Eastern Star Hall in Midtown Sacramento Goes Up for Auction

The more I talk with people, the more it becomes apparent that many are not cognizant of their surroundings. I might talk with a seller about homes in Elk Grove that I’ve sold which are located a few blocks away from their house, and they’ve never been down those streets. They’ve never even heard of some streets. I guess they don’t walk around their neighborhood or, if they do, one street must look like the other. It’s not just people who live in suburban areas, either.

I suspect it’s because people are too busy or don’t care to explore. If there is no reason to go over to some side street, why would you? Most people probably just drive to work in the morning and make a beeline back at night. Ask an Elk Grove Realtor, though, and she can tell you where the parks are located, which are “through streets” with a lot of traffic, and the distance from your potential home to Elk Grove schools.

I suppose those who are involved in community activities are very aware of which streets are in their neighborhood and what goes on, but still, I am constantly amazed when people don’t even know the name of the street behind their house. And, they don’t think it’s odd that they don’t know.

Some people who live in the city, like, say, in homes in Midtown Sacramento, for example, might not always pay attention, either. That’s one of the reasons this Midtown Realtor enjoys the cellphone game of Ingress. It points out works of art, historic buildings and other “portals” right under our noses in the midst of the city that we might otherwise pass by unnoticed. For example, I read in the Sacramento Bee today that the Eastern Star Hall is expected to show up in Auction.com, listed at $750,000. I know exactly where it’s located because it’s an Ingress portal.

The Eastern Star Hall is a historic building built in 1928, located at 2719 K Street, right across the street from Sutter’s Fort (also a portal, several). It depicts 5 women with those darling bobbed cuts, doing daring things for the 1920s, like drive a car. It reminds me of my grandmother. I have a photograph of her from 1919 when she cut off her hair in defiance and took up smoking, just like the guys. She came to the United States from Hungary in 1899. Thoughts of my grandmother often cross my mind as I deploy mods and link portals at Eastern Star Hall.

It will be interesting to watch what happens to this building. My real estate office is located a block away on the corner of 28th and J Streets, and I drive by the Eastern Star Hall to hack the portal many times a week. I wonder about its fate, and whether others who live and work nearby notice it.