839 Miramar in Berkeley’s Thousand Oaks Neighborhood

3 Bedrooms 1+ Baths $800,000 – Photo Portfolio at 839Miramar.com

Open Sunday – Mother’s Day – 13 May 2012 – 2:00 to 4:30 pm

839 Miramar is a spacious Thousand Oaks home on a peaceful tree-lined street … near everything that makes the neighborhood special – shops, cafes, restaurants, book stores, parks, and more!

The Walk Score? 88! Very Walkable.

Chances are you might not have ever heard of Miramar. Miramar connects Capistrano with San Lorenzo … and is only one block long. Search google maps for Laurel Lane and Station Place for two other unusual neighborhood streets.

One of our earliest memories was when they closed the street for Halloween. The kids have all grown, but the nearby Thousand Oaks Elementary School keeps the tradition with an parade up and down Solano!

Our Thousand Oaks Neighborhood web site

What awaits you at 839 Miramar?

A spacious 3 bedroom 1+ bath home with updated kitchen, spacious dining room with skylight, separate laundry (that’s where the half bath is), lots (lots!) of storage … and even 2 off-street parking spots.

Did I mention the three separate outdoor areas?

Wonderfully planted front garden … check out my very first HDR – High Dynamic Range photos of the plantings

An outdoor patio with built-in table next to the kitchen … perfect for BBQ

The french doors off the dining room  open to a private patio (that’s where I’d have morning coffee) .. and the enclosed side yard with grass, raised garden beds, and corner hydrangea

It’s a charming neighborhood with terrific neighbors (Ira here – we’ve lived a few blocks away for 30 years!) … friendly, conscientious folks who have organized to be prepared for emergencies … and even have an annual block party.

839 Miramar is sited for lots of privacy (unusual for corner lots).

Some of our favorite restaurants are almost literally a block away (some journeys will go for 2 or 3 blocks). Cugini for friendly Italian dining; Rivoli for special occasions, Talavera (great mole poblano) … and even a place for ice cream.

The Solano Stroll is in early-mid September – it’s a mile-long block party filled with music, crafts, food, people, dogs and community organizations.

And last, but not least … easy highway access and a great location convenient to Berkeley, Albany, Kensington, and El Cerrito

Now on Pinterest!

My Pinterest Board and UC Berkeley Pinterest Board

I had a slightly different view of the full moon over Sather Tower last month.

And a more sinister look

839 Miramar in Berkeley’s Thousand Oaks Neighborhood

3 Bedrooms 1+ Baths $800,000 – Photo Portfolio at 839Miramar.com

839 Miramar is a spacious Thousand Oaks home on a peaceful tree-lined street … near everything that makes the neighborhood special – shops, cafes, restaurants, book stores, parks, and more!

The Walk Score? 88! Very Walkable.

Chances are you might not have ever heard of Miramar. Miramar connects Capistrano with San Lorenzo … and is only one block long. Search google maps for Laurel Lane and Station Place for two other unusual neighborhood streets.

One of our earliest memories was when they closed the street for Halloween. The kids have all grown, but the nearby Thousand Oaks Elementary School keeps the tradition with an parade up and down Solano!

Our Thousand Oaks Neighborhood web site

What awaits you at 839 Miramar?

A spacious 3 bedroom 1+ bath home with updated kitchen, spacious dining room with skylight, separate laundry (that’s where the half bath is), lots (lots!) of storage … and even 2 off-street parking spots.

Did I mention the three separate outdoor areas?

Wonderfully planted front garden … check out my very first HDR – High Dynamic Range photos of the plantings

An outdoor patio with built-in table next to the kitchen … perfect for BBQ

The french doors off the dining room  open to a private patio (that’s where I’d have morning coffee) .. and the enclosed side yard with grass, raised garden beds, and corner hydrangea

It’s a charming neighborhood with terrific neighbors (Ira here – we’ve lived a few blocks away for 30 years!) … friendly, conscientious folks who have organized to be prepared for emergencies … and even have an annual block party.

839 Miramar is sited for lots of privacy (unusual for corner lots).

Some of our favorite restaurants are almost literally a block away (some journeys will go for 2 or 3 blocks). Cugini for friendly Italian dining; Rivoli for special occasions, Talavera (great mole poblano) … and even a place for ice cream.

The Solano Stroll is in early-mid September – it’s a mile-long block party filled with music, crafts, food, people, dogs and community organizations.

And last, but not least … easy highway access and a great location convenient to Berkeley, Albany, Kensington, and El Cerrito

The full moon behind Sather Tower – the University of California UC Berkeley Campanile.

I wandered into The Art Thou Gallery yesterday afternoon and found a delightful small show of art, neon and even a space ship.

ALERT – The show closes TOMORROW – Sat 31 Mar 2012 so check it out right away.  1861 Solano at Station Place – Noon to 8 pm Friday & Saturday.

The gallery is down Station Place, and is in the area of the Oaks Theater which had been used for backdrops.

It’s small, easy to get to, interesting, and fun!

Check it out before it closes

Ira

1621 Buena Avenue – 1621Buena.com

1919 bungalow 2 bedroom just a few blocks to Northbrae’s shops – Monterey Market, Magnani Meats, Espresso Roma and Goia Pizza. North Berkeley shops, restaurants and BART nearby too!

Updated with chef’s kitchen, 6 burner Viking Range, stainless appliances, quarry tile, breakfast bar, great cabinetry and counter space. French doors to cook’s garden. Recent foundation, seismic, drainage; mostly dual paned windows. Upgraded detached garage.

Open Sunday 4 + 11 Mare 2012 2:00 – 4:30 pm.  See you there!

Today, 29 Feb 2012, is a special day. It’s the 7th anniversary of the day I stopped working for others and started working for myself!

29 Feb 1984 was my last day of work at Chevron Research.

I’ve done so much right, and so much not-so-well since then .. but I’ve always known I made the right decision back then.

Wishing you all the right decisions too.

Ira

Richard Saul Wurman founded Access Press (my favorite guidebook in the 90s) and also TED – Ideas Worth Spreading.

I’ve known about TED and TEDx for many years, but never attended one until yesterday.

I’ve been fascinted by intergration of art, engineeering and technology ever since the mid 60s. Pete Saltini, Emmy Van Exter and I invited EAT – Experiments in Art & Technology to the first joint orientation program for artists, architects, and engineers at Cooper Union’s Green Camp in 1969.

Awesome is a word I only use to describe people and events which fill me with awe.TEDxBerkeley (#TEDxBerkeley) at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall on Saturday 4 Feb 2012 was awesome!

Want to find out more? Visit TEDxBerkeley and read blog posts on BerkeleySide.com.

TEDx Sites
Web Site
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn 

My photographs give a sense of the passion we saw yesterday. These photos are my favorites; I uploaded about 250 photos yesterday to one of my server sites

You may use my photographs in any way you wish.

The easiest way is to link to them – I created two folders of photos – one for web (720 pixel) and the other resized to fit an iPad (1024 pixel) screen.  I also have high resolution RAW 20-26 MB images in Adobe Photoshop DNG format.  Email  serkes@berkeleyhomes.com and I’d be delighted to get those files to you.

Here’s the flickr collection where you can view the hundreds of photos, organized by speaker or performer.

Lindsey Stirling

Carl Bass

DeCadence

Connie K. Duckworth

David Ewing Duncan

Maria Fadiman

Ken Goldberg

Charles Holt

Gopi Kallayil

Jodi Lomask / Capacitor

Nipun Mehta

Tapan Parikh

Dr. Neha Sangwan

Tiffany Shlain

Robert Strong

Kevin Gong, Jennifer Barr, Renee Blodgett and Volunteers and Staff

Live in an Elmwood/Claremont Berkeley craftsman home designed by Julia Morgan

Would you like to live a part of California History?

2900 Derby Street, a two story 4 bedroom 3 bath Brownshingle home is on the market for $1,025,000

Open homes scheduled for Sunday 22 Jan 2012 and 29 Jan 2012 from 2:00 to 4:30 pm

Photo portfolio and Elmwood/Claremont Neighborhood Information a 2900Derby.com

This wonderful craftsman home was designed by Julia Morgan, one of the most important female architects of the early 20th century. The Wikipedia entry tells more about this remarkable woman: She graduated UC Berkeley in 1894 with a degree in Civil Engineering. With the urging of her friend and mentor Bernard Maybeck (another remarkable Berkeley architect, she applied to Ecole des Beaux-Arts, and was the first woman to graduate with a degree in architecture from the school.

Although renowned as the architect of William Randolph Hearst’s San Simeon mansion, Hearst Castle, Julia Morgan had a significant architectural influence in the Bay Area, including the Berkeley City Club, Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, Turner Building, Baptist Divinity School. Her landmark houses include Ralph White, Macgregor, and Frederick A. Thomas Houses.

On the main level you’ll find the rooms with her signature first-growth redwood paneled walls, window details and built in cabinetry. The key living room feature is the inglenook fireplace with it’s own hidden nook- look for the door on the upper right.

BAHA (Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association) records show it was built in 1904 and in 1920 moved here from 2819 Garber Street.

The updated kitchen and serene back yard has a southern exposure.

All the bedrooms are on the 2nd floor of this two story brown shingle home.

With a Walk Score of 74 (very walkable) this Julia Morgan craftsman home is convenient to the Claremont’s Domingo area restaurants, bakery & cafe and Elmwood’s Theater, Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, Mrs. Dalloway’s bookstore, Holy Land and Le Med restaurants and numerous cafes. The bus to Rockridge BART runs along nearby College Avenue; The UC Berkeley Campus – Haas Business School, Boalt Hall, Pacific Film Archive is just to the north.

There’s even a one car garage!

Photos of the nearby neighborhoods:

Elmwood

Claremont