builder filesfile 27 of 57Eichler architects from 1951boyenga team at compass
Jones & Emmons homes
A. Quincy Jones and Frederick Emmons, partners in Los Angeles from about 1950 to 1969, began designing for Joseph Eichler in 1951 with the Ladera homes in Portola Valley. The Greenmeadow National Register nomination credits them with about 5,000 of Eichler’s 11,000 California homes, including Greenmeadow itself, many Palo Alto tracts and the X-100 steel house. Here’s where they are, how to spot one and what they sell for.
- architects
- Jones & Emmons, Los Angeles
- partners
- A. Quincy Jones (1913–1979) and Frederick Emmons (1907–1999)
- partnership
- about 1950–1969
- first Eichler tract
- Ladera, Portola Valley, 1951
- honor
- AIA Architecture Firm Award, 1969
- book
- Builders’ Homes for Better Living (1957)
- listings say
- “designed by Jones & Emmons”
- sales on record · live…
- median $/sq ft, last 2 yrs…
- for sale now · live…
- Eichler homes credited to them, per the Greenmeadow nominationabout 5,000
where they are
Where their Eichlers are
From National Register nominations, Palo Alto’s Eichler guidelines and the Eichler Network, a specialist magazine; listing-only credits are marked.
| tract | city | years | homes | notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ladera | Portola Valley | 1951 | about 25 | Eichler’s first Jones & Emmons homes and his first split-level and two-level designs, on Aliso Way and La Mesa Dr, per the Greenmeadow nomination and the Eichler Network. |
| Greenmeadow | Palo Alto | 1954–1955 | 243 | A National Register district since 2005, with a community center, pool and park and landscaping by Thomas Church; buyers chose among six models. |
| Other Palo Alto tracts | Palo Alto | 1951–1961 | — | Palo Alto’s Eichler guidelines credit them with Charleston Gardens, Triple El, Channing Park No. 3, Edgewood and Garland Park, and, with Anshen & Allen, Walnut Grove, Channing Park and Los Arboles. |
| X-100 steel house | San Mateo Highlands | 1956 | 1 | An experimental steel-frame model home for Eichler, listed on the National Register in 2016. |
| Fairglen Additions | San Jose | 1959–1961 | 218 | A National Register district designed first by Anshen & Allen and Jones & Emmons and completed by Claude Oakland’s firm, per the nomination. |
| 66 Cleary Court | San Francisco | 1963–1964 | 1 tower | The only tower built at Eichler’s Laguna Heights; the low-rises beside it are Claude Oakland’s, per the Eichler Network. |
| Sunnyvale and San Jose listings | Sunnyvale, San Jose | 1960s (listings) | — | Listings credit them with carport and twin-gable atrium models on Kingfisher Way, Maraschino Dr, McIntosh Ave and S Mary Ave in Sunnyvale and on Mossbrook Ave and Student Ln in San Jose; we couldn’t confirm the tracts. |
Palo Alto’s table counts lots rather than homes, and other cities haven’t published architect-by-tract lists, so many listing credits stay leads.
how to spot one
How to spot a Jones & Emmons Eichler
From the Greenmeadow nomination and the Eichler Network.
- split-level
Split and two-level Eichlers
Their 1951 Ladera homes were Eichler’s first split-level and two-level designs.
- court
Walled front courts
Greenmeadow’s masonry-walled front courts allude to the atrium that came later, per the nomination; a 1955 Jones & Emmons plan led to the larger atrium plans of 1957–59, per the Eichler Network.
- garage
Two-car garages and low roofs
Greenmeadow houses average about 1,600 sq ft, with radiant heat, two-car garages and flat or low-pitched roofs without attics, per the nomination.
- planning
Shared parks
Jones traded slightly smaller lots for a shared community center and park at Greenmeadow, per the nomination.
- myth check
Who invented the atrium?
Not Jones & Emmons alone: an Anshen & Allen court plan dates to 1951, and Eichler adopted the atrium as a signature in 1958, per the Eichler Network.
the sales ledger
Every recorded Jones & Emmons sale
Each dot is a sale whose listing names Jones & Emmons, A. Quincy Jones or Frederick Emmons, mostly in Sunnyvale, San Jose and Palo Alto. Hover a dot for the address, date and price.
- sales on record…
- median price…
- median $ per sq ft…
- latest sale…
one recorded salemedian for the yearprice per sq ft = sale price ÷ listed living area
| sold | address | price | $/sq ft | bd / ba | sq ft |
|---|
Some listings guess the architect, and most of their Eichlers sell without the firm’s name, so treat each credit as a lead to confirm. Sales come from the MLS records available to us and include every sold listing whose description names the builder, so a few homes may be labeled by the listing agent rather than confirmed from tract records. Sold data is shown with the listing brokerage. Price per square foot uses the living area in the listing. Ask us for a full comparable-sales report on any address.
on the market
For sale now
Active listings whose description names Jones & Emmons or A. Quincy Jones.
Checking active listings…
owning one today
Owning one today
- National RegisterGreenmeadow in Palo Alto and the Fairglen Additions in San Jose are National Register districts, and the X-100 is individually listed.
- Eichler guidelinesPalo Alto’s Eichler guidelines are voluntary, but Greenmeadow and Los Arboles have single-story overlays; Sunnyvale has its own Eichler guidelines.
- Eichler-era systemsRadiant slab heat, low-slope roofs, single-pane glass walls and possible asbestos in older materials call for specialist inspections. Our Inspection Decoder covers what to order.
- 66 Cleary CourtFor units in the tower, ask for the HOA budget, reserve study and recent building inspection reports.
the nerd check
Buying or selling one
What we check when you buy
- Confirm the architectWe match the house to its tract and the original plans, since listings often guess the architect.
- Permits and historyWe check the permit history for additions and conversions before you plan a remodel.
- InspectionsRoof, foundation and systems matched to the home’s age. Our Inspection Decoder covers what to order.
- The right comparablesWe compare against similar homes in the same neighborhood first.
How we market one when you sell
- Document the designA documented Jones & Emmons model is part of the value; we gather the tract records that prove it.
- Photograph the planBeams, glass and the court or atrium, shot to show the design.
- Prep with a planOur Prep Lab budgets repairs and refresh before you list.
- Price from real salesWe price from recent sales of similar homes nearby.
questions
Questions we hear
Who were Jones & Emmons?
A. Quincy Jones (1913–1979) and Frederick Emmons (1907–1999), Los Angeles architects whose partnership ran from about 1950 until Emmons retired in 1969. They designed for Eichler from 1951 and won the AIA’s Architecture Firm Award in 1969.
How many Eichlers did they design?
About 5,000 of Eichler’s 11,000 California homes, per the Greenmeadow National Register nomination.
Which local tracts are theirs?
Ladera in Portola Valley, Greenmeadow and several other Palo Alto tracts, the X-100 in the San Mateo Highlands and, with Anshen & Allen and Claude Oakland, the Fairglen Additions in San Jose.
How do I confirm a Jones & Emmons Eichler?
Match the house to its tract. The National Register nominations and Palo Alto’s guidelines name tract architects, and A. Quincy Jones’s papers are at UCLA.
sources
Sources
National Register nominations, Palo Alto’s Eichler guidelines, the AIA, UCLA’s archive and the Eichler Network, checked October 2026.
- Online Archive of California: A. Quincy Jones papers (UCLA)His career, partnership and awardsoac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf0j49n6wn/
- City of Palo Alto: Greenmeadow National Register nominationGreenmeadow, Ladera and the 5,000-home figurewww.paloalto.gov/civicax/filebank/documents/61601
- City of Palo Alto: Eichler Neighborhood Design Guidelines (2018 draft)Palo Alto tracts by architectwww.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/v/1/planning-amp-development-services/historic-preservation/eichler-guidelines-final-revised-markup-reduced.pdf
- California State Parks: Fairglen Additions nomination (draft)San Jose’s Fairglen Additionsdemo2.parks.ca.gov/pages/1067/files/CA_Santa%20Clara_San%20Jose%20Housing%20Tracts%20of%20Joseph%20Eichler%20MPD_Fairglen%20Additions_DRAFT.pdf
- American Institute of Architects: Architecture Firm AwardJones & Emmons, 1969www.aia.org/design-excellence/awards/architecture-firm-award
- Eichler Network: Rare Flair in LaderaLadera (secondary source)www.eichlernetwork.com/article/rare-flair-ladera
- Eichler Network: City on a Hill66 Cleary Court (secondary source)www.eichlernetwork.com/article/city-hill
builder files
Every builder file, by era
Bars show the years each builder was building here. See all builders or the home styles field guide.
- Fernando Nelson1880–1920s
- Ernest Coxhead1890–1930s
- Willis Polk1890s–1920s
- Frank Delos Wolfe1892–1926
- Henry Gutterson1914–1954
- Gellert (Sunstream)1922–1972
- Birge Clark1922–1970s
- Stoneson1920s–1960s
- Doelger1927–1960s
- McKeon1927–early 1970s
- Gardner Dailey1930s–1960s
- William Wurster1930s–1960s
- Rousseau1931–1933
- Bohannon1936–1955
- Cliff May1950s
- Stern & Price1951–1953
- Mackay Homes1950s
- Goodwin Steinberg1950s–1980s
- Mardell1955–1959
- Hayman Homes1960s–1970s
- Ditz-Crane1962–1984
- Brown & Kauffmann1960s–1981
- Bahl1968–1986
- Ponderosa Homes1970s–1990s
- Shapell1971–2000s
- Anshen & Allen1940s–1960
- Jones & Emmons1951–1970s
- Claude Oakland1950s–1970s
- Owen Signature Homes1970–today
- Swatt | Miers1975–today
- SummerHill Homes1976–today
- Pinn Brothers1976–today
- Citation Homeslate 1970s–2010s
- Robson Homes1989–today
- Pacific Peninsula Group1989–today
- Barry Swenson Builder1990s–2010s
- Classic Communities1990s–2010s
- Warmington1990s–2020s
- Kelly Gordon2000s–2010s
- Feldman Architecture2003–today
- DeNova Homes2000s–today
- City Ventures2011–today
- Trumark Homes2012–today
- Davidon Homes2010s
- The New Home Company2014–2018
- Dividend Homes2010s–today
- KB Home1980s–today
- Brookfield1990s–today
- Pulte Homes2000s–today
- Shea Homes2000s–2010s
- Lennar2000s–today
- Toll Brothers2000s–today
- Taylor Morrison2007–today
- D.R. Horton2010s
- Tri Pointe Homes2012–today
- K. Hovnanian2014–2018
- Meritage Homes2010s
talk to a property nerd
Own a Jones & Emmons Eichler?
We can help document the model and value it against recent sales nearby. Commissions are negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.
