Joseph Eichler and his companies developed residential communities in California during the postwar period. The broader original Eichler building period extended from approximately 1949 to 1974. This article documents 38 named neighborhoods, tract groups, or small enclaves reported to contain original Eichler houses built at least partly between 1960 and 1969: 37 in California and one in New York.
The number 38 is the number of entries in this inventory, not an official census of all Eichler developments. Sources do not use “community,” “neighborhood,” “tract,” and “addition” consistently. Some entries combine several construction phases; others identify a small group within a larger neighborhood.
“Original Eichler” refers here to a house built by Joseph Eichler’s companies. It does not establish that a house retains its original materials, floor plan, or appearance. A neighborhood entry also does not mean that every house within the surrounding neighborhood was built by Eichler.
The construction periods below are reported development dates. They are not parcel-by-parcel building-permit dates. Where sources differ about the beginning or end of construction, the table uses a broader period.
Source for the overall building period: Eichler Network, About the Eichler Network.
Palo Alto and Sunnyvale
| No. | Community or tract | Location | Reported construction period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greenmeadow No. 3 | Palo Alto | 1961–1962 |
| 2 | Los Arboles, original development | Palo Alto | 1959–1961 |
| 3 | Fairbrae, including Fairbrae Addition | Sunnyvale | Late 1950s–early 1960s |
| 4 | Fairwood | Sunnyvale | 1961–1962 |
| 5 | Rancho Verde, including its addition | Sunnyvale | Early 1960s |
| 6 | Parmer Place | Sunnyvale | 1967 |
| 7 | Rancho Sans Souci | Sunnyvale | 1968 |
| 8 | Primewood | Sunnyvale | Late 1960s–early 1970s |
| 9 | Midtown | Sunnyvale | 1969 |
Palo Alto’s municipal inventory distinguishes Greenmeadow No. 3 from Greenmeadow Nos. 1 and 2, which were developed in 1954–1955. It also distinguishes the original Los Arboles development from Los Arboles Addition No. 2, dated 1974. Only the earlier Los Arboles development is included here.
In Sunnyvale, Fairbrae and its addition are grouped as one entry, as are Rancho Verde and its addition. Fairwood’s later addition is not counted as a separate 1960s development. Published neighborhood guides differ on the precise date range for Primewood, but place its beginning in the late 1960s.
Sources: City of Palo Alto, Eichler Neighborhood Design Guidelines and tract inventory; Sunnyvale neighborhood chronology; additional Sunnyvale tract chronology.
Other Santa Clara County communities
| No. | Community or tract | Location | Reported construction period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Fairgrove, including its addition | Cupertino | 1960–1961 |
| 11 | Fairglen Additions Nos. 1, 2 and 3 | San Jose, Willow Glen area | 1959–1961 |
| 12 | Hudson | San Jose | 1960–1962 |
| 13 | Fairhaven | San Jose | 1962–1963 |
| 14 | Fallen Leaf Park / Clay Drive | Los Altos | Late 1960s |
| 15 | Sereno Foothills | Monte Sereno | 1969–1970 |
| 16 | Eichler Homes of Saratoga / De Havilland tract | Saratoga | 1964–1965 |
The Fairglen additions are grouped as one entry. San Jose’s original Fairglen tract dates to 1957–1959; the additions extend the development into the 1960s. Fairhaven in San Jose is a separate development from Fairhaven in Orange.
Fallen Leaf Park identifies the Los Altos group centered on Clay Drive and nearby Alexander Way. It is separate from San Antonio Court on Parsons Way, which dates to 1974 and is outside this inventory’s date criterion. Sereno Foothills spans 1969 and 1970 and is included because construction began during the 1960s.
Sources: Cupertino Fairgrove tract profile; Eichler Network, San Jose historic tract inventory; Los Altos neighborhood guide; Joseph Eichler project inventory, including Sereno Foothills; Saratoga tract profile.
San Mateo County
| No. | Community or tract | Location | Reported construction period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | Fair Oaks Eichler enclave, Placitas and Encina avenues | Atherton | Around 1960 |
| 18 | Mills Estates | Burlingame | Mid-1960s |
| 19 | San Mateo Highlands | Unincorporated San Mateo County | Mid-1950s–mid-1960s |
| 20 | Bay Vista | Foster City | Mid-1960s |
| 21 | Treasure Isle | Foster City | Mid-1960s |
| 22 | Marina Point | Foster City | Mid-1960s |
The Fair Oaks entry is a small enclave rather than a large subdivision. It is distinct from Eichler’s earlier houses in Atherton’s Lindenwood neighborhood.
San Mateo Highlands was developed in phases across two decades. Foster City’s Eichlers occupy three named neighborhoods. Bay Vista and Treasure Isle include houses built by other developers, so the neighborhood names alone do not establish the builder of an individual property.
Sources: Atherton Eichler guide; Peninsula development overview; San Mateo Eichler guide; Foster City neighborhood guide.
Marin County
| No. | Community or tract | Location | Reported construction period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | Terra Linda North, including the later Santa Margarita section | San Rafael | 1955–1961, in phases |
| 24 | Terra Linda South | San Rafael | 1958–1960 |
| 25 | Upper Lucas Valley | Unincorporated Marin County, San Rafael mailing address | 1962–1966 |
| 26 | Strawberry Point / Harbor Point enclave | Mill Valley area | 1965 |
Terra Linda North includes an earlier 1955–1956 phase and later construction around 1959–1961. The later section near Santa Margarita Park is sometimes described separately as the Santa Margarita Eichlers; it is included within Terra Linda North here.
Upper Lucas Valley is distinct from Marinwood, also called Lower Lucas Valley. The latter’s principal Eichler construction dates to 1957–1958 and is outside the date criterion. Sleepy Hollow’s Eichler enclave dates to the early 1970s and is also excluded.
Sources: Marin construction chronology, NorthBay biz; Eichler Network, Terra Linda construction phases; Eichler Network, Sleepy Hollow history.
East Bay and San Francisco
| No. | Community or tract | Location | Reported construction period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | Greenridge | Castro Valley | Early–mid-1960s |
| 28 | Sequoyah Hills | Oakland | 1965–1966 |
| 29 | Parkwood Estates | Concord | 1963–1964 |
| 30 | Rancho del Diablo / Rancho Diablo | Concord | 1963–1964 |
| 31 | Rancho de los Santos / Rancho Los Santos | Concord | 1963–1964 |
| 32 | Diamond Heights | San Francisco | 1962–1964 |
Concord’s three developments are counted separately. Sources use variations of the names Rancho Diablo and Rancho Los Santos; these variations do not represent additional communities in this inventory.
Diamond Heights is an urban development with split-level and two-story single-family houses. The Glen Park Neighborhoods History Project documents Eichler construction on Amethyst, Amber, and Cameo Way between 1962 and 1964.
Rancho San Miguel in Walnut Creek is not included. Its original Eichler development dates to 1955–1958.
Sources: Joseph Eichler project inventory, East Bay developments; Glen Park Neighborhoods History Project, Diamond Heights; Eichler Network, Rancho San Miguel history.
Southern California and New York
| No. | Community or tract | Location | Reported construction period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | Fairhaven | Orange, California | Beginning 1960 |
| 34 | Fairmeadow | Orange, California | Beginning 1962 |
| 35 | Fairhills | Orange, California | 1964 |
| 36 | Balboa Highlands | Granada Hills, Los Angeles, California | Early–mid-1960s |
| 37 | Conejo Village, including the Expo/West portion | Thousand Oaks, California | 1964–1966 |
| 38 | Chestnut Ridge, three houses from an unfinished subdivision | Rockland County, New York | 1962 |
The City of Orange identifies Fairhaven, Fairmeadow, and Fairhills as three separate Eichler tract developments. Fairmeadow in Orange is distinct from Palo Alto’s earlier Fairmeadow neighborhood.
Conejo Village and the portion marketed as Expo/West are grouped as one entry. Chestnut Ridge is included as a small surviving group from a planned subdivision: three Eichler houses were built, rather than the proposed 216-house development. It is not comparable in size to the California tracts.
Sources: City of Orange, Eichler Design Standards introduction; Southern California development overview; Conejo Village project history; New York Eichler history.
Scope and counting limits
This inventory includes developments that began before 1960 or continued after 1969 when the reported construction period overlaps the 1960s. It therefore does not describe 38 developments built entirely within that decade.
It does not include every community from the full 1949–1974 Eichler building period. Developments confined to the 1950s or 1970s fall outside its scope. It also does not separately count scattered custom houses, apartment buildings, or condominium and cooperative projects.
Stanford contains Eichler houses built over an extended period, including custom designs, but those houses are not treated here as a single conventional tract. Hillsborough likewise contains individual Eichler houses without a designated Eichler tract. Stanford guide; Hillsborough guide.
Municipal surveys and historic district documents provide the strongest tract-level evidence where available. Other entries rely on specialist historical reporting and real-estate neighborhood guides. The list is a sourced compilation of the named developments above; it does not establish an exhaustive nationwide total or the construction history of any individual parcel.