Eichler Tract:
Green Gables

About Green Gables, Palo Alto

Green Gables is one of Joseph Eichler’s earliest Palo Alto tracts and, with Greenmeadow, one of two Palo Alto Eichler neighborhoods on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1950 to designs by Anshen & Allen, its roughly 60 homes sit on Channing Avenue, Ivy Lane, Greer Road and Wildwood Lane.

Green Gables at a glance

• Built: 1950

• Homes: about 60 (the state listing counts 62; Palo Alto’s guidelines count 63 lots)

• Architects: Anshen & Allen (Robert Anshen and Steve Allen)

• Streets: Channing Avenue, Ivy Lane, Greer Road, Wildwood Lane

• National Register Historic District, listed July 28, 2005

• Single-story overlay: yes

• School district: Palo Alto Unified

The original design

The first homes were single-story, three-bedroom, one-bath plans built post-and-beam on a concrete slab with radiant floor heat and a 16-foot free-span roof. The influence of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian houses shows in the low profile and the glass facing the garden. In December 1950, Architectural Forum named Anshen & Allen’s Eichler work “Subdivision of the Year,” and House Beautiful featured the tract.

Remodeling rules

Green Gables has single-story overlay zoning, so second stories are not allowed. Palo Alto’s 2018 Eichler Design Guidelines add voluntary guidance on rooflines, siding and glass. See our Eichler design guidelines by city.

Read more

• Green Gables Eichlers: A Historic Mid-Century Modern Neighborhood

• Green Gables Eichler Neighborhood: A Mid-Century Modern Gem

• Greer Park, the neighboring Anshen & Allen tract

• All Palo Alto Eichler neighborhoods

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