Mardell Manor is the tract that Mountain View's historic context statement credits to the Mardell Building Company, one of three 1950s tracts in the Monta Loma neighborhood along with Joseph Eichler's Fairview and John Mackay's Oakwood. The neighborhood association's history says its one-story houses are easy to take for Eichlers or Mackays from the street, but were built differently: on raised foundations, with drywall, hardwood floors and forced-air heat.
This post looks at the Mardell side of Monta Loma: what the city's 2026 historic context statement and the neighborhood's own history say about the builder and the two original plans, what county parcel records show for a group of nine streets, and how the city zones them today. It is architecture and history, not a market report. For the city as a whole, see our Mountain View mid-century modern page.
What the city's record says, and where it came from
Mountain View's Historic Context Statement (final draft dated August 10, 2026) gives Mardell Manor three sentences. It credits the tract to the Mardell Building Company, names it as one of Monta Loma's tracts along with Fairview and Oakwood, and describes the houses as one-story, Midcentury Modern in style, and simpler in design than their neighbors. It counts 234 of them, built from 1955 through 1959.
Those lines aren't independent evidence. The statement's footnote for the Mardell count and dates points to a page on the neighborhood association's website, and its Monta Loma map (Figure 89) is credited to the same association and labeled as showing approximate boundaries. So the city's count and the neighborhood history trace back to one account, and we found no 1950s tract map, permit set or newspaper item that confirms the count. Our Monta Loma Eichler history covers the Fairview tract and the neighborhood's early history.
Who was the Mardell Building Company?
Very little is on record. The city statement and the neighborhood association both use the name Mardell Building Company, and the association calls it "Monta Loma's third builder of contemporaries." Neither names the firm's partners, office, architect or other projects, and we found no record that does.
We also searched the Santa Clara County Archives' County Map Books index, published on the county's open data portal, by map title and by the street names listed on each map. No map in the index carries the Mardell name. The index covers maps recorded through about 1957, so any later Mardell maps would fall outside it.
Two plans and how they were built
A page on the neighborhood association's website, not a city document, is the only detailed source we found on the houses themselves. It describes 234 raised-perimeter contemporaries in two sizes:
1,140 square feet, with three bedrooms and two baths.
1,216 square feet, usually three bedrooms and two baths, sometimes four bedrooms with the dining room of the three-bedroom plan used as the fourth bedroom.
Its comparison table lists the original Mardell features:
Foundation: a raised concrete perimeter foundation, not a slab.
Walls: sheetrock.
Ceilings: wood.
Floors: hardwood. The page says that, unlike Eichlers, Mardells came with hardwood floors.
Heat: forced air.
Garage: two-car.
The same page says the houses are indistinguishable from Eichlers and Mackays "to the casual observer." The city statement puts it differently, calling them somewhat more modest in design.
Another page on the association's website gives a reason for the drywall. It says Eichler's houses were paneled in mahogany, that paneled houses could burn quickly in a fire, and that this led Mackay and Mardell to build their Monta Loma homes with drywall instead. We found no city record that confirms it, so treat it as neighborhood history.
What no source we read describes: the Mardell roof forms, window walls, siding, or any atrium plan. Don't assume a Mardell house has the flat roof or glass walls of an Eichler unless the house itself shows it.
Where Mardell Manor sits
Monta Loma as a whole is bounded by San Antonio Road, Middlefield Road, Rengstorff Avenue and Central Expressway, according to the neighborhood association. The city statement's text doesn't say which streets make up Mardell Manor. Its Figure 89 maps the Eichler, Mackay and Mardell tracts, but the caption calls the boundaries approximate and credits the drawing to the association, not to a recorded survey. Use it as a rough guide, not a legal boundary.
The association's history page says that the Castro Mound, the Ohlone shell mound the city statement describes as once located in Monta Loma, covered parts of Mardell Way, Nita, Dell, Aldean and Betlo. The city statement says the mound was slated for suburban development in 1946, and a 1947 aerial photograph in the statement shows it being leveled.
The same history page refers to "Mardell Manor (the precursor to the Monta Loma neighborhood)" and says its residents called on the city council to forbid the Mayfield Mall development. It says the council approved the mall but required changes, including traffic lights.
The city statement dates the mall to 1966, at San Antonio Road and Alma Street, designed by the architect Albert A. Hoover. It closed in 1984, and by 1987 the building had been converted to Hewlett-Packard's Worldwide Customer Support Operations.
What county parcel records show
We grouped nine streets ourselves: Mardell Way; Aldean, Betlo, Dell, Elka, Nita and Ruth avenues; and Devri and Marjorie courts. The grouping is ours, not a city or county tract boundary. Matching Mountain View's parcel map to the Santa Clara County parcel layer gives 208 parcels on those streets, and the county's parcel records show:
11 from 1954, all on Dell Avenue;
34 from 1955, mostly on Dell Avenue and the two courts;
42 from 1956, mainly on Betlo, Ruth and Elka avenues;
56 from 1958, all on Mardell Way;
60 from 1959, including every parcel with a recorded year on Aldean and Nita avenues;
one from 1961, two from 2021 and two with no year recorded.
No parcel on these streets shows 1957. The 11 parcels listed as 1954 on Dell Avenue are a year earlier than the 1955 start the city and the association give, and the county layer doesn't say who built them; the records we read can't settle whether they are early Mardells or houses by another builder. Treat assessor year-built values as a guide, not a construction record. The count here (208 parcels on nine streets) is not a count of Mardell houses and doesn't confirm or contradict the figure of 234.
How the city treats Mardell houses today
In Mountain View's online zoning layer, 206 of the 208 parcels on those nine streets fall in R1 zoning, with nothing entered in the layer's height overlay or special design overlay fields; the other two, on Nita Avenue, didn't match a zoning area in our check. Elsewhere in the city the same layer enters "h1s" in its height overlay field for some residential areas, so the empty field here means the layer shows no height overlay on these lots. Our Grandmeadow post explains what that code means on a Mountain View tract that has it.
The city statement says no postwar residences in Mountain View are listed in the National Register, the California Register or the Mountain View Register. It also notes that second-story additions to the area's one-story tract houses have been a fairly common change in later decades. Our Monta Loma post covers the city's 2026 preservation ordinance update and what the statement says about additions and eligibility. Rules change, so ask Mountain View's planning division what applies to a specific lot. This is general information, not legal advice.
What to check on a Mardell house
Builder. The city statement places Eichler, Mackay and Mardell tracts in the same neighborhood. The association's page says Eichlers and Mardells both have wood plank ceilings, that Mardells came with hardwood floors and a concrete perimeter foundation where its table lists slabs and radiant heat in steel pipes for the Eichlers, and that Mackays always have painted Celotex ceilings. Our Mackay Homes post covers the Oakwood builder.
Foundation. The association describes a raised perimeter foundation, not a slab. Have the foundation and the area under the floor inspected along with the rest of the house.
Heating. The association's table lists forced air, not radiant floor heat, as the original system. Ask what has been replaced and when.
Additions. Pull the city's permit history. It shows what was approved, including any second story.
Frequently asked questions
Who built Mardell Manor?
The Mardell Building Company, according to both the city's historic context statement and the neighborhood association's history. No record we read names the firm's partners or an architect.
How many Mardell homes are in Monta Loma?
The association counts 234, and the city statement repeats that figure, citing the association. We found no independent count.
Are Mardell houses Eichlers?
No. The city statement and the association credit them to a different company. The association lists raised perimeter foundations, drywall, hardwood floors and forced-air heat for the Mardells, and slab foundations, mahogany wall paneling and radiant heat for the neighboring Eichlers. It says the two can look alike from the street.
Is Mardell Manor in a single-story overlay?
The city's zoning layer shows the parcels on the nine streets we checked as R1 with nothing in its height overlay field. Confirm with the planning division before you design an addition.
Related reading
Eichler and Mid-Century Tracts in Mountain View, Cupertino and Santa Clara
Mackay Homes: What the Records Say About a Mid-Century Builder
More guides on this topic: Mid-Century Modern Architects & Builders
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Curious whether a Monta Loma house is a Mardell, a Mackay or an Eichler? Call or text the Boyenga Team at Compass at (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or contact the Boyenga Team online.
