Atherwood

Atherwood is a subdivision in Redwood City, California, that was built in 1950 by housing developer Joseph Eichler. It was one of Eichler's first developments working with an architect and his first major subdivision in San Mateo County.[1][2] It consists of 64 original single family homes designed by architectural firm Anshen and Allen based on their AA-1 design. The Atherwood subdivision is accessed by Atherwood Avenue off of SR-84 and is located at the border of Atherton and Redwood City.

Atherwood Eichler Subdivision
Project
CompletedNovember 1950
DeveloperEichler Homes
ArchitectAnshen and Allen
Physical features
Major buildings64
Location
Atherwood is located in Northern California
Atherwood
Coordinates: 37.460720°N 122.224254°W / 37.460720; -122.224254
CountryUS
StateCalifornia
CountySan Mateo County
CityRedwood City

Name

The name is a portmanteau from combining parts of Atherton and Redwood City since the subdivision is located on the border of the two cities. The only other use of this name is for an elementary school within the Simi Valley Unified School District.[3]

Butterfly roofs
A house with a butterfly roof in the Atherwood subdivision.
A house with a butterfly roof in the Atherwood subdivision.

The Atherwood subdivision is significant because it is the only architect-designed Eichler subdivision containing butterfly style roofs. While not exclusively featuring this style of roof, Atherwood contains 10 houses with butterfly roofs, it represents a critical number and should be considered as the first housing tract in California to feature this roof style.[4] Often, William Krisel is credited for popularizing the butterfly roof in mid-century modern housing tracts with the 1957 Twin Palms tract (16 with butterfly roofs out of 66 houses total), however Atherwood predates this tract by seven years.[5][6]

Awards

Atherwood was noted as "Subdivision of the Year" by Architectural Forum in December 1950.[7]

References
  1. Marty Arbunich. "Eichler's Early Years: 1949-'50 The First Subdivisions - Page 3". Eichler Network. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  2. Adamson, Paul J. (November 30, 2002). Eichler: Modernism Rebuilds the American Dream. University Of Chicago Press. ISBN 1586851845.
  3. "Atherwood Elementary School". Simi Valley Unified School District. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  4. Dave Weinstein (July 1, 2020). "Why Do People Love Butterfly Roofs?". The CA Modernist Blog. Eichler Network. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  5. Sarah Jane Stone (June 2, 2017). "The Art + History Of The Midcentury Roofline". Atomic Ranch. Engaged Media. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  6. Dave Weinstein. "Return of the Butterflies: After years of hibernation following their mid-century boom, butterfly roofs are spreading their wings once again". Eicher Network. Eichler Network. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  7. "Subdivision of the year". Architectural Forum. New York, NY: Time Inc. December 1950.
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