March 02, 2006
L.A. Eichler Tract Landmarked
A tract of about 100 Eichler houses in Granada Hills was recently granted protection as a historical landmark by the city of Los Angeles. This was done as an interim control to prevent owners from razing or significantly altering the residences' exteriors without prior approval. The tract is in the process of being declared an official City Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ), which will provide the properties with a level of protection.
Read the full article on this subject, including a bit of history, from the Los Angeles Times:
A rousing encore for the Eichlers
By Janet Eastman, Times Staff Writer
When Greg Allen was ready to buy his first home, the place he and his wife would raise their family, he could have chosen a number of architectural styles on almost any street.
But what caught his interest was a light-filled midcentury modern home on the curve of a cul-de-sac in Orange. The single-story had a massive living room outlined in windows that streamed into the backyard so seamlessly that it was hard to know if the dog was inside or out.
From the sofa, he and Holly could supervise the comings and goings of their four children: through the front door, in the kitchen, at their bedroom doors, even off to school through a gate in the back fence.
The house offered the kind of eyes-on parenting that Allen was familiar with: He grew up in a look-alike house right next door, where his parents, who bought it new in 1964, still live. The houses were built by Joseph Eichler, the influential, uncompromising developer and liberal taste-maker to the midcentury middle class.
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