9 Comments

1. 

   SD_Coastal on December 19, 2010 at 9:00 am

   Petty sure it’ a Bread Box

2. 

   College Joe on December 19, 2010 at 12:54 pm

   That road noise from the 15 is obscene. I agree….I’m not a fan of that house at all. The girl I took to winter formal in high school junior year lived in Kensington and I was as enamored with the house as I was with her. The house was stunning and really done well.

   haha

3. 

   shadash on December 19, 2010 at 6:45 pm

   Kensington houses are beautiful as are the Talmadge homes right next-door. The problem with both areas is the schools suck and there’s no close grocery stores.

4. 

   Joanie in Carlsbad on December 19, 2010 at 10:11 pm

   The box is for your iron. My grandmother had a 1930’s home in Los Angeles (Atwater/Glendale area, built by family) and it had that same box, but with the ironing board above. The ironing board was in a long cupboard and folded out. The knobs were made of glass. She also had a galvanized box that had two little doors… one that opened outside, and on inside of the back porch… for the ice. The ice man would open the outer door and put the chunk of ice inside, and then she would put it into the icebox.

   The pink and black tile, and the blue and black tile, are original. She had yellow and black in the kitchen, and blue and black in the bathroom. And you were right, hers was 900 sq ft. They raised two daughters in 900 sq ft with one bathroom. It’s a wonder they all lived through it.

   Love your blog, I enjoy very much ‘touring’ with you.

5. 

   pemeliza on December 20, 2010 at 8:12 am

   For that price you can get something pretty nice in Mission Hills and at least have a good K-8 public school option. Furthermore, I think Kensington is too far east and it amazes me that the prices are as high as they are. That said, I do love the architecture! Thanks JTR for doing some urban area posts!

6. 

   daveg on December 20, 2010 at 8:16 am

   The thing you get with a house in Kensington is the neighborhood.

   Any tour should include a walk around the neighborhood and a little tour of the main street, park and old movie theater.

   The houses are certainly cozy.

7. 

   wincompetent on December 20, 2010 at 10:23 am

   luv the old spanish style…
   i think it’s for the iron. maybe bread box, but if so, then perhaps a different shape. we also had a small (approx 2’x2′) door for ice block delivery on the back porch of our 1905 house. we even had a laundry chute. you opened a small door on the wall on the 1st and 2nd floors, threw your dirty laundry in it and it dumped out in the basement. very old school.

8. 

   steveg on December 20, 2010 at 7:06 pm

   That box is an iron cooler.

   What you get for $700k in Kensington that you don’t get in Carmel Valley? The ability to get home from work downtown in 15 minutes, and not have to lie to your co-workers. Plus you get Balboa Park (which you pay for no matter where you live in the city) and the ability to walk home after having 4 beers instead of driving illegally. That and a neighborhood where not everone looks the same.

   I have lived near both Kensington and Carmel Valley. I like the area around Kensington a lot more, and would pay more to live there.

9. 

   daveg on December 21, 2010 at 9:31 am

   Yeah, I basically agree with what steveg said, although:

   “That and a neighborhood where not everyone looks the same.”

   makes no sense to me.

   Are you saying everyone looks Asian in CV, because it is certainly not overwhelmingly white, which I don’t think should be considered a negative anyway.

   When people actively claim to dislike white neighborhoods it rubs me wrong just as much as when they say they don’t like black/Mexican/Asian/etc neighborhoods.

   Plus is is probably just posing.