Great Escape: Take a Look at Local Mid-Century Modern Architecture

If you are tired of viewing the "McMansions" taking over your neighborhood or what you deem as uninspiring architecture in the San Fernando Valley, check out "Joseph Eichler and His Architects: The Men Behind Eichler Homes"—the final lecture of the Friends of the Gamble House series in Pasadena on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The lecture will be followed Saturday by a tour of an existing Eichler Mid-Century Modern tract home in the Balboa Highlands community of Granada Hills.

Writer David Weinstein will present this look at how real estate developer  Eichler created these iconic residential subdivisions in the 1950s. He will give an overview of the people who worked with Eichler to create the distinctive tract housing. 

“The focus of the lecture will be on not just the style of these designs, but the personalities that created them,” said Weinstein in a press release. The writer is a regular contributor to CA Modern, a magazine published by the Eichler Network.

A real estate developer active between 1950 and 1974, Eichler oversaw the construction of more than 11,000 homes in California. Many of these homes are grouped in communities; in Southern California, Eichler communities can be found in Orange, Thousand Oaks and Granada Hills. 

As a social progressive of his day, Eichler wanted to create planned inclusive communities that would feature open spaces, parks and community centers; neighborhoods that would welcome anyone regardless of race or religion—a view that set Eichler apart from some of his contemporaries. 

Eichler hired the famed architect Bob Anshen and partner Steven Allen to design the first prototype homes in 1949. These men, according to Weinstein, had strong personalities that influenced their work and working relationships. Eichler employed other well-known architects to work on his residential developments—the San Francisco firm of Claude Oakland and the Los Angeles firm of Jones & Emmons. Eichler continued working on his dream of utopian-esque communities until his death in 1974.

Today, Eichler homes are seeing a revival of interest from many generations that embrace the simple beauty, clean lines and clever openness that these Mid-Century Modern homes offer.  

“They really are works of art,” said Weinstein about Eichler homes. “It’s the subtle touches that make them so special. These homes were not pretentious or showy and there was no wasted space. They were elegant, thoughtful living.” 

“Joseph Eichler and His Architects: The Men Behind Eichler Homes,” Friday, 7:30 p.m., Ahmanson Auditorium, Art Center College of Art and Design, 1700 Lida St., Pasadena. Lecture tickets: $12; free to Friends of the Gamble House (FoGH) members. Tour of Eichler home in Balboa Highlands is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Tour tickets are $45; $35 for FoGH members. Reservations are required. Call 626-793-3334, ext. 52, or visit www.gamblehouse.org.