The Greer Park Eichler tract is one of Joseph Eichler's earliest architect-designed neighborhoods in Palo Alto. The city's Eichler design guidelines date it to 1950–1951, credit it to the San Francisco firm Anshen & Allen, and count 131 lots. According to the Green Gables National Register nomination, which credits the list to an earlier researcher, a national architecture journal named Greer Park in December 1950 as one of five Eichler subdivisions honored together as "Subdivision of the Year."
This post covers what the records say about Greer Park's beginnings, its three circle streets, the 1950 design ideas behind its houses, and the single-story and flood rules that apply there now. It is an architecture history, not a market report. Our Palo Alto mid-century modern page covers the rest of the city's Eichler areas.
A 1950 tract on the old Seale lands
Greer Park's recorded map is Tract No. 796, described in the county's map index as portions of Lots 3 and 4 of Subdivision No. 5 of the Seale Tract. It was surveyed in August 1950 and recorded on October 2, 1950. The streets listed on the map are Amarillo Avenue, Greer Road, Van Auken Circle, Metro Circle and Moffett Circle (spelled "Moffet" in the index).
A 2015 city staff report says construction started in 1950 and that most of the houses inside its study area are original Anshen & Allen Eichlers. The owners' application in that report gives a build period of 1950 to 1953. That is later than the city's 1950–1951 range. Palo Alto's parcel report today dates the large majority of the houses on the three circles to 1951. A fair summary is that Greer Park was begun in 1950 and largely built by 1951, with the end date uncertain.
One more naming note. The city's tract table also lists a separate, 10-lot 1957 tract on Amarillo Avenue with no recorded name. So not every Eichler on Amarillo is part of the 1950 Greer Park tract.
Three circles off Greer Road
Greer Park's layout is built around three loop streets. Van Auken Circle sits in the south part of the tract, and Metro and Moffett circles in the north part, with houses also fronting Greer Road and Amarillo Avenue. In the city's parcel report today there are 37 parcels on Van Auken Circle, 25 on Moffett Circle and 23 on Metro Circle.
The city's guidelines describe a common pattern across Palo Alto's Eichler tracts that applies here too: consistent setbacks, curving streets instead of a strict grid, and houses arranged so that windows don't look straight into the house next door.
The 2015 report also mentions the filled-in Seale canal along the tract's southern edge. A house built there in 1994 was left out of the overlay because it was never part of the Eichler tract.
The 1950 Anshen & Allen design ideas
No document we read describes Greer Park's floor plans one by one. What the records do show is the design line it came from. Green Gables, a sister tract designed by the same firm in the same year, has a National Register nomination that explains it in detail.
The AA-1 prototype. Anshen & Allen's first design for Eichler, the AA-1, went on the market in Sunnyvale in early 1950. The sources differ on what followed. The Green Gables nomination says Eichler then commissioned the firm to design five more 1950 subdivisions using variations of it. The National Register study of Eichler's San Jose tracts says the firm went on to design four more: El Centro Gardens, Green Gables and Greer Park in Palo Alto, and Atherwood in Redwood City. Both include Greer Park.
Open living space. The 1950 designs combined flat and shed roofs over post-and-beam framing. Dining, kitchen and living areas shared a single space under a 16-foot free-span roof, with the kitchen at the center.
Glass to the back, privacy to the front. A relatively blank street face, with floor-to-ceiling glass on the rear wall opening to a concrete patio.
Radiant heat. Standard in these houses, in the slab.
Siding. At Green Gables, horizontal redwood boards stained in earth tones, with garage doors finished in the same siding.
The city's guidelines say the 1950 floor plans generally had three bedrooms and about 1,200 square feet. Our Anshen & Allen page and Anshen & Allen floor plans show the firm's work for Eichler. Greer Park houses won't match Green Gables exactly, so treat these as features to look for, not a checklist.
What to look for in a Greer Park house
The original roofline. Low flat or shed planes, often meeting in a combination. The 2015 owners' application describes "simple and moderately sloping roofs." Compare the roof against the tract's other houses to spot later changes.
Additions. The 2015 report found five of the six two-story houses in Greer Park North were original one-story Eichlers with small second-floor additions. The owners' letter adds that many single-story houses have minor additions within or extending the original rooflines.
The floor height. New houses in the flood zone must sit higher (see below). The 2015 report notes that the one replacement two-story house in Greer Park North was built with a higher finished floor to meet those rules.
Exposed structure. Beams and rafter tails showing at the eaves, tongue-and-groove ceilings inside, and full-height rear glass.
The single-story overlay and the flood zone
All of Greer Park is now covered by Palo Alto's single-story overlay, in two steps:
2002: Van Auken Circle, the south part of Tract 796, was rezoned to R-1(S). The city's overlay list counts 58 lots in that area.
2015: Greer Park North, 72 properties covering Metro and Moffett circles plus adjoining lots on Greer Road and Amarillo Avenue, was adopted. At the time, 66 of the 72 houses were single-story.
The 2015 report also notes that the tract's original restrictions limited each lot to one detached, single-story dwelling. Under the overlay, new work is limited to one habitable floor and 17 feet. In a special flood hazard area the height can rise by half the increase needed to reach base flood elevation, up to 20 feet.
Greer Park is in that flood area on the city guidelines' November 2017 map. The 2015 report says any new house in the overlay area must have a finished first floor at least 10.5 feet above sea level. The guidelines add that elevating the lowest floor effectively rules out basements. These rules change and depend on the lot, so confirm them with Palo Alto's planning department and a licensed professional before designing. The city's 2015 Greer Park North staff report lays out the overlay rules in full.
Frequently asked questions
Who designed Greer Park?
Anshen & Allen, the San Francisco firm behind Eichler's first architect-designed houses. The city's tract table and the National Register study of Eichler's San Jose tracts both credit the firm with Greer Park.
When was Greer Park built?
The tract map was recorded in October 1950, and a city report says construction began that year. The city dates the tract to 1950–1951, while the owners' 2015 application says 1950 to 1953.
Why was Greer Park called a "Subdivision of the Year"?
According to the Green Gables nomination, a national architecture journal gave that title jointly to five Eichler subdivisions in its December 1950 issue: Green Gables, El Centro Gardens, Greer Park, Leland Manor and Atherwood. The nomination credits that list to an earlier researcher, and the San Jose tracts study dates the recognition to 1951, so treat the details with some caution.
Can a Greer Park Eichler get a second story?
Not under current zoning. The whole tract is in a single-story overlay, which allows one habitable floor. The flood-zone rules also affect floor height and basements, so check with the city first.
Related reading
Charleston Meadow Eichler History: Palo Alto's Anshen & Allen Tract
Fairmeadow Eichler Tract: The Story of Palo Alto's Circle Streets
Sunnyvale Manor Eichler History: Where the AA-1 Prototype Began
Have a question about a Greer Park Eichler's history or original design? Call or text the Boyenga Team at Compass at (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or contact the Boyenga Team online.
