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sunnyvale neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Sunnyvale Manor & Sunnymount Gardens, Sunnyvale Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
Where Joseph Eichler began building tracts in 1949: Sunnyvale Manor near Bayview and Maude avenues, Sunnymount Gardens off Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road, and the 1950 Manor addition with his first architect plan.
Sunnyvale Manor & Sunnymount Gardens by the numbers
sunnyvale manor & sunnymount gardens by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Sunnyvale Manor (Bayview to Morse, near Maude) and Sunnymount Gardens (Dawn Dr and Sunnymount Ave), approximate. Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in sunnyvale manor & sunnymount gardens · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Sunnyvale Manor & Sunnymount Gardens
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Sunnyvale Manor and Sunnymount Gardens from the MLS, updated automatically, with a map of the neighborhood outline.
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Listings come from MLSListings and other MLSs through IDX and show their listing brokerage; confirm details with the listing agent. The map outline is the neighborhood boundary used by our listing search (Sunnyvale Manor (Bayview to Morse, near Maude) and Sunnymount Gardens (Dawn Dr and Sunnymount Ave), approximate); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Sunnyvale Manor & Sunnymount Gardens came to be
Joseph Eichler got into homebuilding in 1947 with the Sunnyvale Building Company, which sold small prefabricated houses to people who already owned lots. In April 1949 he tried something new: he bought a 45-acre ranch in Sunnyvale and built and sold houses on his own land. That was Sunnyvale Manor I, about three dozen houses on North Bayview Avenue near Maude Avenue, with flat and mono-pitched roofs and central heating. Radiant floors hadn't arrived yet.
A month later came Sunnymount Gardens, 36 houses on a horseshoe formed by Dawn Drive and Sunnymount Avenue, set back from Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road near Remington Drive. It was the first tract marketed under the Eichler Homes name. The May 1949 newspaper ad listed 1,230 square feet, three bedrooms, one and a half baths, a two-car garage, a brick fireplace, parquet oak floors and central heating. Neither 1949 tract had an architect; the Eichler Network describes them as built from off-the-shelf modern plans.
In February 1950 Eichler went back to Sunnyvale Manor with the architecture firm Anshen & Allen. Their AA-1 plan went into 51 three-bedroom houses two blocks from the first phase, built of redwood inside and out, with a wall of glass to the back yard and an open kitchen, dining and living area. Architectural Forum called Sunnyvale Manor II one of the year's most significant merchant-builder projects. The Eichler Network calls these the first architect-designed Eichlers and Eichler's first post-and-beam houses, the start of the look his later tracts are known for.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Sunnyvale Manor II's houses are on East Maple, East Duane, Morse (east side only) and Arbor avenues. They don't look like the Eichlers most people picture: no atriums, no tall gables. Most are flat-roofed, some have low shed roofs, and most are T-shaped with a projecting garage and bedroom wing. The kitchen window faces the street, but it originally opened onto a fenced front service yard. When the Eichler Network walked the tract for a 2013 story, it counted 49 of the 51 houses still identifiable as AA-1s. Many had large rear additions; a few had second stories, stucco or new fronts.
An earlier effort to designate the Manor II neighborhood, or a few of its houses, as historic did not succeed; an architectural historian found that most houses had lost their historic integrity through remodeling. The Eichler Network reported in 2018 that the city does not apply its Eichler Design Guidelines to the Sunnyvale Manor I houses, which cluster on North Bayview and Maude avenues.
Sunnymount Gardens is easier to read as a unit thanks to its horseshoe street plan. The Eichler Network describes its early houses as pre-architect and pre-atrium. Expect a mix of remodels and rebuilds: MLS records on Dawn Drive include at least one house rebuilt in 2003 in a contemporary Eichler style. If you're hunting for the 1949 originals, the roofline is the tell: flat or single-pitch, low and simple.
streets in sunnyvale manor & sunnymount gardens
- N. Bayview Avenue
- E. Maude Avenue
- Morse Avenue
- E. Arbor Avenue
- E. Maple Avenue
- E. Duane Avenue
- Dawn Drive
- Sunnymount Avenue
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Sunnyvale Manor & Sunnymount Gardens
- park
Columbia Park
Next to the Manor II streets at 739 Morse Avenue: 14.7 acres with ball fields, basketball, tennis, a playground and picnic areas, beside Columbia Middle School and the Columbia Neighborhood Center.
- park
Murphy Park
About half a mile southwest of Sunnyvale Manor I: 5.4 acres with a lawn bowling green, horseshoe pits and picnic areas.
- landmark
Downtown Sunnyvale and the Caltrain station
Downtown and the Sunnyvale Caltrain station at 121 W. Evelyn Avenue are under a mile southwest of Sunnyvale Manor I in a straight line.
- landmark
Orchard Heritage Park and Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum
About half a mile east of Sunnymount Gardens at the Community Center on E. Remington Drive: a 10-acre apricot orchard of about 800 trees and a free museum of Sunnyvale history.
- park
Las Palmas Park
About 0.4 mile northwest of Sunnymount Gardens at 850 Russet Drive: 24.3 acres with tennis, water play, a playground and a dog park.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Two Sunnyvale School District campuses sit right next to the Manor tracts: Bishop Elementary on Maude Avenue near North Bayview, and Columbia Middle on Morse Avenue. A recent MLS record for a Sunnymount Gardens home lists Sunnyvale School District and Fremont Union High School District. Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with the district before you rely on it.
Sunnyvale School District guide · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- Sunnyvale Manor: Sunnyvale Caltrain station is about 0.8 mile southwest of Manor I and about a mile from Manor II (straight line).
- Sunnyvale Manor: the VTA Orange Line's Fair Oaks station on Tasman Drive is roughly 1 to 1.3 miles north.
- VTA Rapid 523 links both pockets: it stops at Mathilda and Maude avenues, under half a mile west of Manor I, and at Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road and Fremont Avenue, about half a mile south of Sunnymount Gardens.
- Sunnymount Gardens: Sunnyvale Caltrain is about 1.3 miles north in a straight line, and Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road leads south toward Interstate 280.
- The two pockets are about 2 miles apart in a straight line.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Sunnyvale Manor & Sunnymount Gardens: what we check
Buying here
- Confirm what you're buying. These streets mix 1949-50 Eichlers with later houses and heavy remodels, so check the build year and permit history for the exact address.
- Manor II's AA-1 houses started small, a little over 1,000 square feet with one bathroom, so look closely at how additions were built and whether they were permitted.
- Ask the planning division which design rules and base zoning apply to the lot. The Eichler Network reported in 2018 that the city's Eichler Design Guidelines do not apply to Sunnyvale Manor I.
- Manor II was built with radiant floor heat, and the 1949 tracts with central heating. Find out what system the house has now, and if it's radiant, get a pressure test.
- Homes built before 1978 come with a federal lead-based paint disclosure, and houses this old can contain asbestos; test before any demolition.
Selling here
- If your house is an original, say which tract and plan it is. Manor II's AA-1 was Eichler's first architect-designed plan, and that history is part of the house's story.
- Gather permits for additions and for changes to roofs, windows and heating.
- Photograph surviving original details: the glass wall to the back yard, redwood, a brick fireplace, or an intact front service yard.
- Be precise in marketing. Not every house on these streets is an Eichler.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Sunnyvale Manor & Sunnymount Gardens questions, answered
Which was Joseph Eichler's first tract?
Sunnyvale Manor I, which reached the market in April 1949 on North Bayview Avenue near Maude Avenue, according to the Eichler Network. Sunnymount Gardens followed in May 1949 and was the first tract sold under the Eichler Homes name.
Were these houses designed by architects?
Not the 1949 ones. Sunnyvale Manor I and Sunnymount Gardens used off-the-shelf modern plans. Sunnyvale Manor II, in February 1950, was the first Eichler tract designed by architects, Anshen & Allen, using their AA-1 plan.
How many original houses were built?
About 36 in Sunnyvale Manor I, 36 in Sunnymount Gardens and 51 in Sunnyvale Manor II, per the Eichler Network.
Are any of these houses historic landmarks?
Not that we found. An earlier effort to designate Sunnyvale Manor II or a few of its houses as historic did not succeed, because an architectural historian found most had lost their historic integrity through remodeling.
Which school districts serve these streets?
Sunnyvale School District schools sit next to the Manor tracts, and a Sunnymount Gardens home we checked lists Sunnyvale School District and Fremont Union High School District. Confirm the exact address with the districts.
next door
More Sunnyvale neighborhood guides
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