Sunnyvale Manor sits at the start of the Eichler story, and a Sunnyvale Manor Eichler can mean two different things. The first phase, recorded in 1947, was built by Joseph Eichler's early Sunnyvale Building Company before he hired architects. The second phase, Sunnyvale Manor Addition No. 1, was built in 1950 with Anshen & Allen's AA-1 prototype. A National Register study of Eichler's San Jose tracts calls that addition "the first architect-designed Eichler subdivision."
This post follows both phases through the recorded maps, the state and city preservation documents, and Sunnyvale's parcel data. It explains what the AA-1 was, what survives to look for, and why the city's own data doesn't flag these houses as Eichlers. It is architecture and history only. Our Sunnyvale mid-century modern page covers the city's later Eichler tracts.
From prefab dealer to tract builder
Eichler's homebuilding started small. Greenmeadow's National Register nomination says that in 1947 he launched a company selling prefabricated houses to owners of their own lots, then moved into small housing tracts over the next two years. Palo Alto's Eichler design guidelines say the company was first named the Sunnyvale Building Company. The San Jose study says that company built the first phase of the Sunnyvale Manor subdivision.
The county's map index has the paper trail:
Tract No. 371, Sunnyvale Manor. Surveyed in June 1947 and recorded on September 30, 1947, with Joseph L. Eichler and Lillian Eichler listed as owners. Its streets are Bayview, Maude, Arbor, Balsam, Morse, Duane and Cypress avenues.
A 1948 record of survey of "a Portion of the Joseph Eichler Property Being Lots 34 and 35 Sunnyvale Manor," recorded on October 5, 1948. It shows Eichler owning lots inside the tract by then.
Sunnyvale's parcel layer shows 99 lots in Tract 371 today. It dates 42 houses to 1948 and 55 to 1949, with one later rebuild and one 1952 house. By street, the lots break down as Bayview Avenue 24, Duane 17, Morse 15, Balsam 14, Cypress 14, Arbor 11 and Maude 4. The San Jose study places the AA-1 in the second phase, so these first-phase houses appear to predate Eichler's work with architects. Nothing we read describes their design in detail.
The second phase and the AA-1
The second map is Tract No. 647, Sunnyvale Manor Addition No. 1, described as a portion of Lot 12 of the L. L. Morse Subdivision. It was surveyed in June 1949 and recorded on November 7, 1949, with Lillian M. Eichler listed as owner and Duane, Morse, Maple, Arbor and Maude avenues as its streets. The parcel layer shows 51 lots: 26 on Maple Avenue, 13 on Morse, 6 on Arbor and 6 on Duane. Fifty of them are dated 1950.
Three preservation documents tie this phase to Anshen & Allen's first Eichler design:
The San Jose study says the firm developed the AA-1 prototype "for the second phase of the Sunnyvale Manor subdivision." It also says Claude Oakland, who joined the firm in 1950, worked on the design of Sunnyvale Manor Addition.
Palo Alto's guidelines say the AA-1 was the basis for houses in several 1950 subdivisions, including Sunnyvale Manor. They reproduce an AA-1 floor plan captioned "from Sunnyvale Manor, 1950."
The Green Gables National Register nomination says Robert Allen's AA-1 went on the market in Sunnyvale in early 1950, in a subdivision of fifty-one houses whose name the authors didn't know.
The 51 lots in Tract 647 match that count, which makes Sunnyvale Manor Addition No. 1 the likely unnamed subdivision. That link is our reading of the records, not a statement in any one of them.
One date conflict: Greenmeadow's nomination says Eichler's first Anshen & Allen developments were built in Sunnyvale in 1949. The Addition's map was recorded in November 1949, while the county dates its houses and the Green Gables nomination dates the AA-1 sales to 1950. Construction may have started in late 1949, but we haven't found a record that confirms it.
What the AA-1 was
The documents describe the prototype in some detail:
T-shaped plan. A living-dining wing under a higher, low-sloped roof, and a separate wing for bedrooms and garage under a lower roof (San Jose study).
Glass to a private patio. Full-height glass doors from the living-dining wing to a patio, with full-height glass along part of the rear wall (San Jose study and Palo Alto guidelines).
Post-and-beam framing under a largely flat roof, with an attached garage or carport and the living and dining rooms combined at the center (Palo Alto guidelines).
Size. The 1950 plans had three bedrooms and about 1,200 square feet, though the amount of glass made them feel larger (Palo Alto guidelines).
Green Gables, a sister 1950 tract built from AA-1 variations, adds a few details from its nomination: combination flat and shed roofs, an open dining-kitchen-living space under a 16-foot free-span roof, radiant heat as standard, and horizontal redwood board siding with matching garage doors. Treat those as likely but unconfirmed for Sunnyvale Manor, since no Sunnyvale-specific survey describes the houses. Our Anshen & Allen page and Anshen & Allen floor plans show how the firm's Eichler designs developed from there.
County data fits a modest original house. Of the 50 houses in Tract 647 dated 1950, 25 are recorded at exactly 1,044 square feet and the other 25 are larger, up to about 2,300. Of the 51 lots, 39 are recorded with three bedrooms. The larger sizes and the four- and five-bedroom records may reflect later additions.
Why the city's data doesn't flag them as Eichlers
Sunnyvale's parcel layer has an Eichler flag, and it marks hundreds of lots in the city's later tracts. It marks none of the 99 lots in Tract 371 or the 51 in Tract 647. Both tracts are zoned R-0 today, apart from a few R-3 lots in Tract 371, with no single-story combining district.
So a house on Maple Avenue may come from Eichler's first architect-designed subdivision and still not show up as an Eichler in a city search. If you own or are researching a house here, ask Sunnyvale's planning division whether its Eichler Design Guidelines (adopted in 2009) apply to that lot before planning exterior changes. A June 2020 staff report says the city folded those guidelines into one consolidated design guidelines document with no substantive changes, and that staff were starting a review to make the residential standards objective enough to meet state law, so ask for the current version.
What to look for on the street
The T. A taller living wing with a lower bedroom-and-garage wing beside it is the AA-1's basic massing.
Roof planes. Low flat or shed roofs at two heights, the higher one over the living-dining wing.
Rear glass. Full-height glass to the back patio, often hidden from the street.
Size and additions. Original houses are small, so compare the footprint and roof heights to spot additions.
Frequently asked questions
Is Sunnyvale Manor an Eichler tract?
Both phases are tied to Eichler. A National Register study of Eichler's San Jose tracts says his Sunnyvale Building Company built the first phase (Tract 371, 1947 map). The second phase, Sunnyvale Manor Addition No. 1 (Tract 647, 1950 houses), used Anshen & Allen's AA-1 design.
What was the AA-1?
Anshen & Allen's first Eichler prototype from 1950. It had a T-shaped plan with a higher living-dining wing opening through full-height glass to a private patio, and a lower wing for bedrooms and garage. Variations of it were used in Eichler's other 1950 subdivisions.
Why aren't these houses flagged as Eichlers in Sunnyvale's data?
We don't know the city's reasoning. Its parcel layer marks Eichler lots in later tracts but not in either Sunnyvale Manor map, so check with the planning division about which rules apply.
Related reading
Primewood Eichler History: Sunnyvale's Late Steep-Gable Tract
Greer Park Eichler History: Palo Alto's 1950 Anshen & Allen Tract
Researching an early Sunnyvale Manor house? Call or text the Boyenga Team at Compass at (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or contact the Boyenga Team online.
