Rare *Time Capsule* Atherton Eichler is now GONE!

 

far right side of the back of the home-roof line has that *Googie* architecture feel!

UPDATE: I now looks as if these were the final photos taken of this home! This incredible, historically significant, time capsule Eichler was indeed bought for lot value and TORN DOWN this year! A huge loss for the mid century modern architectural community. I am so sick of this happening in the Bay Area...

Every once in a while you find a place, or it finds you, which changes your perception of architectural history...

I had this experience last Sunday in an Eichler which was so old & so original I wanted to weep. Honestly, I had an out-of-body experience as I walked through this home!

Architecturally speaking, 16 Irving Avenue is important. Not only is it a shrine, a church, a temple to early Eichler homes, but it is a window into Eichler's early thinking, his early development as a builder. This home is a missing link between Eichler's early influence, his inspiration, Frank Lloyd Wright and what most of us consider the common/for-the-people Eichler which many of us know and love.

16 Irving Avenue was one of only five Eichler homes built in Atherton, in the Lindenwood subdivision. Designed by Ashen & Allen, the Eichlers of the Lindenwood were super homes on large lots, with all of the latest post-war features.  

How's this for Eichler history... the Eichlers lived across the street in Lindenwood- on Irving Avenue- for 14 years!! 16 Irving Avenue (the home for sale) was the only other large, *test case* Eichler Home which was built on this street in Atherton. Lillian Eichler used these early homes to test out what she liked in a modern home. This would heavily influence the homes to come. It was the Eichlers' laboratory!

And, it looks like 16 Irving Avenue was sold by the original or second owner. It has all the hallmarks of an estate sale. Nothing has been changed. No worn out item has been replaced. Sure it has sun damage/termite/dryrot, but it's all original! Mid Century shelving and lights are still installed. It's a time capsule!

After completing the Sunnyvale Manor II subdivision, Eichler was interested in seeing if he could build and sell nicer homes to upper middle class families. Plans, and even brochures, were made to sell a development of 3-4 bedroom Lindenwood homes for $42,500 to $49,500 which, in 1951, was a fortune. They would have been the pricest Eichlers on the Peninsula. The test case Eichlers were built, one of which I just toured, but they did not sell well. Plans were abadoned for Atherton with only these five super homes built.

Flash forward to present day Lindenwood, Atherton. Tech money coming in & mid century homes being torn down. Over-sized French Chateau, Faux Craftsman, and Meditteranean-style homes being plopped down on these serene, leafy, one-acre lots. The home next door, for example, is this overly large, white, *French Colonial* monstrocity which leers into the Eichler's side yard.

The listing realtors did disclose that this homes was an Eichler, BUT also advertised it as a: "Private location and fantastic opportunity to build the home of your dreams in Atherton's sought after Lindenwood neighborhood." 

Sad.

They sold this architecturally significant home as *lot* value! When I saw this Eichler it had two offers *on the table*. One was just accepted on November 17th. Is it too much to ask for an Eichler enthusiast buyer? Probably. I feel very lucky to have photographed 16 Irving Avenue before it was too late.

It makes me sick to accept that this incredibly important home will probably be torn down soon... 

16 Irving Avenue, Atherton  asking $3,495,000   now in escrow

UPDATE: This home closed quickly for $4,500,000!! Looks like a cash buyer, buying a very expensive "lot". Does not look good for this home.

• 5/3, 3,480 sf, 40,533 sf lot (that's right, almost an acre!)
• Extra large Eichler, all original
• Built 1951
• Ashen and Allen designed, with a lot of Joseph Eichler input!
• Early exclusive development
• Eichler himself lived across the street 
• Single garage and carport
• Sweeping driveway and entrance
• Parklike back yard with original trapazoidal pool
• Time capsule house, all original!!

front view- the home is so large and so horizontal that it's not very noticeable from the curb. the lot is immense for a suburban subdivision. shot from the street, with a large section of lot to the right, this is a corner lot. Incredible!

left side with garage and carport

single garage

long & low carport

former owner's vintage Mercedes looks great in the carport

carport has a fiberglass screen, in theory an early version of the glass screens which would become common in the Jones and Emmons Eichlers

view from the entrance walkway. Joseph Eichler's former home is across the street!

front entrance with lots of bullet shaped lights (all in great condition), I believe this color scheme is all original...

early maple door with copper door knob & escutcheon

long hallway to bedroom wing as you look to the left after entering the home. Cork floors look to be original!

step inside the front door & you see a trapazoidal, brick planter. This motif is predominant in the architecture as well. it's repeated throughout the home in accents such as the pool,  planters & sliding door handles. The paneling throughout the home is not mahogany, it looks like oak.

 

I've gone right after the front door & and walked through the kitchen. completely original. a washer/ dryer and white dishwasher were added, but everything else is all 1951! There are extra large, safety glass, rectagular skylights here and in bathrooms. The floor looks like the original sheet linoleum.

 

 

kitchen detail- original Thermador oven & cooktop! This would have been state-of-the-art in '55. Notice how the top of the cabinets & 3/4 wall is glassed in. Cabinets are all painted.

groovy circular patterned sheet linoleum... dark part is my shadow

 

detail- 1951 Thermador oven!

 

tall pantry cabinet detail

 

original ceiling kitchen fan. this gives you a good shot of the naturally stained t&g (throughout the house). I have seen this natural stain on the t&g carried over into other later 1950's Eichlers...

standing in dining area looking back towards kitchen. door is to the livingroom

 

stepping out of the kitchen and into the dining area adjacent, looking towards the family room and back windows... another interior brick planter!

 

heading into the family room- built-in bench which flows through to the fireplace and bbq. bench has early sliding Eichler doors. Notice the interior brick! Very *Wrightian*.

detail of glass windows over corer bench area. First louvered windows I have seen in an Eichler home

fireplace, bbq to the left

detail- interior bbq in family room fireplace

family room, back glass is at an angle

family room- back glass

spectacular *Artdor* jet age aluminum, sliding door handles!

family room- looking back towards fireplace area & dining in distance

family room t&g and beams, original lights too

family room- right side, book shelves and door to living room- dining is in the distance

teak shelving in family room + interior clerestory windows to living room

one of the many vintage sconces still in the home! walls in family room are unstained, wide plank redwood t&g and brick

heading into large livingroom next door, t&g as well as paneling on walls. Built-in cabinets, vintage sconces, & original cork flooring

living room looking back towards the family room door. Not sure what was happening with the floor varnish? The floor is beat, but a miracle it still exists! Back glass on left

living room back glass- view to back yard

heading outside from the living room

on the patio. this is one small slide of the yard. this photo looks somewhat haunted to me...

heading into the ivy and turning around... back of the house

back left detail- family room on left, living room sliders on right

back right detail... living room & bedroom wing

back right

living room sliders with bullet lights and lots of brick ala FLW!

lot on the right side, pool is around the corner.

walking back along the house, shooting from the far right

siting along with back- brick planters & windows- family room in the distance

park-like back yard. I can see why someone spent 60+ years here!

coming around the corner- doors to master. green wall is part of the master bath. this is pretty jarring to the architecture. I wonder if it's an early 1950's addition? 

master bedroom's french doors to side yard

stepping back into the side yard and turing around- that amazing trapazoidal pool in the foreground. Green master bathroom, master doors on far left, more bedrooms on the right

looking to the far right side yard, path goes to other bedrooms... whew! this lot is so big- it's 7-times the size of my Eichler Home's lot!!

kid's bedroom wing

children's wing has its own courtyard/atrium area!

one of the children's bedrooms looking onto that courtyard area

another bedroom off that side yard, courtyard/atrium area. hanging Danish bookshelves are very cool...

several large closets are located outside this bedroom and in front of kid's bath. i love the original flooring, and copper radiant manifold!

kid's bathroom sink. all cabinets match kitchen painted. very early Eichler cabs with beveled pulls. grey laminate couners. all hardware/tile/flooring in the three baths is original!

large bathroom sky light. aluminum & safety glass. rectangular. they are in each bathroom and in the kitchen. They have trap doors, possibly somekind of access panel or crawl space? curious.

down the hall- Master bedroom- view to the side yard

this is the kind of patina/damage that only happens over decades... This home has all the signs of an estate sale. Must have been original or second owners here!

master bath has this huge, built-in dressing table. drawer fronts look like ones that were used into the 60's & 70's...

1951 bath tub & fixtures, almost looks new!

double sinks in Master bath

master bath skylight and beam

going back down the hall, child's bedroom with awesome wall hung shelving! the whole room is made with 3/4 walls! so amazingly cool. + panel and t&g walls, cork floors...i want to live here!

child's bedroom

leaving the home & going back outside- it was a very emotional experience because I knew this home may be torn down.

 

Photographs copyright Suzanne Dunn, The Glass Box

Please do not copy or re-post without permission. Thanks!! 

 Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any realtor or real estate brokerage. I am not a general contractor or home inspector. I am an Eichler homeowner with 15 years of renovation experience. Observations on homes are my own and are made during a walk through viewing. Buyers should obtain their own inspection by a qualified home inspector before purchase.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Monique]

Great article! We actually presented an offer on this property from some Eichler enthusiasts. Our buyer lost but we are working to try to present design ideas to remodel instead of tear down. Our company is founded on the principles of preservation and we agree with your writing.

[David Eichler]

I remember visiting my grandparents when they lived in Lindenwood, in the home that was across the street from this. I have never seen photos of my grandparents' house and my visits were a long time ago, so it is nice to see the photos of this house as a reminder.

By the way, there were other "super" Eichlers, including a couple more in Atherton, but those came later, and were either custom homes or very small developments of only a few homes. I lived in one of these in Atherton, on Encina Avenue, when I was a child. I am guessing it was a Quincy Jones design. I think it is still one of my favorite Eichlers and wonder what has happened to it.

[Suzanne]

@Monique: Many thanks for your kind words. I still hold out hope that someone will save this home. It's such an important part of Eichler history!

[Suzanne]

@David Eichler: Thank you for your comments! I greatly appreciate the additional information.