The Celebrate Eichlers Event

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THE EVENT THANKS TO ALL OF YOU who attended the Celebrate Eichlers Event at the Cubberley Community Center in Palo Alto. What a tremendously exciting thing to see Eichler folks from all over, in one place.

Particularly exciting was to see and hear the great speakers, the contractors, the exhibit, and FINALLY the book! I've been hearing about "EICHLER: Modernism Rebuilds the American Dream" for years, and finally the gestation was over. Congratulations to Paul Adamnson, Marty Arbunich, and Ernie Braun.

More important was to get our message across... the desire not only to protect the Eichlers, but to spread the word about what pure Eichlers look like and the vision the architects intended. Ernie Brauns pictures helped to clarify that. I only with he'd have been able to make it to the event.

Most exciting for me, I talked to many people wanted me to visit their homes... two families live in models I'd never seen from inside before- including one who's atrium is smack dab in the middle of the house. Another family lives in an Eichler in Saratoga... I knew of the "Mackeys" there, but not Eichlers. Finally, a family from Aptos, in love with some Eichler-like homes off Rio Del Mar there... homes I call the 'Aptos-lers'.

Also nice was to see the contingent from the LA Area. Adriene Biondo, from Granada Hills down south, commented she felt out of place living so far from the Eichler center. "Well, we may be the Eichler nursery, but you live in the womb of American Modernism! I envy you!" I replied.

I was also tremendously honored when fellow members of the Historic Quest Committee selected me to be the Master of Ceremonies. Especially in that location. Not only is Palo Alto my home town.. where I first fell in love with Eichlers. But also, I attended High School at Cubberley.. the event was held in what used to be the cafeteria!

The architecture of the center was appropriate too. While not an Eichler, the expanses of glass, the breezeways, the open look, and the time it was built, put Cubberley in the same architectural vibe.

Cubberley has another lesson, too, for architecture lovers. When the baby boom ended, rather than tear Cubberley down (like they so callously did to my beloved Herbert Hoover elementary school down the road), someone had the vision to make it a community center.

In fact, that night, I realized I lost something. I came back to ask someone if they'd let me in the building to search. I had to wait next door through a performance of Argentinean dance before a tech person would be available. The performance was incredible! Here the victory of Adaptive Re-use became manifest. Never did we see something so cool when this was a High School! This beautiful, modernist campus was given a life even more exciting than it's original.

So these are just some of the many nice things that happened that wonderful day.

Thanks again to all who came.