San Mateo Highlands Eichler History: The Hillside Tract and the X-100
The San Mateo Highlands, Eichler's hillside tract begun in 1955: its ridge-top setting, the steel X-100, the architects linked to it and what to know about hillside Eichlers.
Sunnyvale Manor Eichler History: Where the AA-1 Prototype Began
Sunnyvale Manor's two phases: Eichler's 1947 Sunnyvale Building Company tract and the 1950 addition that introduced Anshen & Allen's AA-1 prototype.
Primewood Eichler History: Sunnyvale's Late Steep-Gable Tract
Primewood, Sunnyvale: a 35-house Eichler tract from J. L. Eichler Associates, with glass-filled gables, twin-cottage models and a 2017 single-story district.
Fairbrae Eichler History: Sunnyvale's 1958–1961 Tracts
Fairbrae, Sunnyvale: the 1958–1961 Eichler tracts tract by tract, their street layout, what county records show about the houses, and the 2016–2018 single-story districts.
Royal Manor Eichler History: Reading Palo Alto's 1957–58 Tract
What the public record says about Royal Manor, Palo Alto's 1957–1958 Eichler tract: its map, the 2015–2016 single-story overlay request, flood rules and house types.
Charleston Meadow Eichler History: Palo Alto's Anshen & Allen Tract
Charleston Meadow, Palo Alto's 1950–1951 Anshen & Allen Eichler tract: its two recorded units, original plan features, Eichler's first control committee and today's rules.
Greer Park Eichler History: Palo Alto's 1950 Anshen & Allen Tract
Greer Park, one of Eichler's 1950 'Subdivision of the Year' tracts: its Seale Tract map, three circle streets, Anshen & Allen design roots and overlay rules.
Fairmeadow Eichler Tract: The Story of Palo Alto's Circle Streets
Fairmeadow, Palo Alto's 'Circles': how the 1951–1954 Eichler tract was mapped and built ring by ring, who designed it, and what original houses show.
Greenmeadow Eichler History: Palo Alto's Jones & Emmons Tract
How Jones & Emmons designed Greenmeadow, Palo Alto's 1954–55 Eichler historic district: six models, a pooled community center, original interiors and today's rules.
How to Date a House: A Field Guide to Mid-Century Features
A buyer's field guide to dating a postwar California house by its windows, garage doors, roofing and plan, with an Eichler timeline and the records to check first.
Mid-Century Modern ADU: Adding a Unit Without Fighting the House
What California ADU law allows on a single-family lot, why a conversion often fits a mid-century house better, and how to design a detached unit that respects the original architecture.
Prop 19 Inherited Home Rules: A Guide for Heirs of Mid-Century Houses
When a long-held mid-century house passes to a child, Prop 19 decides whether the low tax base survives. The conditions, the value cap, filing deadlines and common heir situations.
Sell a House As Is in California: Original Mid-Century Homes
Selling as is changes what you repair, not what you disclose. The California rules that apply to 1950s and 1960s houses, and a simple way to sort fix, credit and leave.
Pricing an Architectural Home When the Comparables Don't Match
A method for pricing a mid-century or architect-designed home when comparable sales don't line up, built on Fannie Mae's appraisal rules, quality ratings and the reconsideration of value process.
How to Check Permit History on a Mid-Century Modern Home
Where permit records for Bay Area mid-century homes live, how to search them step by step, how to request original plans, and what to do when the house and the records don't match.
Mid-Century Modern Terms: A Glossary for Buyers and Owners
Plain-language definitions of the mid-century modern terms in listings, inspection reports, city guidelines and historic surveys, with links to deeper pages.
Mid-Century Modern Design Principles: Overhangs, Orientation and Glass
Deep overhangs, careful siting, closed fronts, open backs and planned landscapes: how Eichler-era houses were designed for the California sun, and how to update them.
How to Read a Mid-Century Floor Plan Before You Tour
Find the original model, then read the zones, the shape, the glass and the slab. A six-step method for reading an Eichler or post-and-beam floor plan before a tour.
Eichler Carports, Entry Courts and Blank Street Walls Explained
The closed-looking front of an Eichler is deliberate. How carports, garages, entry courts and fences shape the street side, and what the records say about changing them.
Mid-Century Tract Homes vs. Custom Moderns: What Buyers Should Know
Tract moderns came as sets of models; custom moderns were drawn for one lot. How to tell them apart and why it matters for research, historic value, rules and remodels.