Zeroing in on Thousand Oaks

The new, summer '23 issue of our CA-Modern magazine, which goes into the mail July 15, spotlights the wonderfully preserved 1960s Eichler subdivision in picturesque Thousand Oaks, in Southern California.

Here, 100-plus Eichlers were built in three phases, designed by architects Jones & Emmons and Claude Oakland & Associates. There are more than a dozen designs, with varying rooflines, and both atrium and courtyard models.

For our 'No Place Like Home' feature on Thousand Oaks, covered by yours truly, we interviewed many contented Eichler homeowners living in this tranquil tract. Among them are the Rautenbergs—Phyllis and Gary—professional musicians who have lived in their 1966 A. Quincy Jones design for the past 16 years.

"We like the fact that it's a single-story house," says Gary. "Moving from a two-story home [in nearby Agoura], I had a lot of musical equipment, and music itself, that I was constantly schlepping up and down stairs. Not having to do that here is fantastic."

Part of the Moorpark Symphony and Thousand Oaks Philharmonic, the couple bought their home with one important consideration—they wanted a quiet place to play their music. To be sure, they tested out the sound situation before making an offer, Gary blowing his saxophone at one end of the house, and Phyllis listening from the other. It worked.

"The sound doesn't go through ducts or anything, since we have radiant heat, which we love," explains Phyllis, who also teaches music at local schools, and yoga out of her home studio.

Gary, who plays woodwinds, was practicing his clarinet for an upcoming Philharmonic concert when we spoke. "Its charter," he says "is to provide an opportunity for talented young people to play a concerto with a professional orchestra."

Serving today as a librarian for the Philharmonic, Gary previously worked, for more than 30 years, primarily in video programming for divisions of Time-Warner, Warner Elektra Atlantic, Warner Home Video, and New Line Cinema.