Ladera's Rare Eichler Homes Pioneered Hillside Modernism

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Located in the oak-studded foothills near Portola Valley, the unincorporated community of Ladera was the site of some of Joseph Eichler's rarest and most experimental homes. Unlike Eichler's more uniform suburban tracts, the hillside setting required a departure from flat, single-level layouts, leading to the construction of about a dozen split-level and two-story Eichler homes tailored to the sloping terrain. These larger, more custom-designed Eichlers emphasized indoor-outdoor living on larger lots and featured amenities like atriums, swimming pools, and built-in appliances.

Why it matters

Ladera was an important early chapter in the legacy of influential midcentury modern architect Joseph Eichler. The homes built here in the early 1950s helped shape the broader story of Eichler's innovative residential designs, as he and his collaborators at Jones & Emmons adapted the Eichler aesthetic to a more challenging hillside setting for the first time.

The details

Eichler began working with the architectural firm Jones & Emmons in 1951 to develop the Ladera community, which was initially envisioned as a 400-home cooperative housing tract. Instead, about two dozen custom and semi-custom Eichler homes were built, primarily along Aliso Way and La Mesa Drive. These larger, more expansive Eichlers featured split-level and two-story designs, as well as amenities like atriums, swimming pools, and built-in appliances - a departure from Eichler's more uniform suburban tracts. The homes were marketed as "a small group of large and luxurious homes" priced between $29,500 and $34,500.

• Ladera was first envisioned in the late 1940s as a 400-home cooperative housing tract.
• In 1951, the site was reimagined as a new residential development that marked a turning point for Eichler and his collaborators at Jones & Emmons.
• Eichler began working with Jones & Emmons in 1951 on the Ladera project, which became an early testing ground for adapting modernist design to sloping terrain.
• The homes in Ladera were built primarily in the early 1950s.