Exclusive look: McClatchy estate from 1930s for sale in midtown Sacramento for $2.5M
The grand McClatchy estate in midtown Sacramento, built in the 1930s and tucked behind a tall white stucco wall on nearly a half-acre, is available for the first time ever.
The price for the stunning Spanish-style family compound is $2.499 million. To walk through the home, owned by the McClatchy newspaper family, is to walk through California art and history and architecture. Colorful, custom-made and hand-painted tile — many signed by the artists themselves — adorn nearly every room. Exquisite and detailed wood carvings on the doors and ceilings are stunning.
The dining room features a mural around the entire ceiling that was painted by Sacramento artist Dunbar Dyson Beck. Each vignette depicts a part of state history. Other tiles throughout the house also pay homage to historical events.
“The grandeur of the house is such that you walk in and you just feel the history,” listing agent Annette Black of Lyon Real Estate said while giving the Sacramento Bee a tour of the home. “I had the Realtor tour yesterday and the comments from most of the Realtors were they felt like they were entering a mini Hearst Castle, because of the elaborate wood, tile, grounds and architecture. Almost every ceiling has some special drawing or painting or wood carving on the ceiling.”
The main house has three bedrooms and three-plus baths and a library with a magnificent marble fireplace. There’s a one-bedroom and one-bath studio, as well as a guest house with a bedroom, bath, kitchen and two-car garage.
Across .42 acres, brick walkways meander through manicured grounds and a large pool sits in the center of an expansive patio.
Perhaps no other family has a greater historical imprint on the Poverty Ridge neighborhood than the McClatchys. The estate, located at 2124 U St., is the last of a group of houses in the same block that was owned by the family. The home sits next to the city-owned McClatchy Library. Sacramento Bee Publisher and Editor C.K. McClatchy and his wife Ella built that residence, at 2112 22nd Street, in 1910. It became a public library in 1940 after Eleanor McClatchy donated it to the city.
“The property is being offered for sale because the McClatchy family does not use the property or live in the property at this time, and doesn’t want it to go into a total state of disrepair by not having a family that is here loving it,” Black said. “They value this property deeply and want it to be restored to its original grandeur and are hoping that that will be the case with this sale.”
There is currently a caretaker living on the property.
“My favorite features are the grounds,” Black said. “It’s .42 of an acre and (there are) beautiful walkways, pool, a front garden, the back garden and fountains throughout the property. I also love the structures, the Spanish architecture of the house, the beautiful wood doors throughout, lavish use of wrought iron on the property. All the custom light fixtures, the custom tiles ...”
