Joseph Eichler: Difference between revisions
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'''Joseph Eichler''' (1900–1974) was a [[California]]-based, [[post-war]] residential [[real estate developer]] known for building homes in the [[Modernism|Modernist]] style. Between 1950 and 1974, his company, Eichler Homes, built over 11,000 homes in [[Northern California]] and three communities in [[Southern California]], along with three homes in [[Chestnut Ridge, New York|Chestnut Ridge]], [[New York]], which came to be known as '''Eichlers'''. During this period, Eichler became one of the nation's most influential builders of modern homes. The [[San Francisco Bay Area]] Eichlers are mostly in [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]], [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]], [[Marin County, California|Marin County]], the [[East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)|East Bay]], [[San Mateo County, California|San Mateo County]], [[Palo Alto, California|Palo Alto]], [[Sunnyvale, California|Sunnyvale]] and [[San Jose, California|San Jose]]. The Southern California Eichler communities are in [[Orange, California|Orange]], [[Thousand Oaks, California|Thousand Oaks]], and [[Granada Hills, Los Angeles, California|Granada Hills]]. The largest contiguous Eichler development is [[San Mateo Highlands|The Highlands]] in San Mateo, built between 1956 and 1964. |
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Unlike many developers of the day, Joseph Eichler was a social visionary and commissioned designs primarily for middle-class Americans. One of his stated aims was to construct inclusive and diverse [[New town|planned communities]], ideally featuring integrated parks and [[Community centre|community centers]]. Eichler, unlike most builders at the time, established a non-discrimination policy and offered homes for sale to anyone of any religion or race. In 1958, he resigned from the [[National Association of Home Builders]] when they refused to support a non-discrimination policy. |
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Eichler used well-known architects to design both the site plans and the homes themselves. He hired the respected architect and [[Frank Lloyd Wright|Wright]] disciple Robert Anshen of [[Anshen & Allen]] to design the initial Eichlers, and the first prototypes were built in 1949. In later years, other Eichler homes by other architects emerged, including homes designed by the San Francisco firm Claude Oakland & Associates, the [[Los Angeles]] firm of Jones & Emmons, [[A. Quincy Jones]], and [[Raphael Soriano]]. |
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Eichler homes are from a branch of [[Modern architecture|Modernist architecture]] that has come to be known as "California Modern", and typically feature glass walls, [[post-and-beam]] construction and open floorplans in a style indebted to [[Mies van der Rohe]] and [[Frank Lloyd Wright]]. Eichler exteriors featured flat and/or low-sloping [[A-Frame]]d roofs, vertical 2" pattern wood siding, and spartan facades with clean geometric lines. One of Eichler's signature concepts was to "Bring the Outside In", achieved via [[skylight (window)|skylights]] and floor-to-ceiling glass windows with glass transoms looking out on protected gardens, patios, and pools. The homes had numerous unorthodox and innovative features, including post-and-beam construction, [[tongue and groove]] decking for the roof, [[concrete slab]] floors with integral [[radiant heating]], sliding doors and cabinets with sliding doors, and a standard second bathroom located in the master bedroom. Later models introduced the famous Eichler [[Atrium (architecture)|atriums]], an entrance foyer designed to further advance the Eichler concept of integrating outdoor and indoor spaces. |
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Eichler homes were airy and modern in comparison to most of the mass-produced, middle-class, postwar homes being built in the 1950s. At first, potential home buyers (many of whom were war-weary ex-servicemen seeking convention rather than innovation), proved resistant to the new homes, and Eichler faced competition from other developers who used elements of Eichler homes in watered-down, more conventional designs later called Eichler-esque. Eichler homes never achieved large profits for their creator. |
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Eichler also built semi-custom designs for individual clients by commission. As a result of soaring land prices in the mid-1960s urban redevelopment projects became popular, and Eichler began building low- and high-rise redevelopment projects in [[San Francisco]]'s [[Western Addition]] and [[Hunters Point (San Francisco)|Bayview]], luxury high-rises and clustered housing on [[Russian Hill]] and [[Diamond Heights, San Francisco, California|Diamond Heights]], as well as the trendsetting [[co-op America|co-op]] communities Pomeroy Green and Pomeroy West in [[Santa Clara, California|Santa Clara]]. These large projects began to overextend the company, and by the mid-1960s, Eichler Homes was in financial trouble. The company filed for bankruptcy in 1967. |
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==Media== |
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* The Parr family home in the [[Pixar]] animated feature ''[[The Incredibles]]'' appears to be an Alexander home—another tract home development similar to Eichlers. |
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* Eichler houses in Orange, California are used to project a very stylistic look in the 2006 independent film ''[[Another Gay Movie]]''. |
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* The neighborhood seen in the 2008 film ''[[Speed Racer (film)|Speed Racer]]'' includes a number of digitally-recreated Eichler houses. |
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==Eichler neighborhoods== |
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* [[Lucas Valley]] and Marinwood, in [[Marin County]], California |
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* [[San Mateo Highlands|San Mateo Highlands, San Mateo County, California]] |
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* [[Rancho San Miguel]] in [[Walnut Creek, California]]—A neighborhood with more than 300 Eichler homes. |
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* Fairgrove Tract in [[Cupertino]], California has 229 homes built in 1960–61, and is where basketball player [[Kurt Rambis]] grew up. |
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* Fairglen Tract in the [[Willow Glen]] neighborhood of [[San Jose, California]]. |
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* Midtown [[Palo Alto, California]] has many Eichlers. |
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* South Land Park and South Land Park Terrace are neighborhoods in Sacramento, California that have many Eichler's; there's even a street named Eichler. |
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* Fairhven - [[Orange, California]] has around 140 Eichler homes. |
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==References== |
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{{No footnotes|article|date=April 2009}} |
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*{{cite book |
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| last = Adamson |
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| first = Paul |
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| coauthors = Marty Arbunich, Ernest Braun (photographer) |
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| title = Eichler: Modernism Rebuilds the American Dream |
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| publisher = Gibbs Smith Publishers |
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| location = Layton, Utah |
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| year = 2002 |
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| isbn = 1-58685-184-5}} |
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*{{cite journal |
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| last = Adamson |
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| first = Paul |
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| title = California modernism and the Eichler homes |
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| journal = The Journal of Architecture |
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| volume = 6 |
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| issue = no. 1 |
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| pages = 1–25 |
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| month = March | year = 2001 |
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| doi = 10.1080/13602360010024804}} |
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*{{cite book |
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| last = Ditto |
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| first = Jerry |
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| coauthors = Lanning Stern, Marvin Wax (photographer) |
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| title = Design for Living: Eichler Homes |
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| publisher = Chronicle Books |
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| location = San Francisco |
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| year = 1995 |
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| isbn = 0-8118-0846-7}} |
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*{{Cite news |
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| last = Jacobs |
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| first = Karrie |
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| title = Saving the Tract House |
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| newspaper = [[The New York Times Magazine]] |
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| date = May 15, 2005 |
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| url = http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/15/magazine/15TRACT.html |
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| accessdate = December 26, 2009}} |
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==External links== |
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* [http://www.eichlernetwork.com/ENHist.html History from Eichler Network] |
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* [http://www.flickr.com/groups/eichler/ Eichler Homes Group & Photos on Flickr] |
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* [http://www.balboahighlands.com/ Balboa Highlands]—Eichlers in Los Angeles, California |
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* [http://www.lottaliving.com/bb/ Eichler and Mid Century Modern home discussion board] |
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* [http://www.eichlersocal.com/ Eichlers in Southern California] |
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* [http://totheweb.com/eichler/index.html Eichler Design]—homeowner's personal site |
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* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvT-keAxwVs TV commercial featuring an Eichler home] |
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<!--Wikipedia discourages commercial links, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:EL--> |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Eichler, Joseph}} |
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[[Category:American businesspeople]] |
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[[Category:American architecture]] |
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[[Category:1900 births]] |
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[[Category:1974 deaths]] |
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[[Category:Businesspeople in real estate]] |
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[[nl:Eichler]] |
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Revision as of 16:59, 13 May 2010
what a sexy beast