You’re not going to want to miss this charming and distinctive home with great mid-century bones.
This wonderful vintage home nestled within the heart of historic downtown Clermont, FL, this home claims the notoriety of not only being the childhood home of beloved children’s fiction writer, Kate DiCamillo, but also the vision of the renowned 20th-century architect, James Gamble Rogers II.
A Bit About This Home – 1713 Sunset Drive Clermont, FL 34711
1713 Sunset Drive is truly a one of a kind home rich with culture and history. As you enter the residence you’re greeted with gorgeous hardwood floors with plenty of natural sunlight beaming through its windows. As you navigate to the grand living room you’re graced with a 17-foot long wall of built-in bookshelves and cabinets. The large dining area has plenty of room for those family gatherings and be sure to take note of the built-in china cabinets. And with an amazing amount of closet space (11 closets to be exact,) we doubt you’ll run out of storage.
Enjoy sunny Florida’s weather and sit on the front porch while enjoying a cup of coffee while glimpsing at the beautiful Lake Minnehaha. Located on a dead-end street in historic downtown Clermont, this home is privately situated on a large .36 acre lot amidst mature landscaping.
This amazing home rich with history and charm has so much to offer, it’s a must see to truly appreciate it and take it all in.
About Kate DiCamillo
Born on March 25, 1964, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Katrina Elizabeth “Kate” DiCamillo is an award-winning American author of children’s fiction novels. She’s one of six people to win two Newbery Medals, recognizing her novels The Tale of Despereaux (2003) and another in 2014 Flora & Ulysses (2013). DiCamillo was also named to a two-year term as the national ambassador for young people’s literature by the Library of Congress in 2014.
Suffering from chronic pneumonia as a child, a condition that prompted DiCamillo’s mother, a teacher, to move to Florida when she was five with her older brother. Her father, an orthodontist, was supposed to follow the family afterward, although he never did. Spending a lot of time alone in her bed imagining and observing due to her sickness, DiCamillo credits her sickly childhood as having shaped her as a writer.
Majoring in English at the University of Florida at Gainesville (B.A., 1987), she took on various short-term jobs before moving to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1994 where she worked in a book warehouse and became drawn to children’s fiction.
Her first novel, Because of Winn-Dixie (2000; film 2005), was published after a young editor spotted it in the “slush pile,” a publishing house’s collection of manuscripts sent unsolicited by aspiring authors. The novel—which relates the story of 10-year-old Opal, a girl made lonely by the loss of her mother and her arrival in a new town, and the mangy dog she finds in a supermarket—was praised for its gentle humour, the clarity of its writing, and the endearing nature of its young protagonist.
In DiCamillo’s second novel, Tiger Rising (2001), she again explored the life of a child beset by the loss of a parent. In it, two friends discover in the woods a caged tiger, and DiCamillo interspersed lines from William Blake’s “The Tyger” to help drive the narrative.
The award-winning The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread (2003; film 2008), DiCamillo’s third novel, is the story of a nonconformist mouse who falls in love with the princess of the castle in which his family lives.
Her other novels include The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (2006), which features a conceited china rabbit that learns how to love through tragedy, and The Magician’s Elephant (2009), about an orphan whose quest to find his missing sister involves an elephant. Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures (2013), which concerned the adventures of a cynical young comic-book lover and a squirrel endowed with human abilities, won the 2014 Newbery Medal. DiCamillo also drew praise for Raymie Nightingale (2016), which centres on a young girl who, in an effort to get her adulterous father to return home, hopes to win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition.
In addition to her novels, DiCamillo also wrote several successful series of chapter books. The first series began with Mercy Watson to the Rescue (2005) and follows the adventures of the exuberant toast-loving pig Mercy Watson. Later books in the series include Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride (2006), Mercy Watson Fights Crime (2006), Mercy Watson: Princess in Disguise (2007), Mercy Watson Thinks like a Pig (2008), and Mercy Watson: Something Wonky This Way Comes (2009). Characters from these works later appeared in the Tales from Deckawoo Lane series, which included Leroy Ninker Saddles Up (2014) and Eugenia Lincoln and the Unexpected Package (2017). DiCamillo also published picture books, including La La La (2017).
About James Gamble Rogers II
James Gamble Rogers II (1901-1990) was one of the defining architects of Winter Park, helping to lend the community its distinctive character.Born in Winnetka, Illinois and educated at Dartmouth College, Rogers trained at his father’s Daytona Beach architectural firm until 1928, when he opened a practice in Winter Park.Over the next sixty years, his name would become synonymous with traditional residential architecture in the growing community. His style flowed effortlessly from French Provincial to Spanish Colonial. As his firm grew, Rogers’ work expanded to commercial and government projects, although his true passion was the human scale of residential dwellings.
We’ve Come Full Circle
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Contact:
Tania Matthews Team
info@TaniaMatthewsTeam.com
1200 Oakley Seaver Rd. Ste. 109
Clermont, FL 34711
407.917.7190