Joan Didion Family Home

The magnificent Colonial Revival mansion located at 2000 22nd Street was designed by Seadler & Hoen in 1911 for William and Mary Ross-Roan. Mary was the Director of the Board of the Bank of Sacramento. She passed away in the home in 1917 at the age of 69. In the late 1940s, the residence was acquired by Genevieve and J. Frank Didion. J.F. Didion was the Sacramento County tax and license collector. Genevieve Didion was a celebrated civic activist and a longtime member of the Sacramento City Board of Education. J. Frank Didion's granddaughter, Joan Didion, lived in the home for her last 2-years at McClatchy High School. Joan famously received her rejection letter from Stanford while living at the home (she later had the letter framed and keeps it as a memento). After graduating from Berkeley, Didion went on to become a literary icon. In 2005, Didion won the National Book Award for her nonfiction work, The Year of Magical Thinking. Today, 2000 22nd Street is colloquially known as the “Didion Home”.

Featured images (in order of appearace): 1) The "Didion Home", located at 2000 22nd Street, 2) A yearbook photograph of Joan Didio at the time she lived in the home, 3) Newspaper article from July 1952 anouncing J. Frank Didion's retirement as Sacramento County Tax Collector, 4) Portrait of local activist, historic preservationist, and longtime Sacramento City School Board member, Genevieve Didion.