July 12, 2007

STREET SCENECrump Court

By Christina Brown
Times Intern

Before pulling into her driveway, Julie Pagano stops her car in the street to chat with her neighbor who is unloading her car. Other neighbors leave their garage doors open while they work in their garages. An open, friendly mien pervades the neighborhood.

Houses on Crump Court feature beautiful landscaping in this quiet, friendly niche of Almaden. Photos by Christina Brown

Crump Court, just off Coleman, is nestled in a cozy niche of Almaden. Trees shadow most properties, and the end of the court features quaint T.J. Martin Park—23.6 acres of grassy fields, children’s play structures and towering trees.

“The park is just wonderful,” Pagano said, and she partially attributes the close relationship she has with many neighbors to the park. “We had a barbecue there a few months ago, and one of the neighbors brought a barbecue and we cooked out there. The park draws people together.”

Pagano and her husband, Brian, moved here two years ago with their three children, 16-year-old Krista, 13-year-old Megan and 4-year-old Sela. Krista currently attends Branham High School and Megan goes to Price Middle School. Sela will be attending Guadalupe Elementary School, which is just down the street from Crump Court.
“It’s an awesome neighborhood,” Pagano said. “There are a lot of kids Sela’s age, which we didn’t know about when we moved here.” The families on the street with younger children are all very good friends. “We’ve met almost everyone, but got to know the ones with kids especially,” she said.

Pagano’s next-door neighbor, Jo Sharples, who has kids ages 3 and 6, the latter of whom also attends Guadalupe, is moving soon and very sad to be leaving the people and street she has gotten to know for the past four years. “I just love living here,” Sharples said. “I like that it is quiet and really friendly.”

The 14 houses lining the court are home to many families with younger children and some older, retired couples. All the houses are a little over 30 years old and half are two stories. Each house has a unique walkway and façade, giving every house its own very personal touch. The houses range from about 1,600 to 2,800 square feet, and many are going for upwards of a million dollars. Many of the houses also have beautifully painted mailboxes, covered in delicately sketched flowers, giving the street an even more welcoming feel.

Stan Litwin, who moved to Crump Court 29 years ago, lives at the end of the street, right next to the park. He sees the positives and negatives to living just yards away from such a large gathering place. “[The park is] great from the standpoint of our friends with kids, but it is also a gathering place for teens on the weekends and at night, and we have had to notify the police before because of noise,” he said.

A few houses down, May Miller, a retired speech and language therapist, and her husband Curtis were one of the three original families to move to the street in 1975. A major factor in her decision to move to Crump Court was the location of the park, but by the time the park was finished being built her son was 10, and the equipment was not geared toward his age. “My husband walks there, but I don’t really use it,” she said.

At the end of Crump Court is T.J. Martin Park, which has been a great place for families with children to get to know each other better.

Since the Millers moved there 32 years ago, the street has had many changes in the residents, as well as quite a bit of remodeling and landscaping. Pagano’s house was remodeled about eight years before they moved in, and she loves the changes that were made to the original framework.

Litwin has also witnessed the sweeping changes in residents on the street over the years. “The street was very young family-oriented when we moved in, then a lot of the kids grew up and moved away, and now it has come full circle and there are a lot of new families with younger kids,” he said, and he feels very fortunate to have such good neighbors.

Litwin also acknowledged that the neighbors are always there to ensure each other’s safety. “We have a neighborhood watch program, so we look out for each other,” he said. Miller remembered the time many years ago when someone broke into her house, but a neighbor noticed the disturbance and caught the thief. “We watch out for each other’s property,” she said.

Both Miller and Litwin said that the families with younger children are very close, and though Miller does not know them as well, she enjoys her neighbors, noting their warmth and affability. The block even holds an annual holiday party. Overall Miller loves the location and the people. “It is a very safe neighborhood. It’s quiet—course we don’t live right next to the park.”