6 classic homes built in the 1950s

Michiana Shores, Indiana

This 1950 gambrel-roofed Craftsman, once a firehouse, is five minutes from Lake Michigan's Duneland Beach. The updated five-bedroom includes beamed ceilings, heated stone and wood floors, a fireplace, and a chef's kitchen with a walk-in pantry.

The leafy lot includes landscaped paths and a hot tub, firepit, balcony, and patio. Stop 50, a famed wood-fired pizza place, is a short walk, and Michigan City is a 10-minute drive. $1,549,000. Marissa Stapleton, Coldwell Banker Realty, (312) 520-3552.

Laguna Beach, California

Set on a tree-lined street a few minutes from the beach and downtown, this 1951 stone-clad Craftsman four-bedroom cottage has a vaulted, open-plan main space with shiplap ceilings, wide-plank wood floors, and skylights. The marble kitchen has a waterfall island, and the primary suite offers ocean views and a private balcony.

Outside are a fenced front yard, kitchen, outdoor shower, veggie garden, and garage. $5,495,000. Bryan Gerlach, Engel & Völkers Dana Point, (949) 241-9059.

Chevy Chase, Maryland

Built as a mid-century modern home in 1953 and expanded by architect Mark McInturff in the late 1990s, this award-winning six-bedroom features light filtering in through walls of glass, French doors, and clerestory windows, showcasing its pale wood floors, clean-lined cabinets, high ceilings, and floating bridges.

The house sits on a wooded lot abutting parkland in the Somerset neighborhood, which has a community pool and tennis courts. D.C.'s amenities are nearby. $2,995,000. Ron Mangas Jr., TTR Sotheby's International Realty, (703) 298-2564.

Portland, Oregon

Architect Walter Gordon's Wessinger House was built in 1950 and sits on almost 10 wooded acres in the West Hills neighborhood. The restored four-bedroom, northwest-modern home includes floor-to-ceiling windows, hand-oiled wood walls and ceilings, an octagonal family room, cork floors with radiant heat, and a skylighted kitchen with a butcher-block island, plus patios and a courtyard outside.

It's less than 15 minutes to town, and near trails and green space. $5,250,000. Suzann Baricevic Murphy, (w)here real estate, (503) 789-1033.

Los Angeles, California

Built in 1952, this two-bedroom is No. 16 of the Case Study Houses commissioned from 1945 to 1966 by Art & Architecture as replicable models for the postwar housing boom. Atop Bel Air Road, its oversize windows frame city, canyon, and ocean views, with interior spaces defined by slatted wood walls.

Translucent screens surround a patio connecting to a yard bordered by brick walls and hedges. Trails, the Getty, and Beverly Hills are nearby. $5,395,000. Crosby Doe, Crosby Doe Associates, (310) 428-6755.

Sarasota, Florida

Set in the Indian Beach Sapphire Shores neighborhood, this 1959 mid-century modern two-bedroom was recently fully renovated. The living area has tile floors, built-ins, roofline windows, a pass-through kitchen with stainless appliances, and a glass door to a large, screened patio with a grill. The fenced back patio includes a kidney-shaped pool surrounded by trees.

Downtown shopping, the Ringling Museum, and Lido Beach are within 10 minutes. $560,000. Amanda Gilliland, Coldwell Banker Realty, (941) 320-1132.