The Lost Eichlers of the Oakland Hills
Original Sequoyah Hills Eichler Sales Brochure
Although Sequoyah Hills began its life as an Eichler development, only 48 Eichler homes were built here. This relatively small number has earned our area the “lost Eichlers of the Oakland hills” nickname.
While our number may be small, our distinctively modernist Eichlers offer some superb examples of Eichler’s work, including designs by architect Claude Oakland. In addition, many homes in our areas were spared some of the more calamitous remodeling efforts of the ’70s and ’80s which still mark many Peninsula, South Bay, and Contra Costa county Eichlers.
Resources
These links below give an idea of how the more populous Eichler communities view their homes’ aesthetics and cultural history, as well as their unique maintenance needs.
Eichler Network: Home of CA Modern Magazine — proclaims itself to be “THE Eichler site,” and for once the hype is probably accurate. An important source of information and discussion for all Eichler homeowners.
Eichler Homes | California Modern Living — Jerry Ditto, a peninsula real estate agent and one of Design for Living’s authors, offers his perspective on Eichlers; if you own an Eichler, you probably are on his “Eichler Insights” newsletter’s mailing list.
Enter the World of Eichler Design — graceful site detailing a Highlands Eichler in San Mateo.
Eichler Homes of Southern California — an Orange real estate site with useful information and interesting photos. A valuable resource for its collection of scanned articles and photographs from a variety of sources, including Sunset and Metropolitan Home, as well as outside links to relevant online news stories.
Articles
A New Generation Is Delighted by Joseph Eichler’s Homes — SF Gate article, originally printed in the New York Times, December 27, 2000.
Eichler Interview: Race and Housing — This insightful 1964 interview with Joseph Eichler provides background to the developer’s most notable achievement: abandoning race restrictions in the early 1950s, a full decade or more before other developers here (not Alabama, but the Bay Area) began selling homes to Asian-Americans and African-Americans, as well as Anglos. And this at a time when Eichler was the nation’s largest developer in the $20,000 to $25,000 range.
Books
Amazon.com’s entry for the book Eichler Homes: Design for Living (Jerry Ditto, et al, Chronicle Books, 1996)
Amazon.com’s entry for the book Eichler: Modernism Rebuilds the American Dream (Paul Adamson and Marty Abunich, Gibbs Smith, October 1, 2002)
Shopping
1950.com’s “mid-century modern” links — useful for learning about the Eichler style in home design and furnishings.