Villas History

VILLAS HISTORY

The Illustrious History of the Villas Encantadoras

The Villas Encantadoras is a fine example of the Spanish Revival architecture style that was highly popular in the region in the early-20th century. Its buildings are the work of noted Sacramento builder Frank “Squeaky” Williams, who built many of the finer homes in Curtis Park, Land Park and East Sacramento from the 1920’s through the early 1940’s. Real estate ads of today frequently mention that a particular home was a “Squeaky” Williams’ creation. “Squeaky” was the developer/builder who is responsible for the unique and delightful homes that grace Markham Way, just one block south of the Villas.

Legend has it that Mr. Williams acquired the moniker “Squeaky” because he had somewhat of a high pitched voice. It was a nickname, however, that was apparently only sparingly used to address him directly. His family reports an occasion in which one of Mr. Williams’ employees referred to him by his moniker – and “Squeaky” promptly tossed him out of a nearby window of a house they were constructing at the time. He was somewhat avante garde for the era: he was known to travel between his construction sites riding a motorcycle. A wonderful photograph of Mr. Williams visiting one of his work sites, sitting astride his motorcycle, appears in the book Sacramento’s Curtis Park authored by Curtis Park resident and current Sierra Curtis Park Neighborhood Association President, Dan Murphy, a copy of which is kept in the Tiki Lounge.