Eichler in San Francisco: Diamond Heights, Laguna Heights and The Summit

Most people picture Eichlers as single-story houses on flat suburban lots. In San Francisco, Eichler built something different in the early 1960s: split-level townhouses on the slopes of Diamond Heights, high-rise and low-rise apartments in the Western Addition, a 32-story tower on Russian Hill and townhouses in Visitacion Valley. Here’s what the records say about each.

Diamond Heights: the only San Francisco tract

SF Planning’s draft architect biographies list Claude Oakland’s Diamond Heights development for Eichler on Amber Drive, Duncan Street and Amethyst Way, built from 1962 to 1964. An Eichler publication counts about 100 homes in a half-dozen or so models designed for the hillside, many of them split-level and many attached as row houses or paired townhouses. Cameo Way is another Eichler street.

SF Planning prepared a draft historic context statement for Diamond Heights in 2016. That’s a study, not a designation, and we found no landmark or district status for the tract. See our Diamond Heights guide for homes for sale and recent sales.

Laguna Heights, Western Addition

Laguna Heights was built as part of the Western Addition redevelopment. An Eichler publication says the 1960 plan called for three high-rises and six low-rise buildings. Only one tower was built, designed by Jones & Emmons and finished in 1963–64; Claude Oakland’s firm, working with Kinji Imada, designed the low-rise buildings in 1962–63. SF Planning’s biographies date the complex to 1963.

The Summit, 999 Green Street

The Summit on Russian Hill was Eichler’s tallest building: 32 stories, opened in 1964, according to an Eichler publication. SF Planning’s biography of Claude Oakland credits his firm with the interior design in 1963; published accounts name Neill Smith & Associates as the architect of record and Robert Royston for the landscape. It’s the only Eichler building we found on Russian Hill. See our Russian Hill guide.

Geneva Terraces, Visitacion Valley

SF Planning’s biography of Claude Oakland lists the Geneva Terrace Apartments, 1961–64, and an Eichler publication dates the townhouse complex to 1961–65. The high-rise towers built next to it were later demolished; the townhouses remain.

What the city projects meant for the company

Palo Alto’s 2018 Eichler guidelines note that into the 1960s the company also built high-rise apartment buildings in San Francisco, some through the city’s urban renewal programs. Eichler Homes went into bankruptcy in the mid-1960s; sources give 1965, 1966 or 1967. Eichler kept building through J.L. Eichler Associates and Nonpareil Homes until his death in 1974, including Primewood in Sunnyvale.

If you’re buying one

• Check the ownership type. Diamond Heights homes include attached and paired townhouses, and the apartment buildings may be condominiums, cooperatives or rentals. Ask what you’d own and what the association covers.
• Expect slopes. Split-level hillside plans mean stairs, retaining walls and drainage to inspect.
• No historic designation. We found none for any Eichler project in the city, so ordinary San Francisco permit rules apply. Confirm with SF Planning for the parcel.

See every Eichler project on the Peninsula and in San Francisco in our Peninsula and San Francisco Eichler tract index, and read about the architects in the Claude Oakland and Jones & Emmons builder files.

Looking for an Eichler in the city? Call the Boyenga Team at (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606. Commissions are negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.