The University Gardens Eichler tract in Palo Alto is the earliest-dated tract in the city's list of Eichler neighborhoods. The city's 2018 Eichler design guidelines date it to 1949–1950, count 63 lots and credit the design to "Joseph Eichler with draftsman Castor," not to an architect. The guidelines' history places it before Eichler hired the architects whose names went on his later Palo Alto tracts. Unlike El Centro Gardens nearby, it has no single-story overlay.
This post covers what city and National Park Service records say about University Gardens, where we think it sits on the parcel map, how its zoning differs from the overlay tract nearby, and what to check on a house there. Where the records leave gaps, we say so. For homes across the city, see our Palo Alto mid-century modern page.
What the city's records say
The guidelines' table of Palo Alto Eichler tracts gives University Gardens the three facts above. A footnote says the lot counts come from city GIS files and don't necessarily match the number of homes. The table gives the draftsman a single name, and we found no record that gives a full name.
On the guidelines' citywide map, University Gardens is tract number 1. It's drawn southwest of El Camino Real, a short distance north of number 2, El Centro Gardens. El Centro Gardens is shaded as part of a single-story overlay. University Gardens isn't.
The guidelines' history chapter tells how it came about. Eichler's company started in 1947 building prefabricated houses, and he "soon brought on a draftsman to develop new house designs that were to be constructed as small tracts." The chapter names University Gardens, "in the southern part of the city," as one of the first Palo Alto neighborhoods built with those designs. It describes wide overhanging eaves, shallow shed roofs and box-like massing. In its words the houses were "identifiably Modernist" but only hinted at the look Eichler became known for.
What the National Park Service documents say
Two National Register documents describe the same step. The Greenmeadow historic district nomination says that in 1949 Eichler hired a draftsman who produced "more stylish but less overtly modern designs for two new subdivisions, in Palo Alto and Menlo Park." Eichler later explained, according to the nomination, that he held off on original architectural designs until he had gained "experience and know-how."
The National Register study of Eichler's San Jose tracts, submitted in 2018, names the two subdivisions: University Gardens "in the Barron Park neighborhood of Palo Alto," and Stanford Gardens in Menlo Park. It says the draftsman was hired "by 1949."
The sources describe this step a little differently, and we don't pick between them:
Dates. The city dates the tract to 1949–1950. Both federal documents date the draftsman's hiring to 1949 and give no date for the tract itself.
Style. The city calls the houses "identifiably Modernist," while the Greenmeadow nomination calls the designs "less overtly modern."
All three put the draftsman's designs before Eichler's architect-designed work, but the dates for that work vary. The Greenmeadow nomination says his first architect-designed developments, by Anshen and Allen, were built in Sunnyvale in 1949, though another passage gives 1950 for "the first architect designs." The San Jose study dates the firm's partnership with Eichler Homes from 1950. Our Eichler Homes company history covers the wider story.
Finding the tract on the parcel map
No record we found lists University Gardens' streets. The guidelines' map, the San Jose study's Barron Park reference and the build years on the city's parcel map point to Josina Avenue, Kendall Avenue and part of Barron Avenue. By our count, in November 2026 the parcel map shows 48 parcels on those three streets, near the mapped tract, with 1949 or 1950 build years:
Josina Avenue: 29 parcels (25 from 1949, 4 from 1950).
Kendall Avenue: 12 parcels (11 from 1949, 1 from 1950).
Barron Avenue: 7 parcels, all from 1949.
That's 15 fewer than the city's 63 lots. Josina Avenue has 34 parcels in all; the other five show build years of 1944, 1961, 2000, 2003 and 2017, and a newer year can mean a replacement house, though the map doesn't say. We read Josina, Kendall and Barron as the core of University Gardens, but no single record we found says so.
Of the 32 parcels in our count with a recorded lot size, 17 are exactly 6,800 square feet, and the largest is about 13,430. For the other 16, the map can't assess a size, citing a creek, flag lot or easement configuration.
The county's online index of recorded maps, which has gaps, has no map titled University Gardens. The closest record we found is Tract No. 533, the "Bol Tract," surveyed in May 1948 and recorded on September 14, 1948. It lists Josina, Barron, La Rosa and Donna avenues, and individual owners rather than Eichler. Its surveyor also surveyed two Sunnyvale tract maps, recorded in 1947 and 1949, that list owners named Eichler. That's a lead, not proof that University Gardens was built on the Bol Tract.
Next door: El Centro Gardens and the "Barron Park" overlay
El Centro Gardens is the city's number 2: 1950, Anshen & Allen, 16 lots. The county index lists Tract No. 714, a resubdivision of Tract No. 455, El Centro Gardens Unit 2, recorded on March 6, 1950, with Eichler Homes Inc. as owner.
El Centro Gardens' overlay goes by a broader name. The city's June 2015 staff report on single-story overlays lists "Barron Park Tract 714 and portions of 4738 (20 lots), Ordinance 4535." The city clerk's ordinance list says Ordinance 4535 passed on December 7, 1998, changing "Barron Park Tract 714, portions of Tract 4738 and Parcel Map 7721" from R-1 to R-1(S). By our count, the parcel map shows 20 parcels in this overlay, matching the report: 16 on La Jennifer Way and El Centro Street, 13 of them with a 1950 build year, and four on Timlott Court, Timlott Lane and San Jude Avenue with build years from 1941 to 1979.
So the overlay called "Barron Park" covers El Centro Gardens, not University Gardens. Check the parcel's zoning rather than going by the name.
Zoning in November 2026: R-1, no overlay
By our count, all 48 parcels are zoned plain R-1, with a historic status of "none." For 32 of them, the parcel map gives a height limit of 30 feet when the roof slope is under 12:12 and 33 feet otherwise. For the other 16, it can't assess one. The state's list of listed historic resources in Santa Clara County, checked in November 2026, has no University Gardens entry.
Without an overlay, a second story is allowed, under its own rules. The city's Two-Story Objective Design Standards, effective February 14, 2025, apply to new two-story homes and to second-story additions of 150 square feet or more, unless the owner chooses the city's Individual Review process instead. Their Section E applies only in Eichler tracts mapped in the 2018 guidelines, and University Gardens is on that map. Section E sets these rules:
A garage or carport may sit forward of the front façade if it's no more than 21 feet wide and 12 feet high, with a roof pitch of 3:12 or less.
The roof can be no more than 22 feet above existing grade. In flood zones, the limit rises half a foot for each foot the base flood elevation is above grade.
Roof pitches are 3:12 or less, in gable, shed, butterfly or flat forms, with 2-foot overhangs on at least half the roof edges.
Walls are clad in vertical board siding (channel, flush, tongue-and-groove or nickel-gap), smooth fiber cement panels or metal panels. Stucco, concrete block and board-form concrete together can cover no more than 30% of the wall surface that isn't glass.
No projecting entry porch.
The full text is in the city's Two-Story Objective Design Standards. Owners can also apply for a single-story overlay, as our overlay guide explains. This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the current rules with the City of Palo Alto's planning division before you design.
Checking a University Gardens house
Start with the parcel report. By our count, 39 of the 48 parcels are in flood zone X, which FEMA describes as moderate or minimal flood hazard. The other nine, all on Josina Avenue, carry the label "X;ACr," which we couldn't decode; ask the city what it means for that lot. Sixteen parcels, 15 of them on Josina, are flagged as near a creek, with a note that work "may require SCVWD review," an abbreviation for the Santa Clara Valley Water District.
Next, work out where the old records are. The city clerk's ordinance list for 1971–1980 records approval of a special annexation election held on November 4, 1975, then a January 1976 fire zone ordinance for "the Territory Annexed to the City of Palo Alto and Commonly Known as 'Barron Park.'" We read the two as the Barron Park annexation, though the election entry doesn't name the area. If University Gardens was in that territory, its early permits may be with Santa Clara County rather than Palo Alto. We didn't find a map of the annexed area, so ask both. Our guide to checking permit history walks through the steps.
Look for the CC&Rs as well. The guidelines say the city doesn't enforce them, though residents may, and that many have been forgotten. The guidelines also note that early tracts such as University Gardens had models with a brick chimney on the front, and that seismic concerns often lead to removing exterior chimneys. A structural engineer can tell you what yours needs.
Frequently asked questions
Who designed University Gardens?
The city's guidelines credit "Joseph Eichler with draftsman Castor," with no architect named. We found no record of the draftsman's full name, and two National Park Service documents mention the draftsman without a name.
Which streets are in University Gardens?
No record we found lists them. We read Josina, Kendall and part of Barron avenues as the core, where by our count 48 parcels show 1949 or 1950 build years.
Does University Gardens have a single-story overlay?
No. The city's 2018 map doesn't shade it, and the parcels we counted are zoned plain R-1. The nearby "Barron Park" overlay covers El Centro Gardens.
Related reading
More guides on this topic: Eichler Neighborhoods & Tract Histories
Thinking about buying or selling in University Gardens? Call or text the Boyenga Team at Compass at (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or contact the Boyenga Team online.
