507 Diamond Boulevard

Johnstown, Pennsylavnia
 

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Diamond at Bliss 

A Home with Substance, Story, and Thoughtful Updates

507 Diamond Boulevard offers the kind of character that cannot be manufactured, paired with the practical improvements that make daily living easy. Built in 1940, the home retains its original grace, proportions, hardwood floors, and architectural integrity, while thoughtful updates have been made where they matter most.

The Kitchen, Dining Room, and Everyday Flow

The kitchen features Samsung stainless steel appliances installed in October 2025, including a counter-depth refrigerator with two types of ice and a Samsung Bespoke range with a bread proof setting. These newer appliances bring modern convenience into a classic home without disrupting its warmth or character.  And that bread proofing feature makes it a breeze to bake bread and rolls all winter.  

The kitchen also includes an eat-in nook, currently charming and functional as it is, but with clear potential for a future kitchen expansion if desired. Just beyond the kitchen is the expansive formal dining room, creating an easy and natural flow for everyday meals, holidays, dinner parties, and gatherings.

One of the home's most inviting spaces is the bright and beautiful den, which opens directly onto the rear deck. Filled with natural light, it serves as a comfortable gathering space year-round and creates a seamless connection between indoor and outdoor living. The den also features a wonderful entertaining area built into the home's original brickwork, complete with a fantastic beverage refrigerator that makes hosting family and friends effortless. Whether enjoying a quiet morning coffee or an evening with guests, this room quickly becomes a favorite place to spend time.

This is one of the quiet strengths of the house: it lives graciously now, while still offering room for a future owner to make it even more their own.

Original Character You Cannot Recreate

The original hardwood floors remain throughout the home, including parquet flooring in the formal living room and dining room. These are the details that give a 1940 home its soul — the quality, the craftsmanship, the scale, and the materials that simply are not found in newer construction.

The formal rooms are generous, the staircase is beautiful, and the house has that rare sense of permanence that comes from good bones, proper proportions, and nearly a century of history.

Bedrooms, Office, and Flexible Living Space

Technically, the home offers four bedrooms, with the fourth bedroom located in the finished attic. It is currently used as an office, but it could easily serve as a teen room, creative studio, guest space, or tucked-away retreat.

The primary bedroom is unusually large for a home of this era and includes the benefit of a large walk-in closet — an alteration made by a previous owner and a truly rare luxury in a 1940s home. It gives the room a level of function and storage that is almost unheard of in houses from this period.

The primary suite also features a thoughtfully designed ensuite bath. While petite in footprint, it makes exceptional use of space, with a fabulous shower tucked neatly into the dormer. Custom shower glass helps retain warmth and creates an experience much like a steam shower — an especially welcome luxury on cold winter mornings. It is a wonderful example of how careful design can transform a compact space into something both practical and indulgent.

Gardens, Lawn, and Outdoor Setting

The gardens have been completely updated and restored, with dozens of hydrangeas framing the front of the house and peonies wrapping the rest of the property. Two apple trees frame the front walk and began producing fruit last year, adding yet another layer of charm to the approach.

The lawn has been professionally maintained, as have the gardens and exterior grounds. The result is a property that feels established, loved, and alive in every season.

The lot itself is large, with a flat entry from double-wide Diamond Boulevard. In addition to the integral garage and driveway, there is a gravel parking pad shaded by a huge mature maple tree — a wonderful summer convenience and a rare practical bonus.

The rear of the property sits off quiet Court Alley, creating a surprising amount of privacy in the back garden and on the deck.  Your driveway and entry to the garage is private and sheltered. Deer graze nearby, chipmunks play around the bird feeders, and the setting has the peaceful, tucked-away feeling that makes this part of Southmont so special.

Basement, Garage, and Practical Function

The basement is clean, serviceable, and highly functional, housing the home’s mechanical systems while still offering useful storage and workspace. There is a dedicated storage room that could be explored by a future owner as a possible bathroom location, and the basement also includes that classic nod to yesteryear: a clean, serviceable Pittsburgh potty. Humble as it may be, it is genuinely useful.

The integral garage is another meaningful feature, especially in this neighborhood and climate. It comfortably holds a mid-sized SUV, with approximately 6 feet of clearance to the beam. It is not oversized, but it works beautifully — park inside, come up the stairs, and enter directly into the kitchen area.

Diamond Boulevard

Diamond Boulevard is one of The Hilltops beautiful and established streets: wide, tree-lined, walkable, and filled with homes that tell the story of an earlier and more gracious era in Johnstown.  This neighborhood lives up to its name, it is a Jewel. 

This section of Southmont has long been affectionately known as “Pill Hill,” a nickname earned decades ago because so many physicians affiliated with Conemaugh Regional Medical Center chose to live here for its beauty, elevation, quiet, and proximity to the hospital. That legacy remains part of the neighborhood’s identity today. It is a residential enclave with a rare sense of permanence — architecturally significant homes, mature trees, sidewalks, gardens, and a community that still feels deeply connected to place.

Diamond Boulevard also carries a practical history. It was once part of the old trolley route and remains a current bus route, which means it is one of the first streets plowed when snow arrives. That combination of beauty and function is part of what makes the street so livable: it feels tucked away, but never isolated.

Among Diamond Boulevard's architectural treasures is 719 Diamond Boulevard, the Harry Swank Mansion, an extraordinary smooth-stone residence built in the grand old style and carefully preserved through the years. It is fondly called the French Embassy of Southmont, and has its original elevator.  It is a bit like visiting Downtown Abbey or a stately English home of the era.  The owners have preserved all of its beauty and have added to the history by filling the home with Christmas trees and nutcrackers to celebrate the holidays.  Nearby is 620 Diamond, the Albert Swank Mansion, which has been lovingly and meticulously restored by its current owner with deep respect for its historic character. 620 Diamond was the last Frank Forster residence built and it proudly sits on a bit of a prospect above the Boulevard.  Do a little digging, or talk to 620's owner, and you will discover that Frank J. Forster was a giant in residential architecture in the Northeast designing homes in the style of French Provincial style.  He always included local materials and bits of history into all of his designs.  620 has a number of real millstones from the surrounding region set into the stone floors throughout the property, as well as Swank pottery products.  Things that can no longer be purchased, no matter the price.  This street is pure magic that keeps unfolding to you if you listen and walk.  

The street itself was recently repaved, but during the process, when the old asphalt was removed, the original golden brick from Swank Pottery was briefly exposed — a beautiful glimpse of the history beneath the road before it was covered again. It was one of those rare moments when the past quite literally rose to the surface.

507 Diamond Boulevard occupies a particularly desirable position along the street, at the point where Bliss Street meets Diamond. Walking up Bliss is one of Southmont’s simple pleasures — a gentle climb through mature trees, historic homes, and lovingly maintained gardens. It is the kind of walk that reminds you why older neighborhoods matter.

What makes Diamond special is not simply the architecture, though the architecture is extraordinary. It is the experience of living here: the scale of the street, the canopy of trees, the sidewalks, the sense of quiet, the pride of ownership, the neighbors who care, the deer grazing nearby, the changing seasons, and the feeling that this place has been loved for a very long time.

507 Diamond Boulevard is part of that story — a classic 1940 home in one of Southmont’s treasured pockets, where history, beauty, and everyday livability meet.


the living room on Diamond 

Life at 507 Diamond is a dream...

There is an ease to life at 507 Diamond Boulevard that reveals itself slowly and then all at once.

Morning light moves through the house beautifully. The rooms feel gracious, calm, and connected. The living room invites quiet evenings, the dining room makes even simple meals feel special, and the sun-filled den quickly becomes the place everyone wants to be. From there, the deck and back garden are just steps away.

Outside, the seasons do what they do best. Hydrangeas frame the front of the house, peonies return in abundance, the apple trees mark the front walk, and the mature maple offers shade through the warmer months. Deer graze nearby, chipmunks dart around the bird feeders, and the birdsong is constant and lovely.

The house feels private without feeling removed. It sits on a wide, beautiful street with sidewalks, mature trees, and the quiet confidence of an established neighborhood. There is room to park, room to gather, room to garden, room to work, room to host, and room simply to breathe.

507 Diamond is polished, practical, and deeply peaceful — a home with history, soul, and a daily rhythm that feels both elegant and easy.

Living here is not just beautiful. It is a dream.

A Personal Note

I came to 507 Diamond Boulevard after taking a leap of faith. In the years following COVID, after a lifetime in Los Angeles, I found myself longing for a simpler, more grounded way of living. I moved here knowing not a soul, drawn by a lifelong East Coast dream: a classic brick home, a beautiful old neighborhood, sidewalks, seasons, a cutting garden, and easy proximity to the great cities and landscapes of the Northeast.

What I found was so much more.

Over the past four years, I have restored, edited, planted, polished, and loved this home with the eye of a designer and the heart of someone who knew she had found something special. The gardens came back to life. The rooms became warm, gracious, and deeply peaceful. The house became not only beautiful, but healing.

What I never expected was the community I would find here. On this hilltop, I was welcomed into a remarkable circle of neighbors and friends whose kindness, generosity, and companionship became one of the greatest gifts of living at 507 Diamond. These are not simply neighbors; they are forever friends, and they transformed what began as a solitary adventure into a wonderful East Coast chapter of my life.  My hope is that its next owner feels what I felt from the beginning: that this is not just a house, but a rare and lovely place to live, and a place where a wonderful life can unfold.

Represented by:  Michael Zamias  

Check out Michael's Page here to learn more about him!