Berkeley: Two Homes With a Mid-Mod Architectural Vibe

A dash of architectural pedigree is always a bonus if you are selling your home. While the mid-century modern aesthetic is not to everyone’s taste, it will always attract a core fan-base.

A recent listing caught my attention because the house was designed by Roger Yuen Lee who has been described as “one of the Bay Area’s great forgotten architects”.

Lee, who died in 1981, designed more than 100 houses, mostly in the East Bay but also throughout Northern California, Nevada and Hawaii. According to this 2003 piece in the Chronicle, he adhered to “the ideals of European modernism — that architecture should be functional, unadorned and elegant and make a difference in the lives of everyday people”.

978 Creston Road (pictured above), perched up in the north Berkeley hills, is a 2/1, 1,068 sq ft home Lee designed in 1953. It has lots of original details, Lee’s trademark use of large, plate-glass and “panoramic, 3-bridge views”. It is priced at $795,000 which makes it a steep $744/sq ft, but there’s presumably a premium to be paid for that sort of architectural heritage.

Another mid-mod home for sale, also in north Berkeley is 590 Cragmont, (pictured above). Described as a 3/2 “vintage marvel” it looks like a house that would appeal to the real period purists — those for whom modernization is a dirty word. With the original kitchen and fireplaces, as well as those requisite “panoramic” views, it is priced at $995,000 ($415/sq ft).