Inventor of the Modern Ranch

Anyone who’s ever wondered what’s ‘modern’ about the ubiquitous California ranch house needs to check out Cliff May, the self-taught designer who helped invent the style starting in the early 1930s.

Daniel Gregory, author of Cliff May and the Modern Ranch House, will discuss this colorful man and his astounding houses—one had a motorized, retractable skylight that opened the entire living area to the sky—at 6 p.m. Thursday, November 8, as part of the Neutra House Architectural Speaker Series.

Gregory’s talk will take place at the Hillview Community Center followed by a 7 p.m. reception next door at the historic Neutra House, both on Hillview Avenue, Los Altos.

May, who’s responsible for more than 1,000 custom homes plus many modern tract houses, designed post-and-beam structures that may have suggested haciendas, but had atrium-like garden rooms and sprawling plans that brought in lots of light.

“You’re more mentally at rest in natural light,” May once said.

For more on Gregory’s talk, click here.