parklife

while we were stuffing ourselves at the newly-mexican jimmy carter's in banker's hill on saturday, we saw a real estate ad for a condo in the iconic modernist building across from balboa park, 3200 sixth ave. built by famed san diego architect henry hester, the former salomon apartments were revitalized a few years ago. this is one of my favorite buildings in the area, with its distinctive modernist look and floor-to-ceiling windows that put you practically into the park. so we rolled around the corner and up the stairs to a million dollar unit that's been on the market for a few months.

once inside, we were impressed by the sensible layout of the place, with a large, open dining/living/kitchen area, and three bedrooms extending off it. all of the bedrooms feature views of the park, which helps offset the office-size feel of two of them. surprisingly, bathroom appointments felt a bit downscale for the listing price, which could probably use a significant chop if the owners expect to sell anytime soon in this market.

around back is the tranquil pool, which several units open onto with large sliding glass doors. a good chunk of the western sky has been blocked by two new condo projects on the block behind it, unfortunately (including the atrociously-painted trilogy on fifth - light blue and peach never looked so bad). but there was still plenty of sun to soak up in this quiet retreat.

it sure was fun to think about living in a place like 3200 sixth. you'd have to do your place up right - sixties-style with loads of mid-century modern furniture, a classic turntable and a martini glass always within reach. now if those prices were only within reach...