Modern Living Goes to School

Meet an Eichler neighborhood like no other—a well-kept secret all these years!

It’s a place where neighbors share strong ties, but ties that have nothing to do with their love for glass-walled houses.

The low, rolling hills of Stanford University, not far from the historic main quad, contain about 770 homes built on land owned by the university, with the houses themselves owned by professors and top administrators. Almost 100 of them are Eichlers, mixed with homes in other styles.

Joe Eichler understood that Stanford was a special place, and from the start of his career went out of his way to build there. His homes range from his off-the-shelf models to custom versions of his tract homes to true custom houses to others that can be considered experiments.

The Eichlers on Stanford may not be clustered together as a cohesive neighborhood, but the homes are filled with people who love them.

“I think they’re an extraordinary part of our heritage,” emeritus professor of sociology Dick Scott says of the campus Eichlers. “[They have] really made an impact on the quality of our lives.”

You can visit the Eichlers of Stanford now—through ‘Intellectual Paradise,’ our sneak preview of the fall ’12 CA-Modern magazine.