Pacific Grove, City of Homes, #64: 511 8th Street

by Matthew Tanzer

511 8th Street

Between Junipero Avenue and Spruce Avenue
4 beds, 3 baths, 1,980 SF on a 3,998 SF lot
Built, 1974
Last sold, 2020

The front porch widens toward the brick path, with cream-colored columns rising from stone pillars. The columns’ smooth surfaces contrast with the irregular stone below, while smaller pillars extend into the garden. Reddish brick covers the path, steps, and porch floor, repeating the warm tones of the wooden door and window frames. The door sits back beneath the porch roof, flanked by narrow glazed sidelights.

The house’s asymmetrical form brings together a broad main section on the right and a smaller garage set farther back on the left. The porch projects toward the street, adding another depth. Separate rooflines distinguish the main section from the lower garage, while windows of different sizes and groupings reinforce the unequal arrangement. At ground level, the broad driveway opens toward the garage, balanced by a garden of rounded shrubs beside the brick approach on the right.

Overlapping shingles cover the facade, with textured green stucco above. Broad cream-colored surrounds frame groups of three windows, each with a wide central window between narrower side windows. Small rectangular panes across their tops contrast with the larger areas of clear glass below, their burgundy sections repeating the color of the entrance. Vertical boards and battens fill the triangular face of the porch gable, adding a different pattern beneath the long cream-colored roof edges.

Three Things I Love About the Home

1. The Windows
Burgundy outlines sharpen the geometric patterns with a splash of color.

2. The Stonework
Rough edges and visible seams draw the eye from stone to stone.

3. The Hedge
Tall, thick shrubs screen the porch for privacy.