A Step Back in Time

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The other day with nothing better to do, I went to Zillow and looked up the address of the home I spent the most time in.  It was my childhood home that I moved to in 1955 and out of when I got married in 1970.  My parents continued to live there until around 1990.

My dad built this home on a street called Sunset Terrace in Sunset Hills, Missouri.  In fact, he built all the homes on Sunset Terrace.  They were big ranch style homes on approximately 1/2 acre lots.

Come with me down Memory Lane to see this house then and now!

This was the house my dad built. It looks like it wasn’t quite completed yet.
This is how the house looks today. My dad did the replacement of the front planter for this gated area. Why? I don’t know!

My father also built the house we moved from. It was on the property of his parents’ farm.  In fact, back then four brothers had their homes on that property or next to it.  My dad used his father’s mule to dig the foundation of the home.  The mule died shortly afterward, of which my dad never heard the end of it from his dad.

My sisters standing on the porch of the unfinished house.

I was in the second grade when we moved to the new home.  By this time, my dad was a building contractor and used modern (for the day) machinery to dig foundations.  I wasn’t a fan of the new house because the windows were high, and I was just a small 2nd grader.  I had to jump to see out my bedroom window.  A year or two later, it was no problem.

I am shorter than the windows!

The Zillow posting of this home showed photos of it.  It’s not on the market, but all the photos from when it was remain on the site.  I think these photos were taken in 2021 when the house last sold. My parents did some remodeling to the home in 1969.  They completely replaced their kitchen, and they wallpapered the kitchen and both bathrooms.  The original home had three good sized bedrooms and two bathrooms.  My dad also put a bathroom in the basement near the laundry facilities, but never really finished it other than having a toilet, sink, and a door.  The drywall was never painted.  I suppose that for him the bathroom was in the unfinished part of the basement, and there was no need to do anything more—it was private and functional.

My mom got sick in the 70’s, and my dad turned the smaller corner bedroom into a laundry room on the main level so she wouldn’t have to manage steps to the basement laundry area.  There was a small room off the kitchen behind the garage, which first was the office for the construction company.  As their construction business grew, they moved into the finished basement, which gave them over twice the space.  When I was in the 6th grade, they moved their office to Kirkwood, MO (a neighboring community), and now the finished basement was part of the home again.  

This is the room that was the original office behind the garage just off the kitchen. The wall in the back originally had a door so that the office had its own entrance for subcontractors and estimators. My dad closed that door off after moving the office and put in the patio door. I am sure this room was made into a bedroom so they could, once again, sell it as a three bedroom home.
My sister on her wedding day–the reception was in our back yard, but due to the heat, the cake was in the “family room,” the former original office. This window was replaced by the sliding glass door.
Several years later (1978) I am on the couch in the same room with my two youngest kids. Also note the yellow telephone on the table on the right. We were styling!
Note the patio. It was three circular designs. As you will see in the next photo, the edging was done in brick. I suppose the bricks deteriorated and one of the following owners poured concrete edging.
I think the holes in the brick were for fencing or lighting. I don’t remember which my dad planned, and never got to it! By the way, that is me in my youth. Why I’m laying out on a lounge chair fully clothed, I also don’t know!

Sometime in the 1970’s my mom bought my dad a pool table for Christmas, and it was then housed in the finished basement.  When I was in college from 1966-1970, before the pool table, the finished basement was a place for many groups of friends to gather.

Dad following the string from the Christmas tree upstairs to his pool table downstairs.
Here is the house today, and the same green folding door from when the house was built!
My cousins sitting in front of that fireplace in the basement. I think this was 1956. (I think we should have cleaned out the fireplace before guest arrived)!
Many of the friends who gathered frequently at our home. This was in the late 60’s.

Nothing has changed much in the house since my parents lived there.  The photos of the house show the wallpaper in the bathrooms and the green fixtures in one, and yellow in the other, which were original to the home.  It is definitely a mid-century modern home!

This is the bathroom connected to my parents’ room. It is exactly as I remember it–even the wallpaper!
The hall bathroom that we three girls used. It is also exactly the same–even the handles and faucet on the sink!
My nephew, as a little guy, in that green bathtub in the late 60’s.

I have only one photo that shows what the old kitchen looked like. It is of my sister and my cousin washing dishes. Seeing the big roasting pan tells me it was either Thanksgiving or Christmas, since that pan was used for roasting large turkeys or hams. Please note the dishwasher to the left. It pulled out. We had to lift the top rack out, and bend into it to put the dishes in the lower rack. Then the upper rack was placed in for the glasses and small items. We were high tech back then since it was still the 60’s.

Then my parents remodeled the kitchen. My recollection of the “new” kitchen was that it had the most popular avocado colored stove, which obviously has been replaced, along with probably all the appliances. Other than that. the kitchen is exactly the same as it was when remodeled in 1969.

I wish I could remember what the floor looked like, because the flooring doesn’t look familiar. The avocado sink still exists!
This is the only photo I have during the remodel. The refrigerator is stilling in the middle of the room, and the cabinets appear to be in place, but the countertop is not yet installed. My college friend and my cousin are seated at the table eating lunch. There is a Pepsi, Pepperidge Farm cookies, and a jar of Miracle Whip. Is that a lit candle in the middle of the mess?
Here are my nephews apparently celebrating a birthday in the new kitchen. The little guy in the high chair is the same one in the green bath tub!

The living room! Oh my, to think it still looks the same blows me away. It even has the same draperies from when my parents remodeled.

Take note of the fireplace and the chair sitting in the corner of the bay.
One of my sons–photo taken around 1977–notice the curtains.
Here is a current photo. Nothing in that room changed, not the carpet, the draperies, or the wallpaper!

Looking through these old photos was a step back in time. For our family, this home was well lived. We entertained a lot of family and friends. Have you tried to look up your past addresses on Zillow? Be prepared for a few surprises.

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