Eichlers of Shangri-La - Page 3

Even in Shangri-La, death and disease do come, but here they come with comfort and have, in fact, brought people together. Betty Toole says that after Phillip Perloff's late wife, Dorothee, suffered a stroke, neighbors started having group dinners "to cheer them up."

"When there's a loss in the neighborhood, when Dorothee Perloff died, we were all so bereft," says original owner Susan Kolb. "We all take care of everybody." Dr. Dorothee Perloff, who had been head of the hypertension clinic at the University of California, was world-renowned.

"When Judy died, I mean, everybody loved her," Ron Barr says of his late wife. "She had been here for such a long time. Even the new people came in. They made sure I was OK and brought down food."

Judy had been "a pioneer in aerobics and exercise" who taught for decades at the nearby Strawberry Recreation Center, Ron says. "She knew the names of everybody who had ever taken a class from her. She knew their children's name; and some of them, if not many, she knew their grandchildren's names. And she knew the dogs' names too."

Architect Claude Oakland designed most of the 13 homes of Harbor Point, Jones & Emmons as many as three. The homes have, largely, remained unscathed by the depredations of time and taste, on the exterior at least. Five are original Eichler two-story or split-level homes, designed for challenging sites. These include one that is hidden beneath a long driveway on Great Circle.

The last home to sell, in 2017, went for just under $4 million.

Most unique is Betty Toole's two-story home. Unlike Eichler two-story homes with similar plans, where the double-height living space is shaped by an angled gable, Betty's house is completely rectangular, which makes the living area and the master bedroom that opens onto it, with no separating wall, feel magnificently spacious. Betty uses the space to show off her art collection.

It's notable that the homes of some original and early buyers, including Avril, Betty, and Phillip, are almost entirely intact, complete with paneled walls and original kitchens.

One home, Ron Barr's, has an added partial second story. At least two other homes have had significant remodeling. But their lots are so large, the terrain so varied, and vegetation so thick that privacy is not a concern.

Views are, though. "Each one of us has an entirely different view," Betty notes: San Francisco and Sausalito, Mt. Tamalpais. Neighbors trim trees to preserve their neighbors' sightlines.

Several of the lots extend into Richardson Bay, and some homes have steep walkways that lead to a small beach that is exposed at low tide. Then, people can walk from their homes along the beach to 'the Spit,' an area of newer homes with a popular shoreline path.

Just past the Spit is a wildlife sanctuary inhabited by harbor seals, and thus off limits to people.

Several of the homes have direct access to the Bay. Alex Kypriadis and Miriam Connaughton, who have one son, did a major remodel of their home on Great Circle, and also re-landscaped, in part to open the home to the Bay.

"When we first moved in, there were two very big eucalyptus trees, just in front of the fence, that basically obscured the whole view of the bay," Alex says.