110 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM THE ESSENCE OF EICHLER Just as Monique’s Sunnyvale drive altered her course, so a single move changed Joseph Eichler’s life trajectory. From 19431945, Eichler and his family rented the Hillsborough home that Frank Lloyd Wright designed for Sidney Bazet. Its clean lines, light-filled rooms, radiant heating and indooroutdoor flow inspired Eichler’s 1949 launch of the Sunnyvale Building Company, which envisioned innovative-yet-affordable suburban homes. Soon, Eichler properties sprouted among South Bay and Peninsula orchards and hills, and beyond. “Why buy a ‘Model T’ home when you can get so much house for so little!” enticed a 1951 Eichler ad. Photo-laced articles and ads boosted sales of these intentionally middle-class “California Modern” dwellings, as each year brought larger floor plans and more design enhancements. EYESORE OR EDEN? Heather Rarden lives in San Mateo Highlands, Eichler’s largest subdivision. “When I first started dating [my husband] Mark,” she recalls, “he brought me here and said, ‘This is a very special neighborhood.’” Um. No. The “boring look from the front—straight lines, flat roofs” echoed the small, dark Navy base houses Heather had grown up in. But the “unassuming” Signature Eichler Features + Exposed posts and beams + Globe lights + Skylights + Home level with the ground, no steps up + Natural, accessible materials: wood, steel, concrete + Mahogany paneling + Formica counters in kitchens and baths + Open floor plans in the common areas + Radiant heat, coiled pipes in concrete slabs, warmth from the floor up + Floor-to-ceiling glass walls + Cork flooring + Atriums in some models + A-framed roofs + Clean lines Love at First Eich PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF DENNIS MAYER
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