Ranch on the Mesa

The house on 2772 Starcrest Drive on the mesa was built by a local contractor named Howard Huff in 1962. This ranch style house was one of the earlier houses built on the mesa, being constructed when there were only a dozen houses, and currently there resides over 400 on the mesa. The story of why this house was built begins with my great grandpa, Rudy Nelson. Big Papa, as my family called him, owned a sand and gravel business, and during the earlier years of the mesa, developers asked him if he could make some roads on the mesa. After building the roads, the developers realized they did not have the money to pay him, so they compensated by giving him three parcels of land, 1.68 acres, which is what the house sits upon. A mere $30,000 later, 2772 Starcrest Dr. was created. The outside of the house was constructed with a combination of Arizona flagstone and rock from Tablerock – which is on the left side of the exterior of the house. The house is surrounded by a gorgeous pair of grassy yards and an adventurous hillside, which is where I spent the majority of my younger life. As you process into the house through the double oak doors with brass handles, you will see a rock wall made from pure Idaho rock. Other great fetures of the inside on the house are the 2 fireplaces; the first one (residing upstairs in the living room – 22 x 21 sq ft) is made completely from white marble and the second one (residing downstairs) is made from Idaho rock as well. Also downstairs is a bar along with sliding glass doors leading to an extravagant view of Boise and also to a special part of the house, the bomb shelter. The bomb shelter is 525 sq ft with 2.5-foot thick steel enforced concrete walls, ceiling, and floor. Strolling back into the house’s upstairs you will find a kitchen with a center island, sliding glass doors to the outside, and central vacuuming system which ran through the whole house and the bomb shelter, a den and master bedroom with typical ranch style windows, and a large dining room with a wall of glass windows and a sliding glass door to the outside. Once on the outside of the house, there is a large deck area that is connected to the pool and spa, built in 1980. Also outside there is a porch that surrounds the backside of the house and connects the deck to the garage. This house displays textbook examples of 1950’s living styles both inside and out. This “Ranch on the Mesa” gives the foothills a great reminder of its younger life.