New Era Park

I love neighborhoods like this. It is, first of all, not a “park” but a neighborhood—don’t be thrown by the name. That’s, of course, not what I love about it.

What I love about this neighborhood is that it has one of those classic American town feels to it. You feel a little bit like you have stepped into a 1950’s, a little bit like It’s a Wonderful Life before the parallel universe section. It’s not quite Mayberry, but it’s leafy and filled with really old, pre-World War II homes.

On the western side of the neighborhood, you get those old wooden Victorians (stick Victorians?) with walk-up steps in the front and sometimes verandas of the kind that no one really uses anymore but that you could maybe hang one of those swing benches from. On the eastern side of the neighborhood it’s Bungalow City—with a bunch of cute squat houses.
Really, really reminds me of Pasadena’s bungalow neighborhood in So Cal. I love those little houses—so cute and they just seem very sheltering in spots.

It’s also a very shady neighborhood. I don’t mean this in the slang way and I know this is the kind of observation you would just put in as a passing adjective—as in “the shady front yards” or “the leafy streets.” But that doesn’t really do it justice. I mean this is the kind of place that my red headed friend with fair skin could play outside all day long without getting burnt—that kind of shady. And if you have ever experienced the blistering summers in Sac you know that having a nice shady spot for a walk is the kind of luxury for which people will pay a high price.

The neighborhood is known for its bike trails and for the skateboard park created from the old recycling plant that used to be here. It is also home the B Street live theater, which doesn’t stick to tried and true classics like A Doll’s House, but actually puts on plays from contemporary playwrights. (The theater was founded by Sac native son and all round good guy, Timothy Busfield—the red headed guy from Thirty-Something and the West Wing.)

What I am constantly astounded by is how inexpensive it is out here compared to the Bay Area. Rooms in this lovely little neighborhood go for as low $400-$500 in spots and rents rarely rise far above $1000 (often with the landlord picking up utilities). And few homes in the area go for more than $400K to buy outright.

Now there aren’t any restaurants or nightclubs here but just to south you start getting into the heart of the midtown area, so though I take off a star from nightlife rating above, it is only because you’ll have to walk five minutes out of the neighborhood to finds lots of great stuff to do. (Of course, you can go to the B Street for a play first before doing any of it.)

Overall, I would say this is great little neighborhood for young people and college students. I’m not sure if you’re in the kids-and-minivan set you will find it quite as exciting. But no place is perfect.

If you are into hiking and extreme sports like skate boarding and cycling then you need to check out the New Era Park neighborhood in Sacramento. There are plenty of nature paths for hikers and dog lovers alike as well as some wonderful inclines for skaters and rugged terrain for cyclists. In terms of entertainment the most popular spot would certainly would the B Street Theatre which has been known to attract some stars. Apart from the familiar restaurants like Subway and Burger King this area is mostly residential. There is a large recycling plant in the area which reinforces recycling over and over, which in my opinion is a good thing. I don’t think there are any other streets in the California area that promote recycling as much as the residents in the New Era Park neighborhood do. Nice area to live for all individuals because of the naturalist elements and quiet living.