was one of those homes. Built in 1952, as a flood of soldiers and sailors found their way to California after World War II, these were not large, sprawling ranch homes! What they were was 'just big enough'.
Three optimistic bedrooms, a bathroom just big enough to earn its name, single-story, one-car garage and a back yard big enough to play and grow up in. Today's price of $668,000 could have bought the entire neighborhood when they were built. We've come a long way!
A future classic updated over time with modern comforts. All the best free things in life - priceless in their own way - were included. Light illuminating the day, cozy security at night, and surrounded by neighbors that came from all over but somehow had so much in common with us.
Built in a time when your Mom would tell you to "go play outside!" - this protected back yard has plenty of space for you and your friends, and your parents' friends, too.
Today it might become a garden or outdoor retreat.
It is so easy to remember those times if you lived through them, and they are so easily romanticized for the later generation whose experiences in life are probably a little more complicated. But not so much that even they look wistfully back!
One thing remains the same. It is still the entry point to a welcoming community, and living here provides easy access to nearby parks, schools and a thriving collection of businesses. I wonder if Joe DiMaggio himself walked down this street. Whether he did or not, I’m pretty sure that whoever lived here listened to him on the radio.
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