'Historic' Palo Alto Eichler - Page 2

The Aronsons made a few changes to the model after purchasing it for $150 down on a $12,650 purchase price, including adding the second bath and converting the garage into a recreation room. The essence of the design, Boyenga maintains, was unchanged.

That design, almost identical in form to Anshen and Allen's very first Eichler model, the groundbreaking AA-1, was so striking, in fact, that the house, while it was an Eichler model home, was featured in a 1950 issue of House Beautiful magazine, a copy of which the couple's sons found while cleaning out the house recently.

"Americans have a talent for making a little go along way," gushed the 1950 House Beautiful article about Green Gables. That same year, Architectural Forum magazine lauded Green Gables as part of its 'Subdivision of the Year,' and the development's Anshen and Allen designs were included in an architectural exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Art.

"It's an early model, but it has a lot of the classic architecture that I think it took them [Eichler Homes] a while to define," Boyenga said of the 'courtyard' model's place in the Eichler design evolution. The realtor particularly admires an opaque wall with built-in bookcases that line a hallway from the foyer to the living room, commenting, "It really is cool."

"The house possesses all the things that are iconic about Eichlers," he gushed. Regarding the alterations made long ago by the owners, he observed, "They really understood the value of mid-century modern architecture, and they 'got' it."

So did the committee of Eichler enthusiasts that formed the Eichler 'Historic Quest,' which came together nearly two decades ago and, in 2005, secured National Register status for Green Gables and another Palo Alto tract, Greenmeadow.

Boyenga said the list price for the Aronson house is a bargain for its choice location in town, and is undervalued, especially because of the historic nature of the property.

"Some people would scrape [demolish] the thing, but anyone with any common sense would understand that this is a rare Eichler and truly priceless," he said.

This listing remains a labor of love for Boyenga and his wife and partner in the Boyenga Team, Janelle. "This is the kind of house that, as a 'property nerd,' you really dream of, and get excited about."

This weekend's (March 3 and 4, 2018) open houses for the Aronson house run from 1pm to 4pm each day.